SE Asia trip – where to start?
 

Hi,

As said in my introduction, I am just starting to plan a road trip around SE Asia and here is the first of 1000 questions I'll have to answer in order to make this idea true:

After reading here and there I realized that crossing the borders may give troubles depending on where the bike is from. I think that buying a bike on the spot would be the cheapest way on the long term, but where do you think I should start my trip between the following countries if I wanted to keep the same steed during the whole trip (buying and selling in each of them would be crazy and too time consuming).

1) Thailand – it seems that Thai have some quite strict rules and are not happy to accept bikes not coming from specific countries which they have mutual agreements with (i.e.: Laos and Cambodia, I still don't understand if Malaysia is another one).

2) Malaysia – many people say that it's easier to buy a bike there (less bureaucracy problems?)

3) Laos or Cambodia – they may be a good option in order to get to Thailand with not many questions asked, but I'm not sure that Malaysia will be accessible and the range of available bikes may be tiny?

4) Vietnam – it's another country full of bikes available (and the only one with Vespa, which instill an option I'm considering), but it seems that crossing the borders from there may be troublesome.

That said, I still don't know exactly what documents I will need for the bike, which will surely be a small one (no more than 250cc, maybe an underbone) and I feel mostly concerned with the Carnet de Passage that has to be issued where I buy the bike, but at what costs of time and money?

A lot of questions already, thank you in advance for your hep land for all the inspiring rides that you share everyday, hopefully will be on the road again like you guys.

Hi

I see you have asked the question on the Rideasia site also....There is a very good Sticky on the topic of getting your bike into Thailand.

If you want to buy a bike in Thailand then have a look at this, they are on this site and this is their blog they also do and they took the bikes into Malaysia RideDOT.com - Frequently Asked Questions
Step by step guide

For some help in looking at where to visit have a look at my RR

As for Carnets you do not need one unless (I think) you are bringing your own bike into Malaysia by boat or plane. So don't waste your money. Some people use Carnets when they are Not needed. There is a lot on Carnets on this site and on the WWW

Good luck with the planning

Wayne

I just did a short trip to Thailand with my Malaysian registered bike at the weekend. No issues at the border except for it being super slow (top tip from the locals - include RM1 note in your passport.. the Thai immigration guy took his sweet time with my passport as I didn't include any incentives). However I know some guys with foreign bikes (eg Australia) found the border a bit of a hassle due to this recent change but I don't know too much about it.

If buying/selling in Malaysia, this is the main site for bikes:

Malaysia's Largest Marketplace - Mudah.my

I'd like to get a CRF250L but annoyingly they stopped importing them into Malaysia so there aren't many about 2nd hand here, however should be plenty in Thailand as I believe they are assembled there.

Yep, Malaysia would be great for starting and it seems that the bureaucracy might be quicker there. If I can make sure that I won't have trouble when crossing to the other places (my plan wasThai, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in random order, depending on where it is best to enter from in each case).

Not needing a carnet is a good new, do you think that none of the above mentioned countries will ask for it? As far as I know, Indonesia is the only one where I'll surely need it, but I don't even know if I'll have time to go there.

Hey Mike, I couldn't expect the Thai officers to be happy with an RM1 note, good to know that too, thanks!

We left our bikes in Phnom Penh and bought 2 more in Vietnam. Not as many Vespa there as we would have thought and the ones around weren't cheap. Loafs of Vespa in Bangkok. You can buy a travel ready Honda Win (Chinese parts) easily in Vietnam for $250 US, maintenance is easy but expect to do quite a bit of it. We spent around 100 each on fixes and it was always more convenient to get someone else to do it. Crossing in to Laos was easy on Vietnamese bike but impossible at DBP border due to a restriction on bikes that weren't plated for that specific area. We were denied entry to Thailand on our Wins as the ownership papers were under the original owners name and very difficult to have changed. Selling bikes in Laos was very easy and we got our 250 back. SEA in general is super easy to travel around, you'll have a blast. We met a guy who bought a $2000, new Chinese Cafe racer style bike in Malaysia and rode it around with no problems, even after the license plate had fallen off. Good luck!

