Border Crossing: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Phnom Phen, Cambodia via Mekong Express (Mocbai-Bavet Border)

One of the challenges travellers face during a multi-country trip is border crossing. Getting to the border, immigration, scams and how exactly its done, and sometimes we are left with no idea just how to do it.

Crossing the borders from Ho Chi Minh going to Phnom Phen is surprisingly sweat free.

I booked a ticket from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Phen via Mekong Express. Their office is located along the Backpacker's street (Pham Ngu Lao Street) where the van/bus usually parks across the street to pick up passengers. I booked my ticket online and when I got in their office, they gave me a printed copy of my booking. We were given a free water bottle and I was surprised that we were just 5 in the van. It took 2.5 hours to get to the borders. The driver consolidated our passports and filled up the Immigration Card for us, led us to inside (we didn't bring our bags as we will ride the same van crossing the borders) and gave our passports to the Immigration officer for departure stamps and called out our names one by one to give back our passports.

Mekong Express VIP Van ticket from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Phen

Entering Mocbai Borde

We got back to the van and headed to Cambodia Immigartion Office where we got our stamps and again back to the van.

** Holders of Philippine passport do not need visa for Cambodia up to 21 days.

Enteriong Cambodian border called Bavet

Mekong Express

Bus: 7:30, 8:30, 13:00 (US$14)

VIP Van: 6:30am, 15:00 (US$15)

Adress: #275F, Pham Ngu Lao Street, Disctric 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Duration: 6 hours & 30 mins

Website: http://catmekongexpress.com/

Other Options:

Giant Ibis  -  US$18 + $1 (Credit card processing fee if you purchase online)

Schedule: 8:30, 12:30

Duration: 6 hours & 30 mins

Address: 237 Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Website: http://giantibis.com/

Sapaco Tourist Bus - (230.000 VND)

Schedule: 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 14:30

Duration: 6 hours & 30 mins

Address: 325 Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist 1, HCM City

Website: http://www.sapacotourist.vn/en/

Related Links:

Backpacking Southeast Asia Itinerary and Expenses
AirAsia ASEAN Pass
Mui Ne, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Backpacking Southeast Asia Itinerary and Expenses

U-bien Bridge in Mandalay, Myanmar

Explored Indochina for the first time and yes I've done this solo. It was a mixed feeling of fear and courage and it was such a fulfillment that I was able to explore the cities alone. It took me months of planning to finally come up with this itinerary trimming off the originally 30 day trip down to 18 days due to schedule constraints but it was all worth it, though I wish I had more time to spend.

Angkor Wat- Siem Reap, Cambodia

Lotus lake and white sand dunes in Mui Ne, Vietnam

I started the trip in Malaysia going across Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. A side trip to Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia and Singapore then went back to Malaysia before going back home. It wasn't easy. Spent lots of time on the road, tiring but a fulfilling experience.

Phnom Phen, Cambodia

Backpacking Southeast Asia Itinerary and Expenses:

ASEAN Pass Breakdown:

For detailed post on how i booked and maximized the pass, click here

Petronas Twin Tower - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Notes:
> This is not a package tour. This itinerary and expenses was based on my experience.
> My ticket from MNL to KL was bought a year before the trip and was given to me as a gift.
> Make sure you bring plug adapter to charge your gadgets as their sockets might be different from the one we have in the Philippines specially in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
> Try the street foods! Southeast Asia is the home of the world’s tastiest cuisines and they are often found in the streets.
> Research on cab or tuk tuk fares before you ride as this is one of the biggest scams in travelling Southeast Asia.
> Be mindful of your belongings all the time. There are snatchers reported specially in the streets of Cambodia where they are usually on scooters and will grab your bag or whatever is in your hand while walking or riding a tuk tuk..
> Get used to haggling specially in street markets, shops and transportation.
>You may rent a scooter if you know how to drive, this is brilliant way of combining freedom, flexibility and appreciation of the place.

Related Post:
AirAsia ASEAN Pass
Border Crossing: Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Phen via Mekong Express (Mocbai-Bavet Border)
Mui Ne Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

AirAsia ASEAN Pass

I was planning to go Southeast Asia and have been patiently waiting for a seat sale when my friend introduce me the Air Asia's ASEAN Pass which allows you to travel across Southeast Asia using credits that can be bought for PHP 7000+ (PHP 5000+ if you'll pay in Malaysian Ringgit) which I found it too good to be true. It also seems like there's only limited information available and there are lots of things that should be considered in buying and using the pass.

During my ASEAN trip, I got lots of questions in regards to my flights and how I did use the ASEAN Pass on my trip and so I made this post.

Air Asia ASEAN Pass is a travel pass that allows guests to book Air Asia flights using credits. Depending on how many destination and how long you are planning to visit ASEAN countries. You may choose between 10 credits which will allow you to travel accross Southeast Asia for 30 days or 20 credits for 60 days.

