This post is a bit turgid. Apologies but it has been cathartic for us to write it. If it gets a bit boring just look at the photos and jump to the end.
The plan working backwards was as follows
Boat now advertised as leaving on Monday 11th August instead of the 7th.
Therefore boat arrives in port on Saturday the 9th August.
Therefore need to go and see the boat people Thursday 7th August.
Therefore need to have bike in Singapore on the Wednesday the 6th August.
Therefore need to come into Singapore on foot on Tuesday the 5th August to get paperwork done.
Bike cleaning to pass Australian regulations could get done between the Friday and Sunday.
We have mental, if not physical scars. Not many people drive their vehicles into Singapore because it's just too difficult. We accepted the challenge and Paul had been preparing for this for a long time. The alternative was to stop at the border and get a truck to tow us to the port. There was something in this that Paul didn't like...
We knew that we had to have a Carnet de Passage and we had one. We knew that we had to have Singapore insurance and we paid rather a lot to get 3rd Party Insurance for the month of August through the AA Singapore. We also knew that we had to get an ICP even if we didn't know what it was. We were also aware we had to get it before we presented the bike at the border and that we could only get it by presenting all our original paperwork including passports, vehicle ownership documents and driving licenses in person in Singapore at the AA. We also knew that we had to buy a smart card for the road pricing scheme they operate in Singapore.
Knowing all this, we had allowed two nights at the border in Malaysia. That way we could go in 'on foot', do all the paperwork, come back out again and then finally ride the bike into Singapore. Surely it wasn't going to be that difficult? We went through Malaysian formalities fine and then took a bus to cross the causeway, where we completed Singaporean entry requirements. No money, no visas, all fine! Just that we weren't alone... An awful lot of people were doing the same thing and we could see from the bus that traffic was pretty much at a standstill on the causeway. We then queued for a bus to the MRT station and caught a (VERY slow) train to somewhere near where we needed to be, so we could then take a taxi to the AA to deal with the paperwork. We were starting to realise how much easier it all is with your own transport...
It all took time but went well until Rosie at the AA rang up the shipping company to confirm the date of departure of the boat. We were already aware that it had slipped from the 7th to the 11th. Rosie confirmed that it had now slipped again to the 13th and this wasn't even fixed. The worst was to come: the shipping company could not find our reservation and ... the boat was full. Paul, by then, buried his head in between his clasped hands. Another one of those 'couples' moments'...
Near meltdown!
This was a huge problem. It might sound obvious that we should have a reservation, but we were not aware of it. In our minds all we had to do was to turn up two days before the boat docked and sort it out with the shippers. That is what we understood we had been told. Hasty, pleading phone calls with the shippers and a rapidly arranged meeting with them for that afternoon, which involved bus and MRT. They agreed that they could find a space for a motorcycle. Relief even if it only felt partial at the time.
Bad timing though: they were in the process of being taken over by a French shipping company whom Paul knew... This meant that they would be changing offices, telephone numbers and email addresses. They could not tell us exactly when, but it might be this week. So we might not be able to contact them again. Not helpful! They couldn't charge us because if it was this week and the boat sailed on Monday, they didn't know what they were going to be called. And they might not have jobs next week. Now the real world doesn't work like this, but we have learned that the Singaporean one works pretty much like clockwork until something happens and then it just grinds. It was grinding as it was all too difficult and they couldn't handle it. We agreed that we would pay all outstanding monies at our arrival in Australia, including the Singaporean component. This went down well.
We were then told that we couldn't drive in the port and we would have to be towed there. We therefore had to go back to the AA. They could arrange towing and it would cost just the same to be towed all the way from the border as from the Port Gates, but they would prefer to meet us at our hotel which we hadn't booked yet. At least we had a principle in place. We agreed to return to the AA the following day when we had got the bike through the border.
We had clearly paid for Insurance and the the AA administration fee for the ICP so as to be able to drive in Singapore plus all the hassle, when in fact we were going to have to be towed from within Singapore anyway. A little frustrating.
We returned to Malaysia with our paperwork a tad heavy hearted, but with a way forward. Bus to MRT station, train to bus station, bus to Singapore exit and finally catch a bus to Malaysia. Except it was mayhem! We failed to get the first bus as we did not have the mindset needed to fight to squeeze on the bus. That changed with the second bus; Paul forced us on to the bus despite angry words with other passengers and the bus driver saying our tickets weren't valid. He might have lost some weight, but he is still 6'3" and can do a pretty good angry face and voice.
It had been a long day by the time we got back to Malaysia. We ate in the shopping centre next to the station.
