Thailand Borders 06: Surin

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have..." - Thomas Jefferson

(A Giant Turtle on the way to the Chong Chom Border)

Day 06: Friday, 15 Nov 2024

Route: Aranyaprathet - Chong Chom - Surin

Distance: 216 km (3:16)

Hotel: One Fu Hotel, Surin

Breakfast with bread and chili tuna in the room. Checked out by 8.00 am and collected our deposit of B200. Headed towards the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border crossing. We have used this crossing several times to enter Cambodia.

(The busy Aranyaprathet/Poipet border crossing)

(One of the popular entry points into Cambodia)

Aranyaprathet is a famous town for hopping the border to Cambodia to visit the temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. Next to the border is the gigantic open air shopping market known as Rong Kluea Market. It is a huge market full of knock-off designers goods, trinkets, clothes of all kinds, soccer shirts, shoes and even a huge fresh food market where you can get great Thai food. You could make a full round of the market on a buggy for a small fee.

(The Golden Gate Plaza, the entrance to the border market)

(The vibrant Aranyaprathet open-air border market)

(Buying knick-knacks and souvenirs)

(Riding a buggy in Rong Kluea Market, Aranyaprathet)

Next stop is the Aranyaprathet Istikbal Mosque for dhuha prayers. Met the local qariah who were  preparing the mosque for the Juma'at prayers. By 9.45 am we were already on the road to Chong Chom/O'Smach Border Crossing, another popular Thailand/Cambodia border.

(Istikbal Mosque of Aranyaprathet)

(The interior of the mosque)

(Driving out of Aranyaprathet on a two-lane highway)

(Paddy fields and harvesting time) 

(Passing through several lonely National Parks)

We had lunch of halal CP prawn burger and nasi goreng tomyam from 7-eleven at PTT Nikhom Prasat. Around 2.30 pm we reached the small Chong Chom border and took some pictures. On the way to Surin passed the Chong Chom Border market located along the highway.

(National Park road, beware of elephants)

(Drying paddy by the road side)

(Watch out for obstacles on the road)

(Some stretch of roads are under major repair)

(A not so good and bumpy rural road)

Chong Chom is the largest and most convenient cross-border route from Surin to Cambodia, allowing traffic for trading between Thais and Cambodians. It is located at the Chong Chom permanent border-crossing point. The check-point is open daily from 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. We have not crossed this border before. 

(Watching out for signages to the border)

(A small but busy border crossing)

(Chong Chom border market along the main road)

We could not find any good hotel around Chong Chom so we decided to book a hotel in Surin instead. Checked-in One Fu Hotel in Surin at Rm86/night. Had Kembara Lamb Kuzi Nasi Hujan Panas for dinner in the room as we were too lazy to go out and look for halal eatery.

(One Fu Hotel in Surin)

(A comfortable room for the night)