Back after 15 years
 

In 2002 I started on my first RTW on a motorcycle which lasted 3 years.
I've never been the same again.
Now, 15 years later (living in various countries doing various jobs) I am back.
Not on a motorcycle this time :oops2: but in a truck-camper-motor-home-thingy, how ever they call it.

As a (travel)friend once said: "More wheels lead to more comfort, more comfort leads to The Dark side...". He is right of course, but "The Dark side" is quit comfy and simply put, I can not convince my wife that she'll be having fun, sitting behind me on a bike. To tell you the truth, I would not want to sit behind me on a bike for thousands and thousands of miles.

So, we got ourselves this:...
http://beyond-anywhere.com/images/img0178.png

... and I spend last year rebuilding and improving it.
And even though I will miss the ease and breeze of a motorcycle, I must admit it is mighty comfy.

Our first part of the journey will be from Thailand (where we reside) to Europe, starting the end of this year. When we get there... we will see what to do next.

Tell you what... It is good to be (almost) back.

Tip & Maarten

What part of Thailand are you?
Also will the lovely camper van is it Thail plated.
Just wondering if it is Thail plated how are you going to get around the problem of Thail Custom will only grant a 30 days Leave for the van?

We are in the North-East, a bit below (south of) Nakhon Phanom. Not permanent as we'll head off in less than a year.

The van has Thai plates, so no problems with customs nor entry-restrictions. We can basically go anywhere except Vietnam which does not alow Lefthand Drive Vehicles :(

Only possible issue is the weight and vehicle clasification in the western world (They don't have the 3.5 T restriction for a car/van in Thailand... but we'll see what happens.

Kown the area very well travel to Mukdahan from my hometown of Chiang Rai too do visa runs.
On checking with Chiang Khong customs people at the border, any Thail plated machines can only leave Thailand for a Max of 30 days after that it's like a visa "Overstay" the said machine then has to pay a fine of 500 THB a day to a Maximum of 10.000 THB on its return to Thailand.
One more way the Thail Government gets money out of Farlangs.
Can't see any Thailand people wanting to leave Thailand longer than 30 days LOL.
As you are so close to 2 main border crossing with Laos, check it out.

Generally speaking in the ''western world'', as long as the vehicle conforms to the roadworthiness regulations of the country of registration it's fine. -but it must have a current (in date) roadworthiness certificate ( like an MOT), be insured in the country of registration for the countries it is travelling through and registered to the owner/driver, and have paid any annual taxes ( road fund licence). If you are concerned about your driving licence accreditations, it does depend on where your licence is issued. If you have a Thai licence you will definitely need an IDP ( International driving permit) issued in Thailand which shows the unrestricted weight permit. If you have a European licence with only cat B or B and C1, then you might have a problem, ( you need to check your licence on line with the country of issue because you could be O.K. up to 7.5tons depending on your categories and date of licence) . Don't forget that in Europe now if any part of the legal requirements for driving the vehicle is not correct, ( licence; roadworthiness cert;insurance;taxation) then your insurance automatically become invalid and could be serious in the event of an incident. Police also now impound vehicles immediately if you haven't got the right licence categories. Foreign registered vehicles from outside Europe always attract attention.

I talked to customs and you can get a 6 months temp. export permit on request, but, since the maximum fine is 10.000 baht (some 300 U$), we'll just write that up to expenses :(.

More important is the yearly tax-inspection... After 3 years not checking the registration expires doh .... So we have to get back at least once every 3 years.

I guess nothing is perfect.:palm:

Cool. Welcome back and safe travels. bier