Cambodia, The Kingdom of Wonders

For this post I will indulge myself in showing of this beautiful work of art they call the Cambodian visa. Most foreign nationals who do not hold passports issued by an ASEAN member country require visas to enter Cambodia. This is one way that the government collects revenue for its coffers. The other way is by charging all foreigners leaving Cambodia the "departure tax" of USD 25, which I think is just an excuse to burn a hole in the pockets of visitors who have already in a way contributed to the economy just by visiting.

Well, anyway, I could have entered Cambodia visa-free for 14 days or so on my Philippine passport, but I had the privilege of applying for a visa on my US passport and so I took it and am to this day thrilled with the wonderful result, which I present below:


This visa was issued in Hong Kong since there was no consulate in Macau (where I was staying) and I was charged HKD 200, which is about USD 30, 50% more than the USD 20 that is indicated on the visa itself. I would complain, but the visa is too nice so I won't.

The Royal Consulate General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Hong Kong and Macao is a quiet little office that sits on the 17th? floor of a building that sits right in front of the Hong Kong Star Ferry terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side. The office is a nice, cozy little place. Upon entry, the seal of the Kingdom, a Khmer-style statue, and the Cambodian flag greet you. As you look to the left, you see a couch set with some magazines about Cambodia ready for your reading on a coffee table. But it's not like you even have the time to read them because after you fill up the visa application form and pay the HKD 200 fee, the friendly clerk at the counter then takes your passport over to some back office (I caught a glimpse of an old man who I guess made my visa) and after literally five minutes, the who process is done and over with. So I guess the visa is just really a source of revenue for the Cambodian government and no some procedure to do a background check and make sure visitors are not wanted criminals (although I'm sure Cambodia nonetheless has its blacklist for immigration).

If you study the visa, like I have done multiple times, you can see that it has quite a few security features. First of all, it has a watermark pattern that shows when help up against light - nothing special, just some lines. Then if you look closely at the lines where the holder's information is to be written, you'll notice that they aren't lines, but fine micro-print that reads "Kingdom of Cambodia." There is also an attractive hologram which is in the shape of the Cambodia Royal Coat of Arms. And, last, the paper is "cut" so that the visa would be damaged if it were to be removed much in the same way the price tags in some stores are "cut" to prevent price tag swapping.


Here is the entry stamp from Siem Reap. I like the little Angkor Wat design, which is also included in the departure stamps, as you can see below:


This chop is clearer than the one from Siem Reap, perhaps because it is newer and has smacked less passports than the one that was used for my entry at Siem Reap. Sadly, the Philippine immigration officer stamped over my Cambodian exit stamp. But since I am returning to Cambodia in October, I will have another chance at a better cancel and another visa as well, this time issued in Manila!