Buying the Border Control

We had heard that crossing the border from Thailand to Cambodia by land involved a series of unavoidable scams. Given that we chose the least scammy and least traveled point to cross at, Koh Kong. Of course it took the usual shuffling of long bus rides to get there. The other foreigners paid the demanded $40 and was given the visa at arrival immediately. We knew the official price of the visa was $20. The border guards across the desk didn't seem to appreciate that piece of information. They pushed us to hand over the amount they asked for or go back to Bangkok. After a few loud exchanges they directed us to leave the office and wait outside. Steve continued to hassle the guy in the white wife-beater to process our visas. It's always the guy in the least formal attire that's in charge. He hands over a local travel agency brochure stating the inflated visa price. Then rants about paying $350 to apply for a visa to the US and being rejected. Steve parried those weak attempts and kept pushing. Finally, an hour later they agree to $25 and we were on our way. Welcome to Cambodia.