The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 2

Today's route - approximately 360km including the border crossing.
Today’s route – approximately 360km including the border crossing.

I made it to Thailand! Left Penang at 8am this morning and reached the Malaysia-Thailand border approximately around 10am. Border crossing was a lot easier than I expected. Easy, but definitely alot more disorganised than, say, the Singapore-Malaysia border. 

This is what I did –

  1. Exited Malaysia and got my passport stamped.
  2. Entered Thailand – riding pass the passport control. (Really!)
  3. Parked bike where directed by immigration officer.
  4. Walked back to the passport control area.
  5. Go to “Customs Declaration Form for Car and Motorcycle” booth. The counter girl will ask for your log card and passport to key in the details and generate a printed form.
  6. Go to “Customs Form” booth just beside (5) with the printed form. Hand over the form and your passport and log card (again). They will process it and then hand you the temporary import papers for the bike.
  7. Go to immigration office to obtain an Arrival / Departure form. Fill it up.
  8. Walk back to the immigration counter (which is different from (7) to get passport stamped.
  9. Hooray! I’m now officially legal in Thailand.
Right side of booth for generating form. Left side of booth for processing form. These people don't understand the concept of streamlining. Or perhaps this is a form of job creation?
Right side of booth for generating form. Left side of booth for processing form. These people don’t understand the concept of streamlining. Or perhaps this is a form of job creation?
The ONLY immigration counter opened - for both cars and pedestrians.
The ONLY immigration counter opened – for both cars and pedestrians.
Purchased my insurance here in Thailand. Could have done it in Malaysia, but opted to get it here instead. Reason being that if an accident were to occur, I would like the Thai party to be able to claim from a Thai company. A Singapore-registered vehicle with a Malaysian insurance involving in an accident with a Thai = extremely messy!
Purchased my insurance here in Thailand. Could have done it in Malaysia, but opted to get it here instead. Reason being that if an accident were to occur, I would like the Thai party to be able to claim from a Thai company. A Singapore-registered vehicle with a Malaysian insurance involving in an accident with a Thai = extremely messy!
THB450 for a 3-month 3rd party insurance.  Edit: I was scammed here. Very clearly, it says the minimum period for motorcycle insurance is THB450 for 3 months. After payment, the insurance papers was immediately folded and inserted into a nice envelope before presenting to me. Silly me for not checking. Only after I left the counter (and some days later), did I realised that the insurance was good only for ONE month, and was worth THB175! Scumbag!
THB450 for a 3-month 3rd party insurance. Edit: I was scammed here. Very clearly, it says the minimum period for motorcycle insurance is THB450 for 3 months. After payment, the insurance papers was immediately folded and inserted into a nice envelope before presenting to me. Silly me for not checking. Only after I left the counter (and some days later), did I realised that the insurance was good only for ONE month, and was worth THB175! Scumbag!
Happy Tourist SIM card. THB300 for 1.5GB for 7 days. Includes 100 Baht calling credit. Can top up later at any 7-11 store. Comes with 3 sizes built in - mini SIM, micro SIM and nano SIM.
Happy Tourist SIM card. THB300 for 1.5GB for 7 days. Includes 100 Baht calling credit. Can top up later at any 7-11 store. Comes with 3 sizes built in – mini SIM, micro SIM and nano SIM.
Lunch at Hat Yai. THB85 for beef fried rice, a glass of tea and a bottle of Coke. Yes - I was THAT thirsty!
Lunch at Hat Yai. THB85 for beef fried rice, a glass of tea and a bottle of Coke. Yes – I was THAT thirsty!
Between Hat Yai and Phatthalung. I don't know what the Thai words meant, but I was pretty certain the sign meant "beef served here!"
Between Hat Yai and Phatthalung. I don’t know what the Thai words meant, but I was pretty certain the sign meant “beef served here!”
Meet the roadside cow. Say moo!
Meet the roadside cow. Say moo!
The obligatory wefie... I meant selfie.
The obligatory wefie… I meant selfie.
Interesting contraption for fishing. I wonder what their success rate is.
Interesting contraption for fishing. I wonder what their success rate is.
Selfie moment. Yes - I was in a raincoat. And it didn't rain. I wasn't in one yesterday, and I was drenched. Murphy Moment. =(
Selfie moment. Yes – I was in a raincoat. And it didn’t rain. I wasn’t in one yesterday, and I was drenched. Murphy Moment. =(

And since I had internet connection on my phone, I decided to book an accommodation in Phatthalung area. Found this sweet resort for THB600 a night.

So touristy in Thale Noi.
So touristy in Thale Noi.
Thale Noi is a swamp!
Thale Noi is a swamp!
Nah - I'll skip the boat ride. Don't look too safe to me.
Nah – I’ll skip the boat ride. Don’t look too safe to me.
Hungry - so I got some street food snack.
Hungry – so I got some street food snack.
Duck confit for tonight?
Duck confit for tonight?
I wandered into the residential area. These houses are built on stilts.
I wandered into the residential area. These houses are built on stilts.
Green, brown and colourful clothes.
Green, brown and colourful clothes.
More street snack. Pancake with sweet corn fillings.
More street snack. Pancake with sweet corn fillings.
Schweeeeet!
Schweeeeet!
My first tank of Gasohol. Wonder how my carb will fare. Will find out tomorrow.
My first tank of Gasohol. Wonder how my carb will fare. Will find out tomorrow.
Dinner. Fried rice again. I didn't know what else to order. I couldn't figure out the menu.
Dinner. Fried rice again. I didn’t know what else to order. I couldn’t figure out the menu.

7 thoughts on “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 2”

  1. Nice! I am planning to do the same trip. Do you also need a log card for Sin-Malaysia border?

    1. Yes you do. The Thai customs import counter will ask for your log card to generate their version of the log card. Thereafter, use this printed Thai-logcard to temporarily import your vehicle. You can print the log card from Onemotoring.com.

      1. No no, I meant just on the Sin-Johur border i.e. Causeway. Do I need show a log card there as well? I am a foreign national but I own a SG bike

        1. I’ve never encountered the Malaysian immigration control asking for it. What I have encountered, however, was them checking that my road tax was valid. But that was on a car, not my bike. I’m not too sure about their policy for non-Singaporeans on a Singapore registered vehicle though. I guess if you’re worried, just bring a copy along. Won’t take up much space.

  2. Hi Vaibhav,
    I am a foreigner living in SG with SG bike. I recently went to Cha-Am, Thailand inspired by reading D’s blog. If you have LTA letterhead bike registration in your name, MY or TH border crossing is very easy. You don’t need to show anything for MY crossing, but entering TH, you will need your passport and SG LTA issued bike Ownership letter. You should scan your documents and have it accessable during your travel, just in case you lose or damage the papers. per D’s description on TH border crossing, he is spot on. I also was scammed with the insurance as the month on the insurance is in Thai and the year was 2559!

    1. Wow Tomas! Cha-Am! That’s pretty north!

      Is the “LTA-issued ownership letter” you mentioned the same as the “My Assets” printed out from onemotoring.com? I remember I had to do a little convincing to the Cambodian customs officers as it looked like a self-generated piece of printout. I had to explain that in Singapore, many government records are kept electronically, and that this was a printout of that electronic record.

      But you’re right – MY and TH crossing should be easy peasy for an SG-registered bike.

Leave a Reply to Shah Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *