Overland drive from Singapore to Bangkok and back - 21 May to 2 Jun 2023

Every once in a while, I feel the need to break out of my mandane routine and drive up north. Short trips are usually to Genting Highlands or Ipoh and loger trips would be to Hat Yai or Bangkok and sometimes all ther way to Chiang Mai. These trips jolt me out of the comfort of my routines and I get to see the world around me in a different light again. On two occasions, I got to drive all the way to Tibet in a convoy. Those were the best overland trips I've done to date. So on Sunday 21st May night, I got up early at 3am and made my way to Woodlands check point. It was totally quiet as expected and I got thru with no queue. I had intentionally avoided the Vesak day long weekend on Fri 31 May, knowing the jam would be bad. (on hindsight, it was reported that 250,000 vehicles passed thru the Tuas and Woodlands check point that weekend). It must have been painful. I usually drive all the way across Malaysia to Hat Yai on the first day. This time, I took a break at Cameron Highlands at a friend's place up in the mountain just below Tanah Rata and above the small town of Ringlet. Stayed at Cameron for two nights. It was delightful. Time was spent visiting the vegetable farms on an all-terrain-vehicle (ATV). That was fun. Being back to nature teaches you a lot of people and aboiut living in geenral. I enjoyed the freedom of large open spoaces and the cool mountain air. Everyone we met were happy and friendly. It was a nice change from the stresses of city living in Singapore, where rules and regulations invade into every aspect of your life and you were expected to follow all of them whether you know it or not. Simple living is real living. On the third day, we made our way down Cameron Highlands towards Tapah, then to Ipoh George Town, Alor Setar and finally to Bukit Kayu Hitam. We stopped by the first road side stall that sold insurance for car crossing into Thailand.

I paid RM45 for 19 days of car insurance coverage whilst in Thailand, although I only needed 10 days. All I needed to produce was our passport, Car log card and Singapore Car Insurance. The agent also provided the added service of printing our Thai entry cards with our names and information nicely printed. From there it was just 10km to the Sadao Border crossing. The last time I made the crossing was 9 years ago. Then the immigration & customs were opened till 5pm. The Malaysian side of the CIQ was standard. The Thai side had improved a little with opening hours from 6am to 12 midnight. Since it was only the wife and me in the car, we drove straight to the immigration counter and hasd our pasport chopped. Next we parked the car at the customs building and got off to get the car import permit done. This document is crucial and must be returned on the way journey back. Loosing the import/export permit would incur a hefty fine of 10,000 bath.

The drive into Thailand is always pleasant. You enter into a different and slower-paced world. Thai drivers are alot more courteous. You hardly hear a car horn and when you signal to fliter left or right, you can be assured that the vehicle behind will give way to you. the speed of traffic is significantly slower in Thailand. On highways, cars average 110kmph and you seldom get dare devil cars screaming down the highways, unlike in Malaysia where the fast lane is almost always occupied by "race drivers" tearing down the highways at speeds often exceeding 140kmph. Speed limit is 110kmph. King of the highways are BMWs. You hardly fine one on the slower left lane occupied by heavy vehicles. But then again, the Malaysian highways are a lot smoother than the ones in Thailand.