South East Asia trip: Am I in trouble?

[christianjk]

Hi all,

I've been 'working' on my plan for a month now, and now that I'm only two weeks away I just found the HUBB. But better late than never!

Here's my (somewhat convoluted) story:

I'm a Canadian citizen, and I'm currently in India on a valid Employment visa for working in film production. My current film project was cancelled.

I want to go on a motorcycle trip across South East Asia. My goal is to go from Singapore to Hong Kong on the bike, and then hopefully ship it to my native Canada. All my personal visas are sorted out, and I have a straight (tourist) path from Singapore in January to Hong Kong in April.

On a previous employment here in India last year, I learnt to ride a bike on the streets of Mumbai (which was quite an experience). I lived there for months, and rode to work every day. Anyway, before that, after some lengthy paperwork, I received a PAN card (to pay income tax in India, yay,) and our local fixer arranged for a motorcycle license. I have a local registered address, belonging to the corporation the film project was for. I put several thousand kilometers down in Mumbai traffic, and I've since ridden for over a month in Rajasthan, down in Goa, and even a little in the Netherlands.

You probably saw this coming when I said "India", but I have an Enfield 350 lined up to ship from Mumbai to Singapore to start my trip. My friend (the current owner) is ready to sign over the bike. The shipping company is lined up. They were first troubled about my request, but when I produced my PAN card, everything was solved, with smiles: they said that with that card, I was "an Indian" and could register the bike. As my personal property, they would then be happily able to ship it for me. Now my local fixer isn't sure about registering it, and is worried the bike can't be registered in my name. But the paperwork is ready, waiting to be filed. And he's "working on it." More on that later.

My main concern: I do not have a carnet! Although I've used them for work, it never occurred to me to use one for a vehicle. (So at least I've learnt something today!)

My (many) questions are the following:

1) Assuming I can register the bike in my name, and proceed with the shipment, should I attempt to get a carnet? Singapore Customs is suggesting it. Everything I've read so far here seems to shout "YES!", but the problem is timing: My ideal shipping window is December 28th, to arrive on the 8th-9th of January. I can't imagine being able to process the paperwork so fast, _especially_ in India. (I'm not even sure where I'd apply?)

2) Because, my two main concerns for borders are a.) The bike as sea freight into Singapore, and b.) Crossing borders on the bike, from Singapore into Malaysia, then through to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and finally China. I guess there are a bunch of options: I could bring the bike into Singapore on a Temporary Import (for which I'd need approval) and get the remaining items to make my bike legal in Singapore (local insurance, etc.) and then cross to Malaysia on the bike. What do I do then? Try to slog through each countries's paperwork/customs/insurance process in advance? Wing it at the borders? Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on this, for these countries?

3) As an added twist, I do not have a Canadian motorcycle license (only for a regular car.) I tried to have my Indian bike license transferred, which would have been fine, but the agency wouldn't accept my proof of living abroad: I didn't have any of the various things they would accept, such as electricity bills, or phone bills, because everything was paid for by my company. They would only give me a learner's permit back home. Because of that, I couldn't apply for an IDP in Canada. But I should be able to get my IDP here in India. Funnily enough, my learner's permit looks EXACTLY like a full permit, it just says "permis probatoire" (probationary license) across the top. Other than that (and the classification) it's a perfect match for my full driver's license.

4) Now if I can't get the bike registered this coming week (on the 24th, or 26th), I've got the sinking feeling that the complications are going to be too troublesome to overcome. Although I don't like it, I'm considering flying to Singapore with no sea-freighted bike, and rent something local, and take it as far North as I can get. Then perhaps ship it back down? Repeat this process until I get to Hong Kong. Like I said, this is really my last resort, as it would also complicate things with the purchase of the Enfield from my friend. Thoughts?

5) Perhaps a different option is to ship the bike to a city further North a while later on my itinerary (Bangkok, perhaps?) giving me some time to get the Carnet? I have certain deadlines, as my Cambodian and Vietnam visas expire on certain days, and I have to enter China in March. Perhaps the tourist visas can be extended while there?

6) Lastly, if anyone is in the area(s), I'd be very interested in meeting up, or receiving suggestions for local experiences. (I saw the meetup in Chiang Mai! I doubt I can make it in time, sadly.)

I hope I've been clear in my post. I realize it's a bit much, and I probably left out some important detail. Many many thanks for reading, and many more for helpful suggestions!

Cheers,
Christian