Motorcycle adventures

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SIngaporeToBoten

April 30, 2019 Day 1 SIngapore to Hat Yai (940km)

First day of the trip and I wanted to get through Malaysia into Thailand. I left home at 6 in the morning and got to the Tuas border station. Because of having acquired the Carnet de Passage I had to go through a special procedure at the border and it was obvious that customs rarely go through this procedure and it turned out they did not have the correct stamp, so the lady had to phone to get the stamp brought to the office… Still, the whole process did not take more than half an hour so can’t complain too much.

Leaving early in the morning on the 30th of April.

Leaving early in the morning on the 30th of April.

The Carnet duly filled in. About to leave Singapore.

The north-south highway in Malaysia is great for a quick transfer through the country and I made good time to Kuala Lumpur. Going on the road west of the capital it started raining and the traffic got really bad and I had to stop for a while in the thought I could wait the rain out. However, the rain did not let off so I had to don my rain gear and set off at a slow pace.

Gloomy and rainy around KL.

Gloomy and rainy around KL.

It was then raining on and off all through the Malaysia. Pretty miserable! Nevertheless, I persevered and got to the border with Thailand around 4pm. Since I was there last, the border crossing is completely redesigned and newly constructed. Getting out of Malaysia was no problem but the procedure to get into Thailand took a bit of time so the whole process took an hour and then I was on my way to Hat Yai where I found my hotel after the GPS got me lost a few times.

Once settled in I went to the Post Laser Disc Pub where I had dinner and some fluid replenishment. While sitting there this geezer had problems starting his moped and he spent a lot of time trying to make it go. He cleaned the spark plug and it would start but then stop and repeating the process several times. He did not let this affect his mood but had a good laugh while working. I started talking to another angmo (non-asian), turned out he was a British guy who had been in the town for 30 years teaching business English at the Songhkla university. He loved the town and the freedom of Thailand in general and had no plans to move back to the UK. Interesting!

May 1, 2019 Day 2 Hat Yai to Prachuap Khiri Khan (700km)

I felt so knackered after the first day that I thought I might stay another day in Hat Yai but when I woke up I felt reasonably OK so I set off towards Khiri Khan. It’s the 1st of May holiday so the traffic should be pretty good and in general it wasn’t so bad. I was surprised to see a lot of trucks towards the afternoon on a holiday, however, the traffic flowed well the whole day and I made good time and reached Khiri Khan around 4 in the afternoon. It was hot at 35C most of the day but I managed to keep going.

The main and state oil company in Thailand is PTT and their petrol stations are well equipped with stalls serving Thai food and 7-11 stores as well as Amazon coffee shops serving nice lattes. They are also air conditioned giving a respite from the blazing hot weather.

Amazon coffee shop serving nice coffee. There is one of these at every PTT petrol station.

Amazon coffee shop serving nice coffee. There is one of these at every PTT petrol station.

Khiri Khan is a small town on the western side of the Gulf of Thailand set beautifully close to the water.

Khiri Khan beach in evening sunlight.

Khiri Khan beach in evening sunlight.

Khiri Khan with dramatic clouds.

Khiri Khan with dramatic cloud

The nearest restaurant was German(!) so I went there and had a pork schnitzel. I talked to the German owner who moved here a few years ago after retiring. He loved it here and has a good crowd in the high season which is when northern Europeans come here to escape the cold and darkness of their home countries in winter. The low season has started and there weren’t many guests in the restaurant. However, outside there were a number of Europeans having beers and discussing football!

Local Europeans discussing football.

Local Europeans discussing football.

Khiri Khan days 3-4

Relaxing for a couple of days before going on towards Laos. The last couple of days have been sizzling with temperatures as high as 38C and high humidity. Unbearable to be outside in the mid-day sun.

Discussions at the dinner table. Probably football.

Discussions at the dinner table. Probably football.

Locals having a morning coffee.

Locals having a morning coffee.

Market area.

Market area.

The morning catch laid to dry in the hot sun.

The morning catch laid to dry in the hot sun.

Feels like 49!

