Border Crossings
Malaysian border crossing customs and immigration
Catch a cab from KL out to the airport cargo section, you’ll go past the Sepang F1 track. Head through a couple of checkpoints and pick up passes, if you get your taxi driver to guide you, it will help. My driver talked his way in through all the checkpoints because he was curious and I didn’t mind paying for him, it wasn’t very expensive. MAS Cargo was reasonably efficient.
If you happen to be in a position to talk to some people that work there while you’re waiting, it’s a good idea to mention you have a big bike in storage and that you’re waiting for it to be picked up. If you know cricket, you’ll get on well with the boss who is a maori guy who moved to Malaysia many years ago, he likes to chat. They may fast-track you but their systems are quite old and you’ll have to wait a few hours for things to be cleared. One of the guys let me stay at his house for a night because it was dark, raining and therefore pretty dangerous to ride into KL. Get your carnet stamped back at the large building to the left before heading out through the customs checkpoints. The security guard there asked to see in every one of my containers, I think he did it for laughs.
Malaysia to Thailand border crossing
Exiting Malaysia – sitting around, saw a scooter decked out with the biggest boombox I’ve ever seen. Passport stamp-out was straightforward. Malaysian women in full Burka laughing at me while stamping carnet. I sat around for ages because I was told that so-and-so had gone to lunch, this was the building to the left as you’re exiting. After waiting for an hour I asked everyone I could find and was eventually pointed to abuilding on the right, where the customs officials sit.
Entering Thailand – got passport stamped, parked bike across border to the left near the start of a row of shops, walked back and processed bike, received form, no cost, no insurance for bikes. I asked at all of the insurance shops to the left if I had to buy it but they all told me that they didn’t sell bike insurance.
When you pass into Thailand you feel a huge change, the cars aren’t Protons, they’re all decked out with big exhaust and stickers.
Thailand to Cambodia border crossing
Thai side scammers offering “visa service” for a huge sum, ignore them because you can do it yourself for about USD30. They are very persistent and even dressed officially, but lazing under a tree most of the time. Check out queues are full of westerners travelling across into Cambodia. The customs lanes are full of pullcarts from Cambodia, insanely poor people trying to make some cash by selling into Thailand. They get checked at customs too but doesn’t take long because no engine numbers because no engines because they are pull carts. You’ll be directed in front of one and have to fill out some forms and pay various photocopying fees… Once through you can go to the large building on the left, which is the Cambodian customs house. The customs guy there was very intelligent, spoke clear english and suggested I might be related to Mikhail Gorbachev because my middle name is Michael.
Cambodia to Thailand border crossing
The same Cambodian customs official, very quick.
Thai-side it seems I had to do the same thing on the way back with the paperwork and the photocopying, but this time the Thai customs insisted that I needed to buy insurance for the bike. I had to leave the bike at the border and catch a scooter into town where the insurer was, then come back and have the insurance photocopied, then they allowed my bike through into Thailand. Make sure you pick up your Thai customs form!!
Thailand to Laos border crossing
Told by the Thai authorities to turn back because I wasn’t allowed to bring a motorcycle into Laos. I Persisted and talked my way through, I said something about having the Carnet and the fact that I’d try my luck and see them back there if I didn’t make it. Bike was stamped out okay using their customs form and computer system. It crashed a couple of times and I stood around for a bit while he tried to get it working.
Laos officials were fine and didn’t mind me bringing the bike in. They knew more about the Carnet than the Thais did and had it sorted out in half an hour. My visa dates were wrong for some reason, but they printed me a new one on the spot.
Laos to Northern Thailand border crossing
- Immigration near passanger ferry, customs near vehicle ferry
- vehicle ferry overpriced
- charged normal rate though
- Thai immigration easy, customs refused an import slip and stamped carnte, WRONG, had to return to border for slip, major stuff-around
Thailand to Nepal border crossing
- immigration at airport
- customs via TAC
- Kathmandu immigration at airport, buy visa there
- Kathmandu cargo pickup fiasco
Nepal to India border crossing
- border horrific
- Start very early but customs only open at 9 or so
- Indian side busy and immigration is on opposite side to customs, with streams of trucks bumper to bumper going in each direction in between.
India to Pakistan border crossing
- Indian border empty, customs very quick
- confiscated toyota supra
- Pakistan border quicker, two offices
Pakistan to Iran border crossing
- Exit customs very simple
- Immigration hell busy because of a busload of tourists/pilgrims
- waved through because I was a westerner, recommend making it known to people near the door that you’re a westerner on a big bike, they should let you in, very friendly. Do not change money, the rate is horrible, wait until Iran
- Iran border empty and very modern, large airconditioned building, require an escort, checkpoint guards very psycho
Iran to Turkey border crossing
Iran checkout easy, friendly, quick. Turkey very efficient. Implied that I’d have to go back because I didn’t have Turkish visa, was joking and sold me one on the spot for about USD30
Leaving Turkey on a ferry
Very easy, many many Europeans and even moto tourists. Processed everything at port and on-board the vessel. When you arrive in Italy the immigration police come on board and fix up all of the passengers’ passports.
Entering Italy on a ferry
No visa required, just given a stamp on a loose piece of paper, spent half an hour walking around and asking whether or not I needed a proper visa, after so many months of thinking about them, I forgot that Italy is in Europe, and all they do is stamp your passport. Had my bike entered on Carnet, prob shouldn’t have because I didn’t get it checked out at the border with France so had no exit stamp into non-carnet requiring Europe. Italy doesn’t require it either but will stamp it if you wave it in front of them
Leaving Spain
Easy, no carnet stamp, no passport check basically
Returning the bike to Australia