Shipping Bike from Japan to Cambodia

[brian p]

Hello all,cant find much on this subject.I have an Irish registered bike,im hoping once i finish touring Japan i want to ship it to Cambodia where i plan to teach English for a year.
So input on the following would be greatly appreciated.

No1. Shipping Foreign Registered bike from Japan to Cambodia?
(Any links to forums will do)

No2. Foreign Bikes in Cambodia,i know Thailand is gone strict on Overlanders etc,anybody know the story with Cambodia?

Cheers,
Brian

[Chris of Japan]

You want shipping companies in Japan?
Look at this thread:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...otorbike-89609

[brian p]

Cheers Chris,il be hopefully staying in Japan for 2 months as part of my Rtw trip next year. Appreciate the link

[brian p]

Entering Cambodia with a foreign car
In the past you could enter Cambodia with your vehicle with Carnet de Passage, but it is not possible anymore. The new process involves a Temporary Import Permit and the driver has to go to Phnom Penh in person to obtain it.
If you are traveling in a group (several cars) and plan to enter and exit together, only 1 person is needed, the group leader.
If anyone is asking for more money than it’s specified in this document, either something has changed and please let us know, or it’s a con.
How does it work ?
All the steps are described in the following sections.
Building the file
Leaving your car at the border and crossing
Going to Phnom Penh
File deposit at the Ministry of Tourism (The first step)
File stamping at Phnom Penh Customs office (The second step)
Going back to the border
Getting the final document and crossing with the car (The third step)
1. Building the file
You will have to gather the following documents :
Letter : Download this template and fill in everything that is between * *.
If you are travelling in a group, just duplicate the applicant details and vehicle details and update the letter subject and the greetings accordingly.
List of imported goods : Download this template and fill in the blank cells.
If you are travelling in a group, just duplicate the line and enter other vehicles info.
Color copy of your passport (only the main driver’s passport is needed)
Color copy of your Cambodian visa (if you ask for a visa on arrival, do the copy later in Phnom Penh before going to the Ministry of Tourism)
Color copy of your car registration card
Color copy of your Carnet de Passage (if you have one. It’s not mandatory, but it’s easier to read)
Color copy of your driving licence
Color copy of your international driving licence
4 good pictures of the vehicle (they need to see the whole vehicle from each side : front, back, left, right)
2. Leaving the car at the border and crossing
If you’re traveling alone, you have no choice but to leave the vehicle at the border if you don’t want to pay twice the visas.
Trapaing Kriel (Laos - Cambodia Border)
This border is in the middle of nowhere, the nearest inhabited area is the 4000 islands.
You can leave your vehicle at the border officers habitation area, 100m before the border on your left. The boss there will offer you to watch your vehicle (for 30 000 LAK per day for a car, maybe you can bargain this fee). Just pay for 3 days and they will catch up if you stay longer. It’s up to you if you want to pay for it, but he made it very clear that “anything could happen” if you don’t...
We payed the guy, and after 10 days everything was fine. - Melody
You could maybe also try to park the car between the 2 borders, but we haven’t tried it.
The other option, if you’re not travelling alone, is :
- 1 person stays in the 4000 islands (20 km from the border) with the car
- 1 person cross the border without the vehicle and goes to Phnom Penh to do the paperwork
(you can take a bus from the 4000 islands to Phnom Penh for around 40$)
The border crossing :
We advise to arrive early so it’s easier to catch a bus to Phnom Penh. The best choice would be to cross on a Sunday morning, so you’re ready to start the process on a Monday in Phnom Penh.
On Lao side, they stamp your passport for exiting the country and you go on the Cambodian side. Go to the “customs” office and say that you have a car waiting at the Lao border to check if they still need you to go to Phnom Penh. If you still need the Import Permit, they will show you the type of papers they need you to bring them, they are under a glassed table in their office. It means you must go to Phnom Penh. Go to the “arrival booth”, fill their arrival card, pay for the Visa, and you’re in.
3. Going to Phnom Penh
Trapaing Kriel (Laos - Cambodia Border)
Where the fun part begins...
As said before, you can get a direct bus to Phnom Penh from 4000 islands for around 40$, but if you show up at the border in need for a transportation, the price will not be the same.
The quickest is to take a direct taxi to Phnom Penh, but te best offer we had was 250$ for one way, 400$ for a round trip.
The cheapest is to get a taxi cab to Stung Treng (70km, approximatively 1h drive). The price should be 25$ but the taxi driver will probably charge you 45-50$ for a round trip depending on where he lives (anyway, do not hesitate to bargain the price!). And take a mini van to Phnom Penh.
