Hey,
I am in Pakistan on my own german registered bike right now and I will probably not make it Thailand before the (probable) future requirement to hire a guide.

Right now I have three options and to evaluate these I have some questions you might be able to answer.

1. Rush to Thailand to be there before the law changes. Ride my own bike trough Cambodia, then Laos and finally Thailand again to ship it home from Malaysia.

2. Chill a little longer in Nepal, hope the law will not change and in the worst case even cross Thailand with a guide on my bike. Then I would mainly spend my time in Cambodia and Laos to keep the cost low. I would have to cross Thailand again to ship from Malaysia.

3.Chill like in No 2, but ship my bike home from India, take a plane, bus or some transportation to Thailand, Laos or Cambodia to buy a local bike (should be a dirtbike at least 125cc) and travel all three countries on this local bike.

So I have a few questions regarding this:

1.How "easy" is it to cross borders from Thailand to Laos and from Laos to Cambodia with my own bike. Is any special permit needed? Or could I just show up at these borders.

2. If I buy a bike like proposed in Option 3. In which country should I buy the local >=125 cc dirt bike in order to be able to travel all the three states (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) with that bike. Is that even possible? And if its possible would I need permits?

I am really looking forward to your replies. The time is closing in on me as I would have to get a lot of paperwork done if I want to take option one. I hope to get an answer that would allow me to chill in Nepal for a while without being forced to cancel my Thailand Laos Cambodia Plans.

//by the way:I am aware that I would need a guided tour trough myanmar in Options one and two.

Edit: What about buying a local dirt bike in Malaysia. Could I take that one around Laos Thailand and Cambodia?

Well - SE-Asia is a bit complicated and it seems to constantly change.

Its possible to buy a bike in your own name in Thailand - although it might take some time and patience. Just as you know. It could be more conveniant to hire one....

Then to your questions....

1. If the bike is in your own name or if you have a verified document from the owner a crossing from Thailand to Laos shouldnt be a problem. There are however a couple of things that must be known. Xayabouli province in Laos seems to have stopped any border crossings for motorbikes and bicycles - so you cannot get into Laos using that province - but there are many other places to cross over so that shouldnt be an issue.
Thailand have banned small Lao registred motorbikes to enter Thailand - thus Laos has done the same with thai plated bikes. Not 100 % official but and you might get through but I wouldnt count on it. A 250 ccm is considered a big bike in that part of the world so you might have to go for a 250 at least.

The only border crossing between Laos and Cambodia seems to have been closed for foreign (included thai) plated vehicles in the direction from Laos to Thailand. Permits is needed its reported. In the opposite direction from Cambodia to Laos there seem to be no problem.

From Thailand to Cambodia it seems that there are two bordercrossings that will let one through without any hazzle - namely the O'Smach bc in Thailands Surin province and the Hat Lek bc in Thailands Trat province. The other provinces seems to from reports tondemand permits. However - this is not something thats 100 % - so be aare of that.

2. Yes its possible to buy a bike as a foreigner in Thailand. But it can take some time and certainly some patience. And if you buy a 125 cc bike you will probably have big problems getting it into Laos. Permits are not needed going from Thailand to Laos on a thai plated bike. Going from Thailand to Cambodia permits seems to be needed at most bordercrossings except the 2 I mentioned above.
To sum up - if you plan your trip well and have a bit of luck you will not need any permits to travel Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. For example Start in Thailand and ride into Cambodia first and use one of the two bordercrossings mentioned above. Ride a bit in Cambo then cross over from Cambo to Laos. Then travel Laos as much as you like and then cross over to Thailand again.

Maybe our thai living member Recom273 can add more?

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

Thanks man. That is really useful information. It is nice that at least Laos and Cambodia make such a mess about foreign vehicles entering their country.After This means I could pursue all my options mentioned above, if the Thai permit works somehow.

About the "big bike" thing: I would actually prefer to ride 250cc or more. At the moment I travel in my 750cc Africa Twin. I just thought getting these bikes would be difficult in SE Asia.

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The Honda Crf 250 L/M are actually made in Thailand so there are heaps of them there. You can buy one used for 80-100 000 baht (+- 2500 €) They are made from year 2012 and upwards. Kawasaki Klx 150 and 250 are also available but the Honda is a far better choice in my opinion.

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

Being stationed here and riding a Thai bike I'm not to down with all the recent changes. I would suggest, if you are planning anything like this for the future, you need to spend a bit of time to get a Thai bike and registering it in your name, it will be cheaper in the long run. People will suggest registering a Malay bike maybe easier, but there have been recent changes to customs laws that pretty much restrict you for 30 days. It is now a real temporary import to transit through or enjoy the country for 30 days before returning to Malaysia, I would hazard a guess and say, most Malay riders just come for a long weekend or a couple of week holiday tour, so no ones going to complain - it locksdown a loophole quite easily.

Apart from that dirt bikes in Malaysia are more expensive than Thai ones, Snakeboy is spot on with the price and advice .. you need a bike bigger than 150cc to enter Laos, as a general rule.

One positive (?) aspect of all these changes if you do find a CRF250 (easy enough on Kaidee or bahtsold.com ), and if this permit scheme thing takes off - then maybe there will be a situation like in VN, where there will be interested buyers for your bike when you have finished with it.
I saw some of the charges from one company, for one person / 7 day guided ride around Thailand, which isn't long enough - is around 55,000 THB - I think that was all permits, maybe accommodation, but it doesn't take a genius to work out the benefits of buying a bike. A two day transit, with permits was 23,000 THB ( i think, its getting late ) Not saying thats extortionate, I think for a 2000+ km round trip, its quite reasonable.

If you want to know how to register a bike in your own name, I can post details how, I think i have before, the procedure hasnt changed. Let me know how you wish to proceed.

Thanks guys.

I am pretty sure that I won't bring my own bike. So now I am considering either buying a crf in Thailand or just skipping whole Thai Laos and Cambodia by just flying my bike to Malaysia and continue to Indonesia from there. It would be nice if you could tell me how to get a bike registered. Heard its quite a mess and takes super long? Don't really want to waste to much time.

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