From my latest research it seems that Thai, Malaysia and Laos should be easy cause of an agreement they have signed recently. People also tell me that Cambodia would be easy too if it wasn't for some bad attitudes from the officers at the borders.
I'm starting to think that there might always be a way around things except for Vietnam; here I'll definitely need an agency to mediate for me unless I decide to get another bike there.

Considering that my trip will be quite frugal, I will opt for an undergone bike, most likely to be Honda, and on this matter I will never understand why the inland South Eastern countries in Asia still don't sell the Honda XRM, which is the best of the whole lot IMHO.

The Carnet shouldn't be necessary if not going to Indonesia, int. license mandatory. Also, as StepThruPanAm mentioned, either the bike is registered in our name or we should have some other sort of paper attesting that we didn't steal it from the previous owner (especially for Thai).

I'm trying to report all the new I get from other resources, please share your experiences to confirm or contradict what I'm writing. I think this could be helpful for a lot of us.

We didn't have any problems with any officials in Cambodia but met a few others that had a few difficulties, from what we deduced it seemed if you have an expensive looking bike you might become a target for people trying to make a few extra dollars. We'd also heard of people being pulled over a lot by police (riding with your light on in the daytime is "illegal") and harassed for bribes but we didn't experience anything like this ourselves. We were able to take our Wins into Laos easily without having ownership docs in our name but not Thailand.

P.S, we were also advised that crossing from Laos to Cambodia was not possible due to a corrupt mafia-controlled border crossing where they'll deny you entry but offer you $50 for the bike you're riding. We sold our bikes in Pakse and caught a bus from 4000 Islands (Laos) back to Phnom Penh.

We did have the XRM here maybe 12 years ago, they were the first small clutch bikes released in Asia. These kind of bikes ( Suzuki Raider, Yamaha Sniper etc ) now command high prices as they are the chosen bikes for the teenage drag racers, you don't see many of them on the streets these days. They are also widely stolen, so not the ideal bike for riding in Asia.

You are now talking about a 125cc bike ? You may have some difficulties taking the bike into Laos. Small displacement bikes from Laos are prohibited from crossing into Thailand, therefore Laos customs have a 'reciprocal ban'. This isn't to say that small Thai bikes haven't been seen there, its just not officially permitted.
I will hopefully confirm in a few months that Malaysian bikes smaller than 150cc can be taken over the border, if so, this would be a good suggestion.

If you buy a bike in Thailand that you won't register yourself in your name then there is an official document ( its not just a letter ) - posted on rideasia, however, there are reports that this document does not guarantee entry. Just to point out this isn't a letter saying it wasn't stolen, its a letter from the current owner giving permission for the bike to leave the country. You will not be the official owner until you register it with the Dept. Land Transport.

In my opinion the best bike for your purpose is a CRF 250.

Under $2500 US .. easy to move across borders, little depreciation and probably easy to sell after. You can load them onto trains, send them through the postal service and transport them across rivers on bamboo rafts. However, they don't make them in MY. They need to be bought in TH.

If you want something similar from Malaysia, it will be the KLX-250 but they command higher prices than the CRF and if something goes really wrong, although many Kawa dealerships in TH and MY, there is only one in Vientiane, Laos.

If you are talking about a trip to Indo, you can get a carnet from the Malaysian AA - you can get one for a Thai bike from them, apparently, but again you will need the bike in your name.

As others have pointed out in other forums, Thailand is your best chance to find the cheapest bike, but if you want to have an easy life, then just take the time to register it yourself, its not easy or quick, but worthwhile in the long run. You wouldn't expect to overland from Europe on a bike that wasn't reg'd to the rider, its no different here.

If you talk about it being a bit of a frugal trip, then perhaps better to understand your limitations and plan accordingly.