On Wednesday morning we set off for the border on the bike with all the paperwork needed. We were not alone! Malaysian formalities were next to non-existent and we hit the causeway in good spirits, only to hit the biggest jam we have ever witnessed. The M1 at its worst does not compare to this. There were two bike queues each six bikes wide. They were absolutely solid and it is hot in this part of the world. We were wearing all our gear without the benefit of the air rushing past us. Ditto the bikes engine. And the thousands of other bikes engines, although some what smaller. We literally inched forward. If you left too big a gap, someone tried to squeeze in. If we kept the bike engine running, it had to be in neutral to save the clutch but the engine generated heat. So we started turning it off and on but it then started complaining a bit. The stretch to the Singaporean border was slightly uphill. In the end Francoise dismounted and Paul pushed the bike whilst still sat on it.
We finally got there but they struggled a bit with the Carnet as these particular officers had not seen one before. But at least they kept us waiting in an air conditioned room, rooms actually as we were passed through three departments. We dehydrated rather a lot. Water coming out of head, as one of our Thai chums had said whilst in China.
But we cleared and it took two and a half hours. All we had to do now was get the road pricing smart card. That took a further one and a half hours as they clearly had no idea whatsoever what to do with a foreign vehicle, let alone a motorbike. Oh, next hurdle... impossible to type the bike's registration number into their system, as it had a zero where they weren't expecting it. So we compromised on NX9 EOB though I am not sure how the number plate recognition system would work.
It was all going too well. We didn't have an IU device to put the smart card in. Apparently we need this if the traffic police stop us, as we couldn't just wave the smart card at the sensors when we drove past. Or so they said. Luckily there is a list of approved fitters of such devices both for rent or purchase and they identified the closest one for us.
We rode out into Singapore a tad sweaty but free to ride. We hailed a taxi who took us to the approved fitter of IU devices which was some little back street shop who didn't understand why we had to have one fitted. Oh, and on the way to the back street IU fitter the taxi did a U-turn, Paul got held up in traffic, the taxi didn't wait and lost Paul. Clearly that sort of day and it was still very warm outside!
Quick lunch whilst awaiting officialdom and we needed refuelling. We then found that the approved fitter, and they were really nice people please don't think otherwise, did not do rental only purchase. So we had to purchase a new device and get it fitted. Another debit on the accounts as compared to getting towed in. We were finally rolling, free to drive absolutely anywhere we wanted in the whole of Singapore even though it isn't that big. We arrived at our hotel at five o'clock having been on the go all day and having chalked up a mammoth 55km and rang the AA to say we would be seeing them the following day, as we had had enough. To roll up the day, Francoise dropped her camera on the road whilst dismounting the bike. All in all, a memorable day!
The following day, Thursday, we did see the AA and arranged towing from our Singapore hotel to the Port for Monday afternoon. We managed to go and see the Harley dealer in Singapore who fundamentally blanked us and wouldn't even give us the normal 10% on badges due to members. We left quickly, hoping they had just as many problems getting their bikes off the island as we did getting on. The final piece of the jigsaw was to organise the deep clean of the motorbike to satisfy Australian regulations. The address was a bit puzzling, 5th floor, but we found this commercial building with high storey heights and lorries running around at every level. We agreed that if we dropped the bike off with him Friday afternoon, we could pick it up again Sunday afternoon. We are getting there!
We have all the pieces in place. We just have to wait and see whether we can make them stick. It took three days in-situ to arrange and we have to stay in Singapore till after we deliver the bike to the Port. So we are staying quite a bit longer in a place that is substantially more expensive than anywhere else we have been to. First world country, it certainly is.
The border was not fun. Apparently a quarter of a million people cross that border every day. They claimed it was the second most frequented border crossing in the world, but didn't enlighten us as to which was the first. The Malaysia side is by far the poorer and people come to work in Singapore. A lady we talked to on the outgoing bus, nobody was talking to us on the return after the 'altercation', said she allowed herself two hours for the commute which doesn't sound too bad until you add in the need to fight to get on a bus. Or maybe we were just having a bad day. The roads in Singapore are very quiet fundamentally, because drivers are taxed to oblivion on the cost of vehicles as well as having to buy a 10 year permit to be able to use the vehicle in Singapore. A basic Kia, or Chevrolet as they prefer, seemed to be retailing at @£50k and the ten year right to use permit a further £40k, though we think that is a ten year cost and not annual. You have to really want to drive here. As we seem to have proved too!
We hope for a slightly 'lighter' post next time.
Paul & Francoise
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