hey there!

we ( me and my gf, if my girlfriend´s dad doesn´t shoot her before) are planning a trip to south east asia. gonna buy us 2 motorbikes in malaysia and then start driving.

current plan:

-malaysia (buy the bike)
-thailand
-cambodia
-laos
-thailand
-malaysia
-indonesia
-malaysia (sell the bike)

now according to different sources we do only need a carnet de passage for indonesia.
first of all, is this correct?

and second, is there a chance to just pay the import tax for indonesia and skip the whole carnet thing?

thanks for any help :_) Max

Hi Max.

We also bought bikes in Malaysia and did mostly the same route. We can confirm that you do not need a carnet for the following countries:
-malaysia (if you buy the bike there obviously, so we do not have one)
-thailand
-cambodia
-laos
Indonesia we don't know.

Here is a summary of how we bought and registered the bikes. Maybe it will help you:
Buying A Motorcycle In South East Asia - Unleash Your Adventure

My brother shipped his Swiss Africa Twin from Russia and he does not have a carnet. He has ridden Thailand, Cambodia and Laos without a carnet since October. He does need a carnet for Malaysia as his bike is Swiss and Malaysia on the carnet system.

Cheers Sherrie & Patrick

__________________
Riding home the crazy way: Germany to Newfoundland
www.unleashyouradventure.com

Common knowledge on this forum suggests, that you do need a carnet for Indonesia. I have personal experience, too, as I went from Penang to Belawan 4 years ago with a European-regoed bike, and the shipping company wanted to see, that I have the carnet, before they even accepted my bike as freight. Was also the first thing the customs guys asked for (Belawan was very easy with the carnet, though!)

There was a guy, who got his Thai-registered Africa Twin to Indo, also from Belawan, without a carnet, but this was probably 6-7 years ago.... and he did have to bang his head to the wall with the customs for at least one day! He made a fabulous ride report to gt-rider dot com forums – maybe you can still find it there.

But: If it is a vehicle bought & registered in Malaysia, then in this case it should be travelling within ASEAN countries..... like in some southern African countries, you have a customs union, so border crossings with vehicles from any one of those countries are easy. This could be something, that´s worth checking out. Malaysia/Indo don´t share that much land border (or they do in Borneo, but I have no idea, how common it is to cross their border by road).... so it is much harder to go and try your luck at the borders, when you have to ship the vehicle in – really a pain, if it is refused, and you´re looking at shipping it onwards then. Anyway, I´d ask from AA Malaysia about this (quick googling tells me, that they at least have a website: www.aam.org.my/). Maybe they already know the answer to this.

(A word of warning about Indonesia: I met other bikers there, who had had big worries importing their bikes temporarily, and they HAD the carnet! Penang-Belawan is a commonly used route these days, and so is the land border from East Timor, but all other entry points may prove to be tough, some areas have problems with smuggling of goods, or customs may not be aware of the procedures with foreign vehicles, it may depend fully on who´s in charge at that time, or does the sun shine, etc...!)

Please also let us know, how it goes!

hey sherrie and patrick, thanks for the heads up, amazing website you have there! seems strangely familliar: i´m an german engineer who has been on a world trip before, and my girlfriend is new to travelling, yet infected by my desire to see the world

regarding the enty to thailand, what kind of visa did you get? visa on arrival, or did you apply for a visa back home? and did you have to pay any fees, or deposits, when entering without a carnet?

------------

hey pecha, also thanks for your information. regarding the carnet:
did you get the carnet in europe? because we are going to buy the bikes in malaysia, so we won´t be able to get the carnet while we are still in germany.

therefore, is there any chance we can get a carnet in malaysia? otherwise we´re pretty munch ****ed i guess
i have sent an email to the aam, no response yet.

I´d first find out, whether you will need the carnet or not. You´ll primarily get it from the AA of your country of residence, but there may be a few exceptions (like I live in Finland, but the German ADAC would have issued me a carnet for Egypt, I don´t know why, but I assume that the AA here would not).

well i looked it up, seems like i really need the carnet. and talkd to the german car club, they won´t issue me an carnet for a motorbike bought in malaysia. damn!

so i guess my only chance is to get one from the malayan car club.
or sell the bike in malayisa, fly to jakarta, and rent a bike there for 2 months.

If you buy a motorbike in Malaysia it is pretty easy to get a CARNET from the
Malaysian Authority, the MAA, Malaysia Automobile Association.

You may call the MAA general line: Tel. 0060.355111932
and ask for Ms Hannie (or Anny, or Annie), a very gentle and helpful woman.
She will tell you what you need to produce and will prepare all the documents for you. And off you can go after 2 days.

With this CARNET you should be able to enter Indonesia from Malaysia at any border. (Make sure in advance if 'any border' is accessible for shipping bikes though).

And here comes the BIG SURPRISE, or at list it was a big surprise for us. ...and it is the following:

INDONESIA is the only South East Asia country that REQUIRES a CARNET DE PASSAGE if you want to put your wheels on their land.
Too bad but true!

So, the story goes....if you have a motorbike registered in any Country of the World, you enter Malaysia with it, and you do not have a CARNET ...and want to proceed on to Indonesia. YOU CAN GET A CARNET from the Authority mentioned above, the MAA in Kuala Lumpur.

YES!!!! This is what Ms Hannie told us on the phone.
Mind you, in order to get a CARNET you have to leave behind (on the MAA bank account) a deposit equal to the market value of your motorbike.

We discovered this while facing with the following problem:

We are riding a VERSYS bearing a Thai registr. plate.
Unfortunately the Thai Government or any other Automobile Club of Thailand DOES NOT issue any CARNET, reason being that apparently there has never been anyone who has wanted to drive or ride any vehicle with a Thai registr. plate into Indonesia....and therefore they do not even know what a CARNET is. WE CALLED ALL the possible Offices and Automobile Club in Bangkok.
NO ONE, but really NO ONE KNOWS WHAT A CARNET IS. Amazing!!!!

We find this very strange but it is true and so far we know that if you want to ship your bike onto Indonesian grounds you either pay the regular Indonesia import taxes or you get a CARNET from the Malaysian MAA.

What do you all think about this?
Or do you know anything that we don't?
Please post it here. Thanks.


Best regards,

Frank V.

As of April 2012 there will be NO MORE VEGETABLE BOATS FROM PENANG (Malaysia) TO BELAWAN (Indonesia) to ship your motorbike onto Sumatra.
But there is perhaps still a little door to try from Port Klang to Tanju Balai.

Good luck to everyone.

Regards,
Frank VEDETT /////

brother,
new news..indonesia need a carnet pls get at AAM malaysia..know the boat from tg belawan to penang is on operation again transport fare one way is RM800/ according to ship owner Mr LIM

these are running again - check the discussion at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ndonesia-32605

we've just gone indo - to malaysia with them

i believe that you may need some letter of invitation in to belawan (but not for other ports) - mr lim probably knows what you need

we were asked for carnet in to thailand - my understanding was that you didn't need one though. it may just be other overlanders who are wanting to cross their T's and dot their I's that is causing this though