Feels like 49!

Feels like 49!

May 4, 2019 Khiri Khan to Nakhon Sawan (500km)

I got up very early at 5 to set off at first light because I knew it was going to be very hot. Nakhon Sawan is 200 km north of Bangkok and rather than go through Bangkok I turned north to the west of the city. I had no real problems apart from handling the hot weather getting up to 41C as I was nearing my destination. When you’re up to speed the heat is still bad but bearable while when stopping at a traffic light you really feel like melting. Luckily there were not so many stoplights so I managed to survive.

Nakhon Sawan to Lampang (370km)

Repeat of yesterday, pretty much. Still very hot! Did a shorter distance and arrived at the guesthouse in Lampang at 11. It’s located beautifully on the edge of the river Wang with a balcony area overlooking the flowing water. Very serene.

Riverside guesthouse by river Wang

Riverside guesthouse by river Wang.

It’s run by a European woman who said she’s been here for 38 years. Her Thai husband has a garage with several bikes, the latest acquisition being a 2014 BMW GS.

After meeting Andy, who is also joining the group through China, we went for a walk and take in the night market. A whole km of various stands selling everything from food to clothes.

Busy night market.

Busy night market.

Bridge over river Wang.

Bridge over river Wang.

May 6, 2019 Lampang to Chiang Kong (319km)

Today I’m riding with Andy.  Rather than riding the main road we took minor, but good, roads and stopped after 60km to look at a Buddhist temple high on a hill. This involved going up a few hundred meters from the main road and taking a car ride up a very steep road and a further one km walk up a steep path to the temple. We met with two Russian bikers that I’d met the day before in Lampang who had also stopped to view the temple.

Very hazy conditions.

Very hazy conditions.

At the top of the Wat. Exhausted after the steep climb in 38C heat.

At the top of the Wat. Exhausted after the steep climb in 38C heat.

Preparing to fly the drone.

Preparing to fly the drone.

Built on top of the hill with towers scattered on the hill.

Built on top of a height with towers scattered on the hill.

May 7, 2019 Chiang Kong to Louang Namtha in Laos (310 km) Total distance so far: 3051 km

Northern Laos was the destination today so we had to go through exit procedures in Thailand and entry procedures in Laos. It took a couple of hours and with a lot of papers with various stamps. Laos has introduced a new rule for bikers meaning payment of around USD 50 to the tourist police. I had a letter from the Laos ambassador in Singapore saying I was allowed to ride the bike in Laos but this, I was told, had no value so I still had to pay up. Never mind, I’m sure as we get into border crossings in the Stans there will also be unexpected charges so I’d better get used to it…

Laos is very hilly so the road was twisty with a lot of ups and downs and was reasonably good for 150 km, but after that it got a lot worse with stretches of gravel, huge potholes and washboard surface. The road is trafficked by big trucks going from China to Thailand and back and the road was not built for this kind of traffic. Maybe the China belt and road program will spend the money to improve the road?

I decided to split up and go straight to the guesthouse where we’re meeting the China ride organizers for the ride into China on Friday. I felt, I needed a few days off the bike and get some rest before China. I have done 3000 km in 8 days so I don’t feel so bad about it.

When I came to open my bag I found the lid of the skin moisturizer had partly come undone and there was cream everywhere and on everything – what a mess! It took me an hour to clean it up while swearing under my breath, damn, can’t I remember to close it tightly!

After this ordeal I found a bar and sat down with a beer to calm myself. Then three young Irishmen (do women count as Irishmen?) came in and we started a conversation covering many topics including what beer people in Ireland drink and the demise of local beers with big international companies buying up the smaller local breweries. There are quite a lot of young back-packers at the guest house, they come here for trecking in the national park and also river rafting.

Louang Namtha

Spent a couple of relaxing days in this town and met up with the group going through China. It’s an interesting bunch of characters with people from the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand and possibly others with varying professions like helicopter mechanic, plumber, solicitor and management consultant.  

 

I put together a video for this part of my trip…

 

Preparations

I started looking into this last year and found you are not allowed to ride through China on your own but must join a government approved travel agency organized ride. I found an agency called ridechina (https://www.ridechina.com) who seemed to have organized many tours in China over the years. I contacted them with my plans and they came back with a tour that would fit them. They will meet me at the border between Laos and China and get the formalities on entering China sorted out – which includes getting me a Chinese driving licence and Chinese plates on the bike!

After discussions on the home front I was given the go ahead :-), so now I need to get the bike ready and figure out what I need to bring. I found a place in Osh, Kirghistan that has the tires I need so I won’t need to bring tires with me. I’ll bring some spare parts though, such as bearings, levers and possibly fork seals.

I serviced the forks – new seals and fork oil. Although I asked a mechanic if my chain would do another 20k km, and he said no problem, I was not so sure since the chain was adjusted so far back that there was not much room for further adjustment.  I went to the same workshop and another mechanic immediately said the chain was bad and needed changing!

The route up until the exit of China into Kirghistan is set, but from there to Europe there are several options – well actually 3. 1) Go through Russia either all the way to Europe or west of the Caspian through Georgia into Turkey and further towards Europe, or 2) Go through Turkmenistan to Iran and south of the Caspian into Turkey, or 3) Cross the Caspian on a boat from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. The big problem with option 1) is getting a visa to go through Russia, I might get it in time for the trip but possibly not. Option 2 is problematic. Getting visas to enter both Turkmenistan and Iran is not straight forward and seems to require “fixers” inside the countries. Iran also requires a Carnet de passage (CDP) and I’m in the process of applying for one through the Automobile Association of Singapore and I will get that before leaving.  However, I’ve seen reports that you are not allowed to bring in motorcycles larger than 250cc to Iran, which if true,  makes this option not useful. Option 3) is a possibility but the boats are not  ferries, but rather cargo ships, and do not go on a regular schedule which makes this option somewhat uncertain.  However, it might be the only option if the Russian visa does not materialize.

Visa situation

The following are the potential coutries I will be passing through:

  • Laos: Need visa and temporary import permit for the motorcycle.  Got that at Singapore Laos embassy last week.
  • Kirghistan: Visa Waiver
  • Uzbekistan: Visa exemption
  • Tajikistan: Electronic visa acquired – no problem.
  • Turkmenistan: Need visa and not straight forward to obtain. However, people in the group have been in contact with an agency inside the country and it appears we can get a visa at the border with an invitation from the agency.
  • Azerbaijan: Electronic visa acquired.  Will need this if we have to take the ferry across the Caspian.
  • Iran: When you fly into the country you can get a visa when you land but not sure what the situation is when crossing a land border. I also need the CDP.
  • Kazakhstan: No visa required.
  • Russia: Require an “Auto-visa” to be able to drive your own vehicle through russia. The russian embassy/consulate has said it will take 2-4 weeks to obtain the visa so I might need to give this up – not enough time.
  • Georgia: Visa free
  • Turkey: Visa free 

The above are for me with a Swedish passport but European union countries in general have the same visa requirements.

So three weeks before departure the route after China is not clear…

 

Getting close!

Today is 25th April and it’s only 5 days until I set off!  I picked up my passport with the approved Russia Visa today – Yay!  This gives me  more options regarding the route after leaving China, I can go through Russia on the western side of the Caspian sea to Georgia and then Turkey, or, if I feel really fed up after China, I can go straight to Latvia and get a ferry to Sweden…  I also received the Carnet today but I think it will be of little use since Iran has banned any motorcycles larger than 250cc to enter the country and this was the only country along the route that requires the Carnet.

After picking up the pp I walked around the Marina bay area and snapped some photos, it’s really amazing what Singapore has accomplished in the last 20 years.  Most of the buildings in the pictures were built after I arrived to Singapore 20 years ago.

The Thinker by Rodin

The Thinker by Rodin

Marina Bay Sands – the 3 blocks in the back.

The Singapore flyer in the background

The Singapore flyer in the background

MBS

The Fullerton Hotel.

Singapore War Memorial

Singapore War Memorial