A delighted Dave is re-united with his Hummer at Singapore Port!It was an early start for Dave who was collected by Ish and they headed off to tackle the best Singaporean bureaucracy had to offer while trying to get the Hummer from the port. At this stage we were all aware of Singapore’s stringent rules and regulations but what lay ahead in the attempt to release and drive a foreign vehicle on Singapore’s roads really took the biscuit!
The first stop for the boys was the Automobile Association of Singapore to apply for an International Circulation Permit which was necessary to get a foreign vehicle on the road. However to get the permit Dave needed to present the Carnet for the Hummer which was at the shipping agent’s office on the other side of the island. Off they went to collect the Carnet which is an essential part of the trip and acts as a passport for the vehicle to be stamped by customs when entering and leaving each country.
After collecting the Carnet and paying port handling charges with the agent it was back to the AA to organize the permit and compulsory insurance to cover Singapore and Malaysia. Dave was then informed that he would need to go to the Land Transport Authority to get an Autopass. This is a card that collects data from all the toll scanners throughout the city. Of course the Transport Authority was all the way over the other side of the city again! This was getting ridiculous, especially since the port itself was another big drive through heavy traffic from the Transport Authority.
After leaving the apartment at 9am it was 4pm by the time the boys even got to the port. Needless to say it was another ordeal to obtain temporary entry passes to the port and then locate the car in the busiest container port in the world! Eventually Dave reached the correct wharf, then the wharf’s correct section and then the section’s correct warehouse to see his long lost girlfriend at last! See video below)
Customs and police inspection were all very friendly and interested when they saw the Hummer and the trip map on the side, so the boys got through smoothly enough. Leaving the port we were surrounded by massive container trucks and all the drivers were looking at us like we had 2 heads! We can’t imagine there are too many boyos collecting Hummers for world trips among all the cargo that is moved here! This entire day was red tape like we’ve never seen before and we’re sure that there is plenty more of this to come with border crossings through much less organized countries. A massive thanks is due here to Ish for putting up with the whole ordeal and driving Dave around all day, the boy is a legend!
That evening Dave and Paul went to play 5-a-side soccer with Ish and his cousins while the other boys went for a meal and indulged in the Discovery Channel at the apartment. We’re all ready to get back in the car and hit the road again tomorrow to Kuala Lumpur.
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