Hey there,

I'm currently planning my 2017 trip around south asia. I need information on traveling on bike from Laos into Yunnan province, china.

I will be buying a bike in Thailand and hopefully will try to get a Vietnam licence plate. (if not i will exchange it when i visit Vietnam) I will also be getting insurance.

I've heard you can't bring a vehicle into china if you are a foreigner, i'm merely passing through Yunnan to get to Bhutan, i absolutely have to see those rice terraces!

What are the steps required to be able to get into china with my bike, and exit? What is the required paperwork?

Also, any information on getting a motorbike license in Thailand would be helpful.

Good karma to those who help me!

- RootlessBoots

Adding that i will be crossing the Boten border crossing.

You can bring a foreign bike into China as a foreigner but you will need an approved chinese guide by your side all the way. And an approved chinese guide are not cheap as he or she probably need to pay tea money to persons along the way to get to be an approved guide. You will also need an approved itinerary and approved accomodation for absolutely 100 % of your travel. Your guide will arrange this for you. But it will not be cheap - to talk in mild manners.

By the way - I do think Bhutan have quite similar rules and regulations about travelling by a vehicle in their country. You will need an approved guide by your side, approved itinerary, approved accomodation. At least it was like that 4-5 years ago, they might have loosened a bit on their rules since then.

And how are you going to get into Bhutan from China? I am quite sure that Bhutan and China doesnt have any common bordercrossings. Bhutan have only 3 international bordercrossings and those are all to India. Look here for information about travelling to and in Bhutan: http://wikitravel.org/en/Bhutan

And why would you buy a bike in Thailand and try to get vietnam plates on it? I have never heard of anyone doing that and I am afraid that can be a very lenghty process - thats if its possible at ll - something I doubt - that will involve a good bit of time, frustration, and tea money, import duties and additional fees. I cant for my bare black ass understand why you even are thinking about doing it?

By the way - I am not sure vietnam ot thai plated bikes are allowed into China at all - but I could be wrong.

A thai licence is possible to obtain. You will need an adress in Thailand, most likely a permanent adress. Your thai landlord can help you with that. Then copies of passport, visas, health check and vision check papers + additional paperworks that I dont recall for the moment. Then meet at the traffic office for test. Pay some more fees and voila - you might have a thai drivers license.

There are much nicer rice terraces in both Indonesia and The Philippines by the way....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I've heard from many people that a Vietnam licence plate is more acceptable in both Laos and China, that's why i was aiming for that, to make crossing borders less of a hassle.

Getting to Bhutan by going through Burma and India. I will further look into those regulations as i get to it, because from what i have found traveling from Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos crossing borders is a breeze. Not so with China, Then i will assess Burma, India, and Bhutan, This is over a year in advance for this trip.

And to question your Chinese tour guide paragraph, would you know if it be a better idea to get my vehicle shipped to near the Burma/Chinese border and just take public transportation through Yunnan and pick up my bike in Burma? If that's possible at all, and if there is transportation from where i can ship my motorbike, to the Laos/China border, to Kunming, to Yuanyang, and back through to Burma, with stops at jade snow mountain for some photography and culture.

So now you have changed and dont want to go into China? Great - then you dont need to go into Laos either. If youre plan is to going into Bhutan via Burma and India from Thailand you dont even have to bother about any vietnam rego on your thai purchased bike. The only thing you have to worry about is that you will need a guide and intinerary in Burma in addition to Bhutan. In addition you will need a Carnet to your thai plated bike to get it into India - which is totally impossible!

Sorry mister - your "plans" are so totally unrealistic I cant take you seriously at all.

Did you really think you could take a bike from China into Bhutan? Theres not even a bordercrossing between those countries.....

By the way - theres no problem taking a thai plated bike into Laos, absolutely no problems.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

You are confused..

Thailand > vietnam > Thailand > Laos > China > Burma > India> Bhutan

Are you trying to demonstrate the notion, by your demeaning attitude, that there is no possible way that I can ride a honda wave through the countries in that order, that there is no process i could go through to make that a reality? You say this is unrealistic, and i call it laziness. There is a way, and i intend to figure it out.

Yeas I am. There is no way you can ride a bike in your mentioned land order. Please have a look at the map before you demonstrate your total lack of elementary geography knowledge. First of all - Thailand > Vietnam > Thailand you mention. Take a look at the map. Thailand and Vietnam doesnt share any border. You will need to cross Laos or Cambodia....and I would like to se you get a thai plated bike into Vietnam.
Secondly you write: Laos > China > Burma - there is no working international border between Burma nd China. Maybe in your head - but not in reality.
And where are you going to get a hold of a Carnet to your bike to get into India as there are no motor organisations in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam that hands out such documents.
Your plans are not realistic at all. Do yourself a favour and return to earth again and try to plan something possible.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Sorry, typo, going through laos to get to vietnam and back through. I am reading online people who are driving into vietnam with thai license plate and had no problems.

as well have i heard of people crossing from china into burma, at muse. I am also seeing a clear pathway on a map. Where exactly are you getting your firm 100% facts from? I can't seem to find a reason why you turned so hostile, i'm simply here asking questions trying to find answers, no need to be so defensive.



Crossing Myanmar by motorcycle - now possible

Looks like your knowledge is a bit outdated, mister?..

You have heard of people crossing into Burma from China you say. Well - who where those people who crossed into there and when? By which kind of vehicle and vehicles plated where? Please answer this.

I am not hostile - I try to talk some sense into you, but seems thats a useless and or impossible effort.....