On the way to Stung Treng ask the taxi driver if he can help you find a van to PP. Regular price is 15$ per person. If he’s not helpful, go to Ponika’s Palace, it’s a small restaurant arranging transports for foreigners, or try asking locals for the next departure.
It will took 7 to 8 hours to arrive in Phnom Penh, including stops for fuel, food, etc.
We took the bus at 5pm and arrived at 00:30 in PP - Melody
Alternative solution : Book a bus in a travel agency that will pick you up at the border and go directly to PP, it should be less than 40$ per person.
4. File deposit at the Ministry of Tourism (The first step)
Google maps location : https://goo.gl/maps/Mi2PkkthPoA2
MapsMe location : http://ge0.me/80kRrThP2G/Ministry%2Bof%2BTourism
MapsMe location : ge0://80kRrThP2G/Ministry%2Bof%2BTourism
Opening hours: 8am - 5pm
Contact info : Mr Cho Sereyvuth
Officer of Security and Tourist Safety Dept
Ministry of Tourism
H/P: +855 98 228 822
+855 77 745 923
chosereyvuth@gmail.com
Enter the main building, turn left and enter the last door on your left (at the end of the corridor). You will probably meet Mr. Cho Sereyvuth who is in charge at the moment, anyway, hand the file to the first person you see inside, they will know what to do with it. They may re-edit the 2 documents you filled in, if that’s the case, you didn’t do the work for nothing, it will help them filling it faster and without any error. Then don’t forget to sign the documents that they edited before leaving. They will tell you they need 5 working days to process your file, but if you insist (a lot, by coming every day, and telling that it is a real pain for foreign travelers), the duration may decrease a little bit (some people managed to get it ready in 2 days).
They will contact you by email once the documents are ready, meanwhile enjoy the best and the worst of Phnom Penh.
Be careful with your personal belongings, someone tried to steal my backpack while I was in a tuk tuk - Mathieu
5. File stamping at Phnom Penh Customs office (The second step)
Google Maps location : https://goo.gl/maps/trFSWAVuLj42
MapsMe location : http://ge0.me/80kRrZ_EGp/Customs%2BPhnom%2BPenh
MapsMe location : ge0://80kRrZ_EGp/Customs%2BPhnom%2BPenh
Opening hours : ?
Pickup your file at the Ministry of Tourism and go to the Vattanac Tower Mall.
- If you enter by the Mall entrance, take the escalating staircase in front of you, turn left and take the elevator to the 5th floor.
- If you enter by the office entrance, take the escalating staircase and follow the corridor, turn left after the mall escalator arrival and take the lift to the 5th floor.
Once you’re at the 5th floor, take left, right and go to the last office on the left. There will be a guy with a stamp inside, hand him your file, he will stamp it.
Then go back to the lift, considering you’re going out of the lift, turn right and right, and go the office in front of you, at the end of the corridor called “secretariat”. Give them the file, best case scenario it will take 10 minutes, worst case they will to you to come back 2 hours later.
When you have the documents back, go back to the first office you went, there is a second “stamping guy” inside behind a cubical, hand him the file and he will stamp it.
When you’ve been stamped and re-stamped, go to a copy shop and make 4 copies of every sheet of your file, it will be needed by the border customs.
After that you’re good to go back to the border.
6. Going back to the border
Trapaing Kriel (Laos - Cambodia Border)
You can book a mini van to the border from any travel agency, or from your hotel.
Take the earliest they propose (before 7am is better) because otherwise you may not have time to finish the process in one day.
If you can have a direct bus to the border it’s better, otherwise take a bus to Stung Treng (15$ per person) and take any of these choices :
- taxi : 25$ to 50$, 50min drive (any time)
- tuk tuk : 30$ 2h drive (any time)
- bus : 7$ per person 1h drive (the last one is around 2pm, check the last time tables with Ponika’s Palace)
7. Getting the final document and crossing with the car (The third step)
Trapaing Kriel (Laos - Cambodia Border)
You are at the border. Explain to the officers you are going to get your car back.
Go to the Cambodian “custom office” and give your file to the officer. He will do a quick review and tell you to bring your car.
Be sure to keep your passport with you, they may want to keep it at the Cambodian side, but you will need it on the Lao side. Try to explain it to them, if they don’t want you to keep it, tell them to come with you.
Hopefully, once this issue is sorted out, you will be allowed to go pickup your car without the need for a new visa. If choose the paying watched parking and didn’t pay enough, you will need to pay the remaining (and they will catch you up even if you already crossed the border )
When you come back with your car, meet the Customs officer again. He will edit 3 new documents that will be added to your file :
- The Customs Receipt of the 55 000 Riels (approx. 14$) you will be asked to pay for the process.
- The Cargo Release Note
- The Customs Declaration
And he will keep the 4 copies of all your documents and you will be free to enter the country.