Friday 28 February 2020

MBIKE Registration for Malaysian Motorcyclist going in and out Singapore Frequently.

MBIKE started quite a while ago and it seams to be a need to know kind of thing so I am gonna make this post worthwhile. I was quite surprise after getting buying Bluey back in 2017 and taking him into Singapore for the first time in 2018 that I saw this special lane for Malaysian bikers called MBIKE. 

MBIKE Registration Requirement

1. Malaysian 
2. Age 18 and above 
3. Not Black listed by Immigration 
4. Passport expiry date more than 6 months from date of application 

MBIKE Registration Requirement 

It like express lane to clear Immigration for Malaysian bikers but for the next few months or years I would struggle to find out how to actually apply for this special pass. In hindsight I was rarely using Bluey for work and more of like a weekend past time riding for the heck of it, hence did not really bother to figure it out.

Now that I am back in 2020 and have been using the bike regularly going into SG for work, I had to get this MBIKE thing registered. Immigration Jams sometimes really can be a pain in the ass and looking left seeing the always empty MBIKE lane just fuels the passion more.

Step 1 .... MBIKE can only be registered when you re-enter Malaysia

So apparently there is no way to register the MBIKE on the way into Singapore. It has to be done when one is returning from Singapore to Malaysia minus some odd working hours which sorry guys , I did not manage to find out. All I can say is that, I did the registration on a Saturday afternoon.

Step 2 ..... Locating the MBIKE Registration Office.

Step by Step photo guide ... (Woodlands Checkpoint -> JB CIQ Sultan Iskandar Checkpoint )

Since those that never had MBIKE before will clear through the right most lane of manual immigration, you will never see a parking bay.
Park Illegally here !! 

Just Park .... Malaysia Boleh :) 

Walk ahead till you see a staircase and a bridge like this

See the tiny bridge above the road ?? Go up 
Go up the stairs and at the bridge you will finally notice the MBIKE Registration office ... it was on the 2nd floor all along hence for those months and years I was keeping my eyes peeled looking for that damm office everytime I go through immigration, I never looked up hence I could not find it. Who the hell look up for stuff anyway when riding .... bah ... 

The MBIKE Registration Office .... its no wonder I never saw it ... 

Step 3 ..... Registering MBIKE

Enter office pass the officer my passport for the Registration and verified thumb print and viola all good to go in 5 minutes. Everything was so easy, so fast, so efficient and totally free of charge. 

Into the Office to register ... only took 5 minutes 
Thats it guys ,,, for first timers with no kaki rider friends to show me the way it was not easy to find out how this MBIKE registration works. Hope this post help the new bros out there struggling on their new bike journey making their livelihood across the border. 

MBIKE Registration Sticker with bio-metric stuck to the last page of passport 

Traveled on : Feb 2020
#mbike #ridingjbsingapore #bordercrossing


Monday 17 February 2020

When your ATM Cards Expire during Travels ....

One day while in the midst of travelling somewhere around Thailand with Bluey, I realized my trusty Debit / ATM card had expired. For a season long term traveler like me, this was just like any other day of getting lost. No problem I thought, I had a spare as I am always prepared. Checked my other ATM card and F*ck .... it was expiring in two months time. 

Me looking at the ATM's at Luang Prabang International Airport ....waiting for Dad 
Luckily this time around I was just travelling around South East Asia with Bluey and a quick watsapp message to Dad, sent him down to Singapore to check upon my P.O box praying there was a new Debit / ATM card in there to replace the expired one. Few days later he gave me a snapshot of the new ATM card. Now it was just a matter of how to get my hand on the ATM card while still travelling.

There are things that one do not think so much while travelling until the sh*ts happens. Since this time around it was within a few hours flight, I did not even considered postal mail or express mail of sort.

Dad !! ... are you free next month ???
Yes ...
Do you want a holiday ??
OK

By the end of the day after a few message with Dad, I booked him a flight to Luang Prabang Laos. A few weeks later, Dad would join me for a week long holiday while I cherish the simple things such as having a fully working ATM card while travelling abroad.

What would you have done if you were in my shoes ?


Traveled on: Jan 2019
#atmcard #overseaatmwithdrawal