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I start this topic for bros and sis who is planning to drive beyond Malaysia and don not know where and how to start........... Share my recently road trip experience. It might not be the best but it certainly helps. Before my drive, I stick to MCF and gather many precious infos, and now it's time to share. The itinerary, Singapore - Malaysia - Northern Thailand. Before starting this trip, I had many doubts especially the crossing of the Border ( Malaysia to Thailand ) part. And here it goes. PLANNING THE TRIP - Planned your itinerary carefully. It take months to do it. - Use the distance calculator to write down Province to Province, State to State driving distance. So at least you have a rough guide where to stop for a night rest. - Research the Hotel beforehand but don't booked it, you won't know where you will stop for the night. Before my drive, I intend not to drive more than 500km per day, but long distance drive, 500km means nothing, trust me. I drove 800km - 1000 km easily with a comfortable speed. - Never drive in the night, VERY important, start early in the day and stop whenever the sky turning dark. - Print out your LOG card from onemotoring, or if the vehicle doesn't belong to you, get an authorized letter from the owner. I called the bank and they sent me the Certified Original copy. - Remember to purchased travel insurance or and additional insurance for your car, the third party insurance is compulsory in Thailand. - Remember, if you intend to stay more than 15 days in Thailand, please go to the Thai embassy and apply a free Visa ( for Singaporeans ), this will let you travel in peace, the Visa is for 60 days. - I assume you will not be staying in Thailand for more than 30 days, if so, go to the nearest immigration to extend the vehicle permit. Rarely you will get an extension for your vehicle, so you need to go out of Thailand and re-enter. - Prepare lot's of CD's, the music that you can sing along, this kills the zzzzzz monster. - Lot's of mineral water in car, chicken essence & Red bull is also advisable. - A good map from embassy and a good GPS with updated maps. - Change some Ringgits & Thai Bahts. - Bring at least two credit cards, and spare car key too. - A steering lock is recommended. - Note down all Emergency telephone number like Police station, car breakdown or friends and relatives ( if you have any ) - Bring a spare handphone ( for Msia and Thai prepaid Sim card ) or if not, make sure your hp is Autoroam applicable. - Take a short break 200km - 300km, either for a toilet pee & poo, washing face or smokers, need to inhale some energy to keep you awake, never filled your stomach to the extreme on the trip, this will only makes you think of your bed. - 110km can be boring in NSE, but try not to overspeed, this will attracts "Flies" . - Thailand Highway is superb but nothing compares to NSE, so you can accelerate a little more but bear in mind, they also have some "flies" there. - Thais are mostly friendly, but on the road with only 2 lanes, this have to test a little skill of yours. If the vehicle in front of you signal left meaning go ahead and overtake me. If they signal right means, wait ! There are cars coming on the other side. - Bring soap, shampoo or any bathing equipments with you. Most petrol kiosk in Thailand have bathrooms to shower. Once you feel tired, take a shower at the kiosk. Free of charge. CHECK YOUR CAR BEFORE THE DRIVE - Change all four tires to new one, trust me, this invest is worth it! - Sent your vehicle to AA for a pre trip inspection, they will advice what to change or take note. - If your Battery is more than one year, change it to a new one, peace of mind. - Check all brake pads, if it's 50%, change all to new one, very very good invest. - Get your Engine oil change before the trip and all necessary wear & tear check. CROSSING THE SADAO BORDER - After the Malaysia check point, it's easy. - Reaching Sadao border, the big building Duty Free is on the left. I recommend you to take a break here, do some shopping, get your third party insurance here, get the white card and filled it here before heading to the custom. - If you have passengers, let them alight first, tell them to Q and stamp their passport first. You make a left turn to the Big car park, make a fast one and join them the Q. - After all this done, proceed to the next counter, get your vehicle pass done. Note, the Thai authority don't speak much English, so body language applied if you don't speak Thai. - Show them your Log card, your insurance. They need to key it in their computer, sign the documentation and ready to go. - Wait....not done yet, pass the signed documents to the booth that the vehicle passed, they will return you a carbon copy before letting you pass the gantry. REMEMBER very important, safe keep this returned copy, you need to return back to them to proved that your car has left Thailand. If you forget this, TROUBLE awaits you!!!! - And pass the custom....Welcome to Thailand. RESTING AT NIGHT - Never save on Hotel expenses, booked a "good" hotel for a good sleep. - On the move, try not to eat any "Exotic" food that your stomach cannot take, it will ruin your plan. - Try to booked a room with internet access, so you can search for additional infos for the following day. - Prepare the following itinerary on the night in the Hotel, so the next day you just follow the route planned. - Always look for petrol kiosk if your tank is half, play safe! Hope this is good enough for Bros planning a self drive to the North. It's nothing complicated, trust me, it's real FUN!!!! I gained a lot from MCF, hope this time can contribute some!!!