Here are the list of credit amount for routes that are redeamable with Air Asia ASEAN Pass.

Basically, flights under 2 hours requires 1 credit while flights over 2 hours requires 3 credits regardless if you are booking international or domestic flights. Except for Indonesia domestic flights which are subjected to price control and is more expensive, not worthy to be booked using this pass.

And before you purchase one, there are things you should know and consider first such as:

1. Booking of flights should be at least 14 days or more before the departure date. Seats may ran out so if you're certain about your travel dates, I suggest you book as early as possible.

2. You can't book the same path twice.
MNL  ✈ KL ✈ MNL ✈ KL  is not possible. Once you book the MNL  ✈ KL path, you cannot repeat it anymore. The system will automatically disallow you to book the same route.

3. Some destination are only connected to one airport. This means you might have to go back several times on AirAsia hubs such as Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

4. Credit is only redeemed for the base fare. Other charges like airport tax and add-ons such as check-in baggage, inflight meals, seats and travel insurance are to be paid separately.

5. Travelers must be 12 years old and above.

6. Flight redemption is limited and subject to seat’s availability. Not all flight timing are available specially during public holidays. Normally, without the pass, many seats were still available for purchase, then when you try to check for available seats using ASEAN Pass, there are no seats available for that day which is kinda frustrating. Make sure you plan ahead and have the list of dates and destinations on hand. Do mock booking before confirming each flight.

7. Rescheduling trips are possible which is subjected to additional fees however re-routing is not possible. 

8. Make sure to alot 3-4 hours in between flights. This is to make sure you'll have an ample time getting your baggage, passing through immigration and transferring from one gate to another.

List of countries you may visit using AirAsia ASEAN Pass:

How to buy:

Note : Every AirAsia member can buy up to 5 ASEAN Pass at one time. You may assign each pass to yourself or your friends upon purchase. Each pass is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase and once booking is made you must travel within 30 or 60 days starting from the 1st travel date.

1. Log on to your AirAsia account or visit this site: http://www.airasia.com/ph/en/book-with-us/asean-pass/overview.page

Price is PHP 7,200 for 10 credits and PHP 12,000 for 20 credits.

Tip: Buy in Malaysian Ringgit as it cost cheaper at MYR 499 ( PHP 5754.49 conversion is at MYR 1 = PHP 11.53). Just change the currency as shown below:

2. Choose the type of pass you'd need depending on how many places or countries you would like to visit.

3. Proceed to payment options.

How to redeem flight:

1. Assign Passenger Name to the pass. You may book on behalf your friends & family. You may also reassign the pass until the first flight booking. The first booking must be the first flight as the system will use the first booking's travel date to calculate the validity of the pass. Booking is at least 14 days before the date of departure. 

3. Choose the route & time ( Not all flight times available )

** Availability around weekends and local holidays are very limited. 

4. Once flight time is confirmed, review & proceed to payment for airport charges and add ons.

6. Repeat the process for your next route

Here's my trip itinerary:

Manila   Kuala Lumpur  Ho Chi Minh  (1 credit)  Cambodia (by bus)  Bangkok (by bus) 🚆 Laos (by train) 🚆 BanBangkok (by train)  Mandalay (1 credit)  Bangkok (1 credit)  Jakarta (3 credits) Singapore  (1 credit)   Malaysia (by bus)  Manila (3 credits)

Total Credits : 10

If you'll notice, I mixed and matched ASEAN pass tickets and cash tickets (flight and land travels). With this you will have greater value for the money and since I went there during Songkran, very limited flights are available.

For a grand total of PHP 10,895.67, I was able to fly to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore; a total of 6 flights for the ASEAN Pass itself which from during that time, considering it's new year on those countries it would have cost me about 32,715.94 PHP for that 6 flights. 

For the whole computation with the land travel and other transportation costs, it will be up on my next post together with the itinerary.

How to Maximize the Value:

1. Pre-plan your route including the dates and write them down, that way you'll be able to track how many credits you have left. Mock book (don't book just yet) on Airasia site making sure that all of them have flights available on the dates you wanted. Then once you have checked that all flights are available on your desired date and plotted all the adjustments on your itinerary, you may start booking using your pass.

2. Plan the routes that requires 1 credit instead of 3 credits. There are times you can mix and math two 1 credit flights instead of getting one 3 credits. 

3. Travel light! You don't want to spend lots of money for check in baggage, you might even pay more for your luggage than yourself. AirAsia allows one carry-on up to 7kg and a personal item (camera, laptop).


Comment or message me if you have any questions :)

Related Links:

Backpacking Southeast Asia Itinerary and Expenses
Border Crossing: Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Phen via Mekong Express (Mocbai-Bavet Border)
Mui Ne, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam