"Did you say drive???", that was the question that most people asked me when I told them about my plan. It was actually quite an impromptu decision. I was at my aunt's house and they were all talking about going places via land transport to many many places and it just suddenly struck me that I too wanted to drive somewhere as a family outing. I have wanted for quite some time to make a passport for my son and now with this decision, I will just follow through and in future, travel plans may include other countries :)
Since it was a snap decision and with just around 1 week of research and close to no planning, it was like any unplanned things, not so well executed but yet its not that bad either :) Its just the sort of things that I want to do, I seriously do not like to wait too long for a trip to happen and it really shows for my few recent trips.
OK, so for n00bs like your's truly, its of course a little internet research and a little experimentation here and there. So to help you out IF you have the same crazy idea to drive to Thailand, you will need :
1) A car/MPV or whatever that you drive DUH! Make sure its in a good condition ... not to forget about your spare tyre
2) Car registration card or most people call it geran, I would recommend for you to bring the real thing instead of photocopy since the wordings might be blur on the photocopy version.
3)Touch N' Go or Smart Tag, the latter being the better option, this is to avoid the long queues
4) Water, at least for the journey of 100km into Thailand.
5) GPS or smartphone with GPS + Thailand map
6) More than 1 driver in the car, just in case the driver gets too tired (optional)
The drive up north is pretty simple, just get on the PLUS highway and zoom towards Bukit Kayu Hitam. If you have item 5, its best to have Waze to help you avoid speeding summons. There are a number of road signs that says Speed Camera Operation area. If you are an observant driver, you will notice that only the signs with yellow background will have the cameras :p but its best to follow the speed limit in those area for at the very least 2km. Like any system, there is actually a tolerance for speeding. I have been zooming at 115kmph for many years and only late last year got a ticket for speeding on a trunk road =_=, going 110kmph in an 80kmph zone. Nature breaks along the way is a good chance to straighten your back and legs, perhaps for you to have something to eat too.
If you are a law abiding driver, you should pass the last toll about 5 hours from when you start the journey, breaks included of course. I was a little relieved that I do not have to pay a toll in Ipoh like the old days where it may be a little jam just before you go uphill. Again, if you are observant enough you will notice some strange place names =D
After paying the last toll, you will pass by a place called Changlun, please stop speeding here and this is the time for you to look for a gas station and fill up to the extreme max. Also, you will have to stop at the many shops which sells Thailand car insurance. The last shop is a place called CTC, since you are not speeding, you should see the red sign and its like a bus terminal with food court. I bought my insurance for RM15 which lasts 9 days. Please do check the details before paying. For those of you who have not changed your money to baht, this place also offers good rates.
Passing the Malaysian immigration is easy as 123. Just show them your passport and you are in. They might just want to have a look if everybody is in the car but other than that its nothing.
Not long after this CTC place, you will find ...
Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Complex
Just before you get into the shade of this complex, take a left into the parking area next to the complex. Bring your car registration card along with your passport and a pen. If you don't have the immigration card yet, you may get some at the office next to the toilet. For those of you who don't have a pen, you might just have to enlist the assistance of people who will help you fill in the immigration card for a fee. There are a couple of counters so just line up with the immigration card filled up on both the entry and exit portion. Drivers, you use a special lane where cars can pass by. First get your customs clearance and with your car registration card, you will be issued an import permit for your car to be driven into Thailand. Since its your first time, you will be charged with RM5. Go get your car and pass it to the counter next to custom's counter, the officer will need to see your car before signing off the form. Once that is done, you are in!
Upon driving by the gas stations, you will notice that there are a couple of prices for petrol, in Thailand they have RON91 and RON95. To be on the safe side, I pumped the second most expensive RON95 gasohol. What I can say is that my car ran upwards of 1,000km on them and I still drove it back to KL so it should be good enough for your car. Oh btw, the prices you see displayed are in accordance to real world prices so if you see a good rate, I suggest you fill up :) At the time of writing this post, the price is double of what we are paying so enjoice the real world :p
Now about Thai drivers, they can be a bitch. Doesn't matter what kind of vehicle they use, there is no fast lane ... You will see some assholes hogging the fast lane with miles of open road in front of them and they don't have a rear view mirror. What I had to do was to overtake on the left (the supposed slow lane). Thankfully most roads have 2 lanes so you life is not so miserable. On roads with just 1 lane, you better know what your car is capable of unless you can stand to not overtake. Overtaking trucks/vans can be a nightmare, straight roads would be places where most drivers will be comfortable in overtaking BUT a straight road is also where most people tend to speed up. So imagine going at around 100kmph but you want to overtake a truck/van, when you reach a place which you are comfortable to overtake, you will find that the truck/van will speed up and you better have enough pickup in your car to go faster than them else you will be stuck behind them again. That being said, the road is wide enough to handle the width of 3 cars so if they are kind enough, they will give you a little more space and so will the oncoming car.
You need a lot of focus on the road because their highway is unlike our's whereby its like a trunk road but 2 lanes so there will be other vehicles which will want to make turns or U-turns, so just keep an eye out and always be on alert. Often times the major routes are straight as far as the eye can see.Not really that great for speeding because its not too flat so I always maintained 110kmph or so which is above the speed limit of 80kmph.
Parking in the major cities might be a problem because there isn't much parking space. So just do what the locals do and hopefully you won't be so lucky to pick up a summons :p Anyways, I overtook the police at quite a high speed and was not stopped so perhaps they will be a lenient with visitors =D
Most guides end here but I think I will also elaborate a little on leaving. So once you have had your fun in Thailand and its time to go home, you will pass by the same immigration complex. To save time, I would recommend that you drive your car straight up to the counter and go through customs there. Remember to pay RM1 to the officer, not really sure what is it for though but they will definitely ask for it. Once the human process is done, the next counter will be for your car. So hand over the import form to the counter next to the human counter and show the officer your car and you are done.
For people who wants to buy duty free goods, don't miss the duty free shop on your right. Its in the middle of the 2 immigration complexes. Parking is free if you buy RM200 worth of stuff, perfumes and some other things are excluded from that free parking T&C so go buy an expensive bottle of liquor or get loads of chocolates.
As for the Malaysian immigration complex, same as entry, just let them check your passport and the next counter is intriguing, its a toll booth =_=" The fee is RM3.60, you may pay via Touch N' Go or cash. Next counter will be the customs. If you have spent more than 3 nights in Thailand, you will pass by with not much problem especially if you are traveling with a family. I should have snuck a big bottle of liquor (2 litres and up) because the officer just asked me to pop the bonnet and have a quick look without even touching anything.
So that's my brief summary of driving to Thailand. Enjoy your trip :)
Edit for extra notes :
Depending on where you go, some places like the big buddha temple in Phuket might be a challenge for not so powerful cars. The gradient is marked as 10% but its actually steeper than the upper reaches of Genting. In one of the sections, I had to drop back to gear 1 ...