Crossing Myanmar it totally possible and I have already mentioned what it takes to do so earlier in this thread. Namely a guide, itinerary, accomodation, permits etc. I cant understand why youre trying to initiate that I have said thats impossible. But crossing Myanmar from the Thailand side and then entering India means your vehicle needs a Carnet. And thats impossible to get for a thai, Laos, Vietnam registrated bike. Can you tell me a bike fromThai, Laos or Vietnam that have got a Carnet?

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Yes, mate - I can help you with that.

Just a couple of things -

Where are you from ? Do you not have a bike license from your home country ? Why do you want a Thai license ?

I only ask, because - if you do already have a home country licence then no need to do a Thai test, its a matter of transferring your IDP to a Thai license. However, without a non-immigrant visa ( i.e. your a student here, you work here, your married, you have business here ) you will be forever limited to a 2 year temporary licence, which isn't considered an international license. However, a Thai license isn't a bad thing to own - it has your passport and Thai address on it, you can use it as ID, show police or at a hotel, etc - easier/safer/convenient than carrying your passport.

There is some discussion - but even without an IDP, most countries DL's are accepted by the police for anything between 3-6 month, if you are in Thailand for anything longer than 3 months its advisable to get a Thai license, but other than that there is no need.

If you need one it will help to be on a long term visa when you arrive from you home country 60 day SE or 12 ( or 6 ? ) month ME - you need a certificate of residence from immigration .. there are different procedures in different areas, some immigration offices make you jump through hoops, some won't issue them, some charge, some tell you to go to your embassy in BKK, some will issue them without any trouble - but you will need some kind of residence - not so tricky, for 3,000B / 60 GBP / 85 USD a month you could rent a small apartment and use as a base.

Same as DLT - Dept. Land Transport ( where you apply for licenses ) some driving test centres have waiting lists of 2-3 months for a test appointment, some centres require you to do a computer theory test despite having a IDP, some test centres refuse to 'understand' the coding on certain nationalities licences and enter you into a full day of testing ( which again isn't hard )

You will require, copies of your passport, existing licences, a witchdokta medical check for $2.50 ( "..So, how do you feel today ? OK ? .. here is your certificate, thats 100B please, normally 50B, but today is a lucky day." )

If you want to buy a bike here, its no biggie - you just need a certificate of residence ( you can apply for 2 or however many you need, at the same time ) but owning a couple of Thai bikes myself, I have a feeling you will be restricted to where you can travel with a Thai bike - as mentioned - there is no carnet - ( I think I'm correct in saying you will need a Carnet for India ) .. However, there are ways around this, i think you just register you bike with the Malay AA and pay them the retainer or whatever the terminology is.

What bike were you thinking about ?
You will need a bike over 150cc to enter Laos ( but i have known people to have ridden small displacement european bikes into Laos ) and VN used to prohibit 'big bikes'. There maybe times, when riding a bike from outside Asia will get you a little more leeway and it may be a disadvantage riding an asian bike.

You talk of changing plates, as far as I know this is not possible - Its one of the reasons VN "keeps foreign bikes out" - as it has trade agreements, and high import tax, etc .. Its the same all over SE Asia, Thailand also has high import tax on motor vehicles, and to get your vehicle approved, official documents and plates would require an agent, take a lot of time at great expense ( like way more than it would be to buy another bike, if not 2 or 3 bikes in that country ).

My advice would to plan very thoroughly before you leave. Thailand has never been a great place just to rock up to and arrange stuff, its overtly bureaucratic country where you could easily hit a brick wall. I don't think a day doesnt pass where someone tells me "no can't do that" - it even happened yesterday filling my petrol tank up - "no sorry, thats full, no more" - "but i can get another 2 litres in there" "no cannot"

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Anyway, with regard to the license - Im happy to advise or point you in the right direction of some regional advice, the other points, I would leave for others. If there is some info you don't feel like posting, feel free to PM me.

i think its unfair to take this post as evidence to show that its all possible.

Yes, it looks possible, but is it enjoyable ? This is all arranged by a specialist tour company, with 4WD support, probably military minders and government officials.

I much prefer the story of the guys who bought 110cc scooters in Yangoon, rode them down the coast, stayed in peoples houses and then gave the scooters away at the other end. They had to battle and bribe military all the way down.

Goran is a well known person, He admins a facebook group ( I don't know him myself ) - Why not contact him and ask him directly how much his trips cost him ? I think you will be shocked at the reply.

hello rootless. when are you planning to cross china?
we are already two bike and we plan to cross china from Laos in April or may 2017. if you join us we can save the costs.
^_^
please let me know

This forum is to help people wanting to travel, not attack and belittle. If you can't be nice, move on to the next thread and say nothing. Especially when the thread is from a new forum member.

Rootless, I am researching a trip to China next year. There is much advice about what is required there. Much of it is outdated or incorrectly passed on from people who thought they knew requirements. If you want to go through China, here is a link with recent info that seems good.
Overlanding China: what you need to know BEFORE you go | Laura’s Travel Tales

Also look at another of her pages below:
Overlanding China: what you need to know when IN China | Laura’s Travel Tales

She says they didn't need an official guide. Only a national Chinese person as an escort, and only in Xinjiang and Tibet provinces.

Welcome to the HUBB and good luck with your planning.

Those Laura posts are from nearly 2 years ago. Things change by the day/week in China and it all depends on who and when you speak to and which part of China.

Yes things change fast and are subject to individual interpretation. That probably won't change in our lifetime. I have been looking for what is necessary to ride legally for a 3 month trip. I want to travel alone. There is no single thread dedicated to the subject that I can find. I would like to see one that has regular updates from riders as they go through the process. And yes, they will be different depending on where they enter, where they come from, and how much the official had to drink the night before.

My link to Laura's info was to help the OP get started. It's not the bible. But it has a lot of great info.