"Singapore -> Penang -> Krabi -> Bangkok -> Hat Yai -> KL -> Malacca -> Sinagpore
total days: 8 days
total distance about: 4000km ++
Most of the info needed can be found online shared by many others Singaporean. My only apprehension was not knowing how difficult it was to cross the Thai border. Once this was achieved, I'm sure there will be a next time.
What I prepared before the trip:
1. Did the car servicing.
2. Bought a Morbella GPS with Thailand map pre-loaded
3. Checked Google maps to estimate driving hours
4. Original logcard or photocopy of logcard with approved stamp - If logcard is under another name, you will need to produce a signed authorization letter
Total number of people that went: my wife, my sister and myself. Sister only drove when i was exhausted.
Itinerary as follows:
Day 1 (sat): We set out at about 10am from Singapore Tuas checkpoint to Penang, Georgetown. Arrived at about 6pm to Red Inn Heritage Guesthouse. Stay was pre-booked on Agoda. Spent one night there.
Day 2 : Morning 8am, drive to Thai border, Sadao. Took about 2 hours driving. once you cross the Malaysian customs, there will be a Malaysia customs officer to check your logcard. Once cleared, you continue driving until you reach the Thai Customs, you need to park the car in a big carpark on the LEFT side of the Thai customs entry point.
- Get the Thai entry card either at the counter near the toilet or the office beside the toilet.
- Queue up at the counter that is specifically for persons with vehicle, otherwise you will waste time and have to queue again. slot rm$1 or 2 in your passport to get your passport stamped and the officer will fill up a vehicle temporary import forms for you with your vehicle details. At this point, you'll need to show proof of ownership, so get ready ur documents(log card, passport, authorization letter etc). In the meantime passengers can go to other available counters to have their passports stamped. Once stamped, passengers can wait at the shophouses on the Thailand side while you go and drive your car.
- Subsequently, one copythe import form will be passed to you when you drive past the same counter. The form is for you to retain and RETURN/SURRENDER to the last office at the Thai Customs before u re-enter Malaysia on your return leg.
- You can then purchase the car insurance at the shophouse just a distance away from the customs office for rm$15
Welcome to Thailand. Once you clear customs it will be depend on where you want to go. For me, we were headed for Krabi Aquamarine Resort & Spa. Set our GPS and we arrived at about 3-4pm. The traffic is relatively light, two lane traffic most of the time except when there is road repair, you will need to share one lane with the oncoming traffic. The so called "highway" will enter small towns here and there so be advised to watch out for traffic signs / lights and pedestrians. Locals also like to drive on the road shoulder agaisnt oncoming traffic, so don't panic when you see them, it will soon become the norm. Buses/trucks on the right lane normally will not give way and travel up to 120km/hr. There are no toll booths / charges along the highway, and no speed camera. Occassionally you may encounter police road blocks, which may or may not ask where you are going. Most we encountered just waved us to proceed, usually they pulled trucks to the side (proably to check for illegal immigrants). Our Krabi hotel had been pre-booked so we knew where we were headed. The plan was to leave time to sightsee in the evening, and not travel non-stop through the night.
Day 3: morning we headed from Krabi to Bangkok where we stayed at Unico Express @ Sukhumvit - Bangkok stay was booked only when i'm in Krabi. Distance about 770km from google map, so about 9hours on the road. Only pain was looking for lunch, might want to pack some snacks onboard. Also advise to top-up petrol once your tank is half empty as you might not know where is the next kiosk. There are a lot of different petrol kiosks in Thailand. I pumped at PTT petrol because big, nice and has 7-elevens. Got my lunch at one of the PTT at a nice cafe. Petrol price for Thailand is about the same as Singapore. GPS might not be accurate when in Bangkok. Good to have hard copy of map when inside the city. There are toll charges when using the highway in Bangkok. Traffic condition is quite bad in Bangkok, as should be expected, therefore i did not drive in bangkok for the 1st two days after we got to the hotel. if you still want to drive in Bangkok, use Google maps. more updated. Roads may also be blocked depending on traffic conditions and times.
Day 4 and 5: Plently of Shopping. Don't need to worry about luggage overweight, only need to worry about overspending. Last night at Bkk, switched hotel to stay at Amari Atrium Bangkok Hotel as sister and wife don't like the previous hotel area.
Day 6: Morning from Bangkok to Hat Yai. reached 9plus 10 at Hi Season Hotel. Distance about 930km. This was the only day in the entire trip that we drove from day to night. The GPS might not have every hotel that you want to go, so it's more accurate to get the lat/long position of your destination. By the time we arrived at Hi-Season, there was only time for a late dinner and then it was rest time. Most shops also looked closed, where we were.
Day 7: Hat Yai to Border. Thai border custom close at 10pm. pretty near about 2hours. No queue at customs. Park your car near the counter where the officer can see your car, return the form. get your passports stamped then will be back to Malaysia customs. No requirement for whitecard. Drove all the way to KL. There was bad traffic near Georgetown as a lot of cars were entering Penang. Stayed at Service Suites @ Times Square. Worst hotel ever that i stayed for a 4star, should be rated as 1star. Welcome to hotel HELL.
The rest of driving from KL to SG, i will just skip it. Hope my sharing can let more Vios owners achieve driving to Bangkok or even further. Cheers!"
Information by +kaizoku from VOGS forum.
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