Why so many turtle turn? driving carefully please

Yesterday while sitting at a nearby covered public space ..during my lunch hour ... Notice a Malay guy with bermuda and T-shirt suspiciously walking around the carpark.. Saw him earlier at the Minimart nearby idling there..Do not know whether he is alone or with an accompliced.. Seems a lot of ppl working nearby park their cars and motorbikes there including me which cars for workers around are allowed to park at Level 3A and above...7am to 7pm.. then when he reached the ground Level then I know whats he up too.. Beware don leave your valuable things openly and motorbikes don leave your cashcard in the IU.. He went checking the bikes one by one... For those working or stay around there...take care... Cheeers all..

An Iphone found at North Pt shopping center around 6 (02/07/11) this evening. Phone had been handed to Customer Service counter. Go claim it if it's yours.

Was the first few car to be at the scene where a red car went under a trailer. Stucked there for 30mins. Plse avoid. No peekture as I was driving. Involved a young fella, strong pride, trailer n merging lane.

Driving up north this weekend on my 205/50/16 2 1/2 years Falken 912, some say ok for trip some say not ok some say deflate some say inflate, blur... Just wanna ask : to inflate or deflate for the drive? Recommended is 210kpi i usually do 220kpi...

Good place to remove dented in North area ?

A scene you will probably never get to see, so take a moment and enjoy God at work at the North Pole. This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point. And, you also see the sun below the moon. An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated.

Just saw the above display at the above flyover showing yr car's speed. This display actually forewarn you if you are drving at high speed negotiating this bend which is an accident-prone area. Kudo to LTA and TP for this great idea. Hope to see more of these at other dangerous locations.

Hi all as per title. Ride is sunny n16 parts supplied myself. Tks

Hi all as per title. Ride is sunny n16 parts supplied myself. Tks

Hi all as per title. Ride is sunny n16 parts supplied myself. Tks

saw this black car (should be a fit) fallen on its left and landed on the pavement at the pioneer rd north roundabout leading to aye. there were a couple of cars stopping by the roadside too. anyone saw it as well?

Hi all, When on road trip to the North, what sort of hotel categorary would you pick? Would you go for 5 stars hotel for a smaller room or a super Deluxe in a 3 stars hotel? Also, is swimming pool an important criteria when choosing your hotel? Most of the tme, I felt that we might not be using those facilities like swimming pool, gym, library and etc. These are probably part of the hotel rates that we're paying. In Malaysia, some of those 4 stars/5 stars hotels/resorts look like 3 stars hotels/resorts. I've the thought of using more of those boutique hotel or even those highly rated 3 stars hotel that don't come with swimming pool. What do you think? Thank you very much. Regards,

HI Would like to drive up North but am not comfortable in parking our ride on the main island and take a boat elsewhere (eg. Tioman). Is Pangkok also the same? Do we have to park our car on the main land? Also, would like to know if Kuantan is similar to Desaru or Port Dickson? Have drove to Malacca, KL, Genting, Cameron Highlands, Port Dickson & Desaru before...hence not sure where else are the to go Any other suggestions besides the places that I've mentioned above. Thanks in advance :)

Hi all travellers... a quick sampling which can hopefully be useful to other drivers... happy holidays, gong xi fa cai!

Wife was driving on the most right lane.. while approaching the church, a lorry stopped on the 1st lane stopped. A black merc behind the lorry jus cut left and drove into my lane. we almost collided and my car hit the kerb. The mother poker even dare to show me the middle finger. regards to ur whole family.

Say an E-class? is it safe if you go alone for a short trip in the big cities?

Life in hardscrabble North Korea gets harder, as authorities crack down on a key segment of the unofficial economy. AFP/Kim Jae-Myoung PAJU, South Korea: Vehicles head to the North Korean Kaesong joint industrial zone, Nov. 24, 2008. SEOUL—Authorities in North Korea have begun enforcing a ban on the use of foreign cars in the isolated Stalinist state, putting further pressure on a population already struggling to survive. Beginning in early February, Pyongyang's National Defense Commission began enforcing a directive banning imported cars and ordered a crackdown. According to a cross-border Chinese merchant, those targeted by the crackdown are primarily officials who take bribes to fraudulently register cars to state-owned enterprises or military bases. We’re pretty much done for." Source http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nkor...2009112654.html North Korean car owner Authorities also want to stop North Korean mechanics from rebuilding and modifying imported cars by changing them from right-hand-drive Japanese vehicles—the Japanese drive on the left—to left-hand-drive vehicles for use on North Korean roads. "The National Defense Commission regards failure to enforce its directive banning imported cars as a provocative act," said the Chinese merchant, who is a frequent traveler to North Korea. "Various officials have been instructed to let go of the imported used cars, and many of those who failed to comply with that directive are in trouble now. In particular, officials working for the Forestry Department appear to have been reprimanded," he added. Deadlines expire In February 2007, the National Defense Commission issued a nationwide directive to eliminate imported cars. Foreign passenger cars were to be removed within three months, while foreign freight vehicles were to be phased out within two years. National Defense Commission officials were clamping down in particular on right-hand-drive used cars imported from Japan, ordering that they all be scrapped. Sources said this could be because supreme leader Kim Jong Il dislikes the sight of Japanese cars, most of which are smuggled into the country and given fake military license plates, on North Korean roads. But they also note that the North Korean military is experiencing shortages both of fuel and of the hard currency needed to buy it. One expert suggested that the National Defense Commission may want to prevent imported cars from burning the fuel that keeps military vehicles on the road. Conversion of used cars The order to scrap right-hand-drive Japanese cars prompted a rush by the owners of imported cars to convert their vehicles to left-hand drive, a complicated and expensive process. In Songpyong, a district of Chungjin city in Northern Hamgyong province, mechanics at the Soosong Tractor Plant and bus factories are switching steering wheels from right to left, sources said. Owners of the modified cars then have them registered to military bases or factories that are authorized to operate the cars, paying their officials about 300,000 North Korean won (U.S. $100) monthly for the favor. But even converted vehicles are no longer slipping through the net, North Korean car owners say. "We’re pretty much done for," one such car owner said. "From here on, the only vehicles allowed on the roads of North Korea are military vehicles." "Life is already very hard, but if our cars are taken away and scrapped, the situation will be terrible, and our very survival in jeopardy," the car owner said. Currently, Japanese cars make up around 80 percent of imported vehicles in North Korea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmhTKDqrEDo

My plan is 1. Leave Singapore about 12noon, take 2nd link 2. Along the way, take lunch 3. Reach about 330pm 4. Go body Massage (clean one) till 5pm 5. Roam around, photo taking till 6pm 6. Eat the Satay Lok Lok for dinner 7. About 8pm go night market jalan jalan 8. Go local pub for drinks @ jonker 9. Leave Malacca about 11pm 10 Reach Singapore about 2am Any suggestion on safe area to park around jonker? Any other the comments on my itinerary?

What strikes me as funny here - you won't be able to go through the Link without a card - but you can only buy a card if you go through. Somebody help, I'm in an infinite logic loop.... On a serious note, is anybody going through before September 14, and is able to help me buy one? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_425334.html Second Link to go cashless The Malaysian side of the Second Link will be accepting only the Touch 'n Go card to pay for tolls. The toll operator expects this move to improve traffic flow. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG IT WILL be Touch 'n Go for motorists using the Second Link to Malaysia from the middle of this month. From Sept 14, the link at Tuas will accept only cashless payment for tolls. Plus Expressways, which runs the toll system, expects that switching over fully to the system will lead to smoother traffic flow. Motorists do not need a Touch 'n Go card at the Singapore immigration section of the link. But they will need one to pay toll charges on the Malaysian side. If motorists do not already have a card, they will need to buy one at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex at Johor Baru. They can also buy the card from the following locations: Taman Perling Toll Plaza, from 7.30am to 7.30pm. Gelang Patah RSA (Malaysia bound), from 3pm to 10pm. Esso petrol station at Gelang Patah RSA (Singapore bound), open 24 hours. They can top up their cards at the following locations: Lima Kedai Toll Plaza (Singapore bound), from 9am to 8pm. Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza in both directions, open 24 hours. Stall No. 1 Crystal House and Gelang Patah RSA (Malaysia bound), from 7am to noon Monday to Saturday and 7am to 8pm on Sunday. Petronas petrol station at Gelang Patah RSA (Malaysia bound), open 24 hours. Esso petrol station at Gelang Patah RSA (Singapore bound), open 24 hours. Taman Perling Toll Plaza from 7.30am to 7.30pm. Since December last year, all vehicles heading into Malaysia from Singapore using the Causeway were required to use the Touch 'n Go cashcard.

Hi everyone, I am thinking of renting a car for a trip up north. Can anyone recommend a rental company which charge reasonably, has a good reputation and provides good support service in case the car breaks down in Malaysia. Please recommend a fuel efficiency and reliable car also. Thanks.

can it really be tubifex worms? or are we just made to believe that :) i mean... i've seen those aquariums selling tubifex worms which are all bunched up and they dont look like that... even in the bunch we can definitely see those stray worms at the edges :P