Sing bike to Indonesia without carnet?

[c4traz]

Hey,

 

I have a Singapore registered bike, but no carnet. Was traveling to Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos without troubles. But now I'm thinking about going from Penang to Belawan/Indonesia by ferry and most people say one needs a carnet. Though those are mostly non-ASEAN bikers. Do you guys know if Singaporean bikes also need one? Or is there any other option to bring my bike into Indonesia? The carnet is money- and hassle-wise just no option for me. On horizonsunlimited I found this:

 

... I believe that you require a letter from the Indonesian motorcycling club (IMI) to obtain a letter to bring a vehicle into Indonesia.

 

In line with this, since Indonesia has not yet ratified the international vehicular carnet system, I would advise you to contact IMI to have the recommendation/invitation to bring your Motorcycle to Kalimantan.

 

Any information about it, highly appreciated!

 

Thanks guys

[ORen]

Bump for this, I'm interested to know as well

[antartica]

first of all... noob Q here - how do we apply to for a carnet?

[yem_paul]

first of all... noob Q here - how do we apply to for a carnet?

 

Automobile Association of Singapore issues one.

[antartica]

Automobile Association of Singapore issues one.

 

sweet... good to know that... and i am an AA member...

 

"Hello Everyone... my name is Antartica and I am a...."

D'OH!!! wrong AA

[c4traz]

Hey,

 

I ended up getting a carnet from AAM in Malaysia, which will cost you way less than in Singapore. AAM issues carnets for foreign registered vehicles within few days at the main office in Sha Alam.

 

Contact: Ms. Hanisa (not sure about the spelling) at AAM: +60 129421931

She's knowledgeable about the process and very helpful!

 

You need:

- Registration paper

- Driving license / International one

- Proof of insurance

- Passport

 

The costs are:

 

as refundable deposit (can be a bank security)

+ 500 RM fee for the carnet

+ 100 RM for AAM membership

 

I said that my insurance doesn't state any value, so they estimated my '96 Super 4 on their side at 5000 RM. When I was asked for my address in Malaysia, I gave the one of my guesthouse, no questions asked.

 

The appendix of my registration actually states a way higher value, but I left that page at home. I know of one rider who got his carnet in Singapore for a 10.000 SGD deposit, but better ring them yourself to compare .

 

 

Regarding Indonesia: Do NOT go there without a carnet and also NOT without an invitation letter from IMI (AA from Indonesia), it will bring you in tons of troubles! Even with these two papers it's still a very unpleasant, costly and time-consuming thing to do. With the onion boats in Penang no longer going to Indonesia, the cheapest/easiest option is now a ferry from Port Klang to Tanjung Balai. I'm in the process of doing so, will update this thread with more information when I'm over there, or just contact me if you need it earlier!

[ORen]

This is great info c4traz, many thanks for taking the time to update us! :thumb:

 

When you say it's troublesome, could you elaborate on the difficulties you are encountering?

I'm very interested to know as well in detail how the ferry trip goes (fees, reliability of schedule, any issues).

 

Thanks again and don't be a stranger on your trip, do post some photos and stories !

[c4traz]

I'm happy to share my knowledge, though I'm only in the middle of doing this myself, find out new things everyday, things changing everyday and have not actually left Malaysian ground yet. So please read this information as 'work in progress' only.

 

Recently a lot of things changed in terms of how the Indonesian authorities at ports/customs handle those travellers with vehicles. Fact is that you need a carnet and a invitation letter from IMI, which is easy to get via email, just takes about a week. Then there is also a recommendation letter from the police which you (most probably) need to have, but as far as I know you can only do so on the Indo side.

 

Until 1+ months ago there a guy called Mr. Lim in Penang shipped bikes over to Medan (or around there) in so called onion boats for a very reasonable price. He had to stop it due to the recent changes. Why, I don't know exactly, but it all looks like some people on the Indonesian side want a bigger piece of the cake. The reverse route from Indonesia to Penang still seems to work.

 

So these port authorities recently started to take advantage out of the situation. Your vehicle is in their port, they know you absolutely need it and they are in power to release it or not. Asking for this and that paper, these fees, bribes. So you go to other authorities to get that paper, then you have to wait there again, pay again, or they send you back telling you that you don't need it...

 

Two friends shipped their bikes from Port Klang to Jakarta in a wooden crate. Takes one week, you are not with the bike (extra costs for plane ticket, accomodation etc.), you don't know what happens during the shipping and at the port, they even got asked to leave the carnet with them. Now the bike is already there for 4-5 days but they still can't get it out due to this burocracy and corruption. 200 USD fee at the harbor on top of the transport charge to begin with...

 

Regarding the ferry from Port Klang. It's a passenger ferry not intented to take bikes, but they seem to accept it even though it might not be 100% legal to do, I don't know. All information is vague. It was broken for more than a week, now it seems to operate again. The schedule... if there really is one, no one so far could tell us. How to get the bike on and off the ferry, we don't know yet... only that there are stairs and no crane.

 

I was in contact with several agents, most of them are crap. I ask one 2-3 times "When does the ferry leave?" and I get the reply "Tuesday"...F%$& there are 24 hours in every Tuesday, sometimes I feel like its smarter to talk to the office dog...

 

Another agent told us the ferry will leave between 11am and 1pm (down from 24h to 3hour, awesome, huh?)... now my friends went there today to have a look and the ferry was gone even before 11...

 

I'm dieing to go over, but just yesterday my starter motor died... and now have to deal with that as well.

 

I think you get an impression... better hang in there in Singapore and let it clear up before you make a move.

[ORen]

Wow.. seems not straightforward at all - and this is only on the MY right ? Where in MY are you now, Port Klang ?

Where in Indonesia do you intend to arrive? I met a few Indonesian riders online, I can maybe ask if they have someone they know living nearby who can meet up with you or help with any paperwork on the Indo side - not sure how much help you can get, but doesn't hurt to ask and they have a strong sense of "community" when it comes to riders. Let me know yeah?

 

Thanks a lot for all this, it's very useful.

I heard about the onion boat being stopped, so this confirms it.

Ferry timing being vague, I know how you feel.. just try to take it with a smile - easier to do when it's a few days past that moment where you get the lousy info !

But that's how it works, everything is approximate.. often you end up showing up way too early and having to waste time waiting, or you get there and the damn boat just left and all you have is the skies to roll your eyes at.

 

Hope the bike issue will be a quick fix - which bike are your riding ?

All the best for the rest of your journey - got a FB page you post updates on ?

Will be following your trip

 

Cheers !

[c4traz]

By now we shipped 2 bikes from Malaysia to Indonesia at reasonable costs without much hassle. Contact me for the details if you really plan to do the same. Guess it's better not to put in here as the link might get cut otherwise.

[razin1978]

hi C4traz...u still around?

[c4traz]

Hey,

I'm no longer living in Singapore but happy to give advice.

Back in 2012 I did about 10.000 km between Medan and Bali before my 2 months visa ran out. Summed up, the country and the people are gorgeous, the roads and traffic are horrid (even compared to countries like Cambodia or Laos).

 

You can see some photos here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=812390

 

Mr. Lim is back in business and shipping both ways as far as I know, but I'm out of this region since a long time too. For latest information check out the horizons unlimited or advrider forum. Here is the thread were I posted my info:

 

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/southern-asia/bike-from-malaysia-to-indonesia-32605-9

[razin1978]

thanks a million!