Motorbike trip over 6,000 km from Vietnam to Singapore

After 6 years of nurturing and gaining experience, two Vietnamese men successfully completed a journey of more than 6,000 km through 4 countries to Singapore by motorbike.

In 2018, Nguyen Tan Thuong, 33 years old, Binh Duong, met Chau Kiet Phuong, 30 years old, Ho Chi Minh City, thanks to their shared passion for backpacking. From then on, the two made plans and rode motorbikes together many times through provinces and cities in Vietnam and three countries, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.

From February 11 to 28, Thuong and Phuong together made a journey of more than 6,000 km from Vietnam through Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia to Singapore by motorbike. Their 19-day journey through four Southeast Asian countries has attracted the attention of the travel enthusiast community.

Mr. Phuong (left) and Mr. Thuong (right) have been companions on many trips since 2018.

February 11, Mr. Thuong and Mr. Phuong started from home and met at Hoa Lu border gate, Binh Phuoc to go to Cambodia. The conditions for entry with the vehicle are the owner of the vehicle and a driver's license. At the border gate, the two backpackers made a travel document to legally travel in Cambodia. This is also a required document to be eligible to bring the vehicle to Thailand.

Having been to Cambodia many times before, they did not prioritize sightseeing but focused on driving along Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia's sea lake) to reach the Poipet border gate, Thailand.

Coming to Thailand, from bustling Bangkok to the peaceful countryside in the South, "gave me the feeling of my homeland Vietnam", Mr. Thuong said. The weather was hotter than 30 degrees Celsius, spicy and sour food and noodles were everywhere, familiar things. On the way, the two male tourists saw for the first time the locals bathing elephants in the river. "The elephants are gentle and friendly, you can stroke their rough skin", Mr. Phuong said.

On February 16, they arrived at the Sadao border gate in Songkhla province and entered Malaysia. "This is a paradise for backpackers," said Mr. Phuong. Malaysia has a 1,000 km long highway system connecting the border with Thailand to the border with Singapore, flat, clean and with a travel speed of over 100 km. In addition, the price of gasoline here is 2-3 times cheaper than in Vietnam, 10,500 VND/liter of A95 gasoline and 18,000 VND/liter of A97 gasoline. Backpackers can "satisfy their passion for speed without worrying about the cost," said Mr. Phuong.

The surprise happened when Thuong and Phuong were on the road, they saw two Malaysians chasing them. After talking, Thuong realized that they accidentally recognized him on the road, so he chased after them to say hello. The Malaysian backpackers also "made an appointment to meet and enthusiastically consulted about the process of entering Singapore," said Mr. Thuong.

From Kuala Lumpur, the two backpackers continued driving about 350 km until they reached a large bridge in Johor Bahru City. From here, they entered Singapore on February 18 - the 8th day of the journey.

To bring a vehicle into Singapore, visitors need to go through a Thai travel agency. The entry fee is about 30% more expensive than in Thailand and Malaysia. In addition to identification documents, visitors need approval from the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) and an auto pass. Malaysian backpackers advise them to enter early in the morning, avoiding the time after 2pm due to traffic jams that often occur when people from both countries travel back and forth across the border.

Singapore is famous for its green, clean, beautiful environment and good transportation system, but riding a motorbike here makes Mr. Thuong "quite tired". "There are many signs prohibiting stopping and parking on the road, few parking areas, so going out and exploring is limited", he said. Traffic in Singapore is monitored by cameras, tourists need to obey the law, pay attention to signs and find the right place to stop and park; drive on the left lane reserved for motorbikes and motorbikes, and keep a safe distance.

During their 3 days in Singapore, the two backpackers received enthusiastic help from the Vietnamese community here. They learned about new regulations that they had never heard of before, such as: Clean up after eating at restaurants, self-service cafes or convenience stores, or you will be fined $300 (over VND7 million). "For those who come to Singapore for the first time, if we didn't have a guide, we could have been fined a lot of money," said Mr. Thuong.

The two backpackers toured famous places in Singapore such as Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Changi Airport, Singapore Art Science Museum and enjoyed delicious local dishes such as milk fish noodles, tomyum fish noodles, frog porridge, and Hainanese chicken rice.

When re-entering Malaysia, Mr. Thuong forgot to register for the MDAC (Malaysia Digital Arrival Card) digital customs declaration. After more than an hour of answering questions from customs officers, he was able to pass through the border gate. Mr. Thuong noted that backpackers intending to go to Malaysia need to register for the MDAC declaration 3 days before arriving at the border gate for convenient entry. For Thailand and Singapore, tourists cannot directly apply for a motorbike pass, they need to go through a service provider.

Traveling in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, vehicles on the left lane, high speed is quite dangerous for Vietnamese tourists. Mr. Phuong advises backpackers to limit sightseeing while driving, focus on observing turns. When in the left lane, go straight or turn left, do not signal to turn right suddenly, avoid surprising the vehicles behind, easily causing traffic accidents.

The cost for the 19-day trip for two backpackers was about 70 million VND per person. The cost of the vehicle registration and the cost of the vehicle alone was about 30 million VND. Riding a motorbike to another country to travel is more expensive than renting a vehicle on the spot, but being able to freely explore on your own vehicle is always the dream of backpackers, so "the money spent is very worth it," said Mr. Phuong.

Throughout the journey, Thuong and Phuong continuously shared their images with the hope of inspiring other backpackers to "overcome prejudices in their thinking and do things that few people can do". After finishing the journey and returning on February 29, Thuong and Phuong set a goal of continuing to conquer China and Myanmar by motorbike in 2024.

Quynh Mai
Photo: NVCC

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