18 November 2008, