Safety concerns for Thailand.
 

Hello there,

I am still in the early but pretty positive stages of planning a sort of semi round the world trip for this year. So far I am really hoping to ride from Bangkok to Singapore through Malaysia as part off the trip. Only problem is I noticed Lonely Planet have placed a high level alert for travel in southern Thailand and the area near the Myanmar boarder. Is this really anything to worry about?

Also on the off chance does anyone know if Thailand, Malaysia and singapore require visas and a carnet?

Thanks again everyone.

GT Rider forums are the Dogs when it comes to SE/Asia as most of the posters are ex-pats, rigft up to date info.

No Carnet if your on a UK bike, and no visa either.

Try to spend some time around Chaing Mia, Pia.

'Choi Doi' phonomic spelling is Help in Thai, comes in handy.

Ride safe Lee

"Is this really anything to worry about"

If your planning to ride from Bangkok to Hat Yai to Malaysia border (Bukit Kayu Hitam), I dont think theres anything to worry about (except staying awake, as the main road is quite boring!) I did that about a month ago, no problems in Thailand (or Malaysia).

And if you go near the Burmese border, there will be police checkpoints and some refugee camps (near Mae Sai, I think) but usually no hassle for tourists. They might check your papers sometimes.

Carnet:

Thailand no (and you cannot/should not use it); you need a temporary import paper, which should give your vehicle 30 days in the country. I've heard you can work your way around this and stay longer, but I dont know how it happens.

Malaysia, yes. They were actually so lazy at the border we most likely could've entered even without a carnet, but officially its required and its better to make sure you get it stamped in and out, same goes for your passport.

Singapore, i dont know (we went to Johor Bahru, could see to Singapore but sadly didnt have time to visit). Theres dozens of cars & bikes going thru there all day all night, but mostly theyre locals. I sometimes heard importing a foreign bike there might be a bit complicated, so unless you plan to ship from Singapore, might be a good idea to keep the bike on Malaysian side, and go there by public transport.

For a Finnish citizen, Thailand and Malaysia didnt require visa for our short period of stay.

Thanks for that guys, I'm from Ireland so I wont be on a UK bike but looks like I should be OK anyway from your post Pecha. I am also guessing that Irish and Finnish citizens have the same visa requirement but I'll check it out just in case. Also thanks for the carnet advice, still find that whole thing really confusing.

I had similar concerns about southern Thailand so checked with some friends in the security business in Singapore. They agreed that it's not the safest place in the world, but the attacks so far haven't been targetted at foreigners. There is, of course, the chance you get caught up in something by accident, but then that can happen anywhere!

Don't know about Burma border - as juddadredd said, check with the GT-riders as that's their back yard.

Best of luck with the ride, and come say hello when you get to Singapore!

Geoff

Look at it statistically, for you to be blown up kidnapped or otherwsie abused by terrorists is so low it's almost unreadable but for you to come off a bike or get run over by a car well you already know those.

Relax and smile at people, and if you do get kidnapped poo your pants as nobody wants to share a car when someones crapped in their pants do they, most they will do is dump you at the side of the road.

:innocent:

Looks like it should be OK I think. Wont be staying long in the south of Thailand, more just going that way to get to Malaysia. Thanks for the advice, I'll find out more about the Singapore boarder as I would like to ship from there if possible.

Cheers.

howzit i was thinking about doing a similer trip,uk to oz later in the year.spoke to paul gowen at the rac and he forwarded this link:

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/PersonalVehiclesTemp/TemporaryImport.jsp?menuNme=PersonalTem

could be worth a look
cheers...

Contact your AA early, I don't think that there is any organisation in IRL issuing carnets, so you may have to try your luck at the ADAC.

I've been staying in Mae Sot right on the Burma border for the last 3 weeks and will probably stay for another 6 months or so. There are no problems for foreigners here. On rare occasions fighting spills over into Thailand, but the army is everywhere and as long as you stay on the roads there won't be any danger.

N Thailand is one of the best biking places on the planet, at least out of the rainy season.

Thanks again! More great advice. Looks like the hardest thing is going to be actually getting my hands on carnet. I'll give the ADAC a ring though. Guessing it will be fine.

Hello just spoke with Paul in the RAC about getting a carnet sorted and about getting my bike into Thailand. He's a great guy and full of all the necessary info I needed. Great news seeing as I can't get one in Ireland at all.