Hi,
I wanna share how to go to Singapore from Johor Bahru by car. I’m sure that I’m not the only person who doesn’t know how to go to Singapore by car. Actually I’ve been to Singapore by public transport once but since I plan to go there with my family so I think it’s more practical to drive my own car.
Basically, you need a car, obviously. For our car to enter the country, we need an autopass card. Yeah, I know, the entire world will tell us to have this autopass card, but they don’t fucking tell you exactly where to collect the card!!! That’s what had happened to most of the foreigners who had driven car to Singapore. We missed to collect the autopass card!
First, you can apply the autopass card online. Easy. You can go to website at www.onemotoring.com.sg . You have to upload your IC, Vehicle Ownership Certificate (geran kereta) and valid car insurance. Then they will send an email within 5-7 days and tell you whether your application is successful or not. So don’t forget to apply at least a week before you go to Singapore. If the application is successful, you can print the email and bring along the copy at the immigration to collect your autopass card.
The thing is we all know how to apply the autopass card. But nobody tells us exactly where to collect that fucking card. Especially for a first timer like me who never sees what the immigration looks like or what so ever.
Don’t worry. When the day comes, you just drive into Singapore. As for me, I enter Singapore via Woodland checkpoint. For those who don’t know, you can either enter Singapore via Woodland checkpoint or Tuas Checkpoint. As far as I know, there are only 2 checkpoints. So when I was driving to Singapore, I only brought with me the email copy, my passport, driving license and my IC. I don’t have that fucking autopass card yet.
At CIQ JB (Malaysia’s immigration checkpoint) , the immigration officer will only need your passport. Oh, by the way, you don’t have to go out of your car. Just drive and follow the road! You will meet the immigration officer in a like a toll booth. Just like when you pay toll on the road, you just don’t come out of your car right? You only see the officer inside the toll booth through the window. Yeah! Just like that! You don’t have to get out of your car or bring your luggage out what so ever. Just stay and sit nicely in your car!
Then the road will take you straight to the Woodland checkpoint. Just follow another car in front of you. Don’t follow motorcycles or bus or lorries because they have their own roads. At the Woodland checkpoint, you will see many immigration booths. You will also see many officers who wear green colour costumes (like RELA costumes). Just be nice with them because they are so nice. They will lead your car and give instruction where to queue. While you are queueing, the green colour costume officer will instruct you to open your car bonnet. They will have a brief eye scanning to see what you got in your car. At that time, you may ask the green colour costume officer, where to collect your autopass card. They will show you. Ask them to point exactly where the building! You should not ask, I repeat, SHOULD NOT ask the immigration officer. They know nothings! For your information, the immigration officer wears a dark blue costume, not green!
Okay, let’s say you don’t have the chance to meet the green colour costume officer, which is impossible, because you will find them everywhere, but just let’s say you don’t have that chance, it’s okay, be calm and continue waiting for your turn to meet the immigration officer. When you meet the immigration officer, they will need your passport and white card. Please google what’s the white card. You basically need to fill in the white card form before you are going to the immigration. Please ask from someone who has it or from someone who goes in and out Singapore regularly, they usually keep extra white cards with them. I think most JB people will have it. But if you don’t have it, you need to ask the immigration officer, it’s a bit leceh and i’m not sure the procedure but for sure you will stuck at the immigration booth for a while. Then the people behind your car will curse at you.
Okay, if you’re done with the immigration officer, you may now enter Singapore. But....... after passing through the immigration booth, you have to open your eyes widely, search for a building written on it BLOK B. Just in front of you, after the immigration toll booth. BLOK B. That’s where you can collect the autopass card! Must not missed the building because there’s no way to return! After the immigration booth, please drive slowly until you see the BLOK B building, if i’m not mistaken you need to keep driving at the left lane so that you can stop by the BLOK B. If you’re on the most right lane, you will go directly into Singapore WITHOUT THE FUCKING AUTOPASS CARD. Okay, I already told you, it’s like 100 metres away from the immigration toll booth, the building is on the left, it’s a small building, stated on it BLOK B.
Why do we really need that autopass card? Because it’s like your car’s passport. If you don’t have it, it’s like you are entering Singapore illegally. We also need that card for parking and paying tolls. The total amount of your parking and tolls will be recorded in the card and when you want to go back to JB, you will need to tap the card at the immigration booth, you have to make sure you have enough balance in it, if you don’t have the card or if you are having the card but not enough balance, they’re not letting you go back home and you will need to pay fine.
So, not having the autopass card will actually ruin your vacation mood and make your life miserable. I didn’t have the autopass card when I entered Singapore last time because I didn’t see the BLOK B building. So I paid parking using Cash Card. But the Cash Card was not functioning. They couldn’t detect the card. We didn’t have any other cards to replace the Cash Card. Thank God, Singaporeans are really nice and helpful people, they just turn a blind eye and let us go. When we want to go back to JB, we told the immigration officer that we didn’t have the card and I explained the reason. We have to pay the fine, if i’m not mistaken it was less than $20.
I feel like I want to share how the roads in Singapore looks like and how I feel when I was driving there. It’s totally different from Malaysia’s roads. But I think that’s enough for now. I hope someone will benefit from this post.
Goodluck!
No comments:
Post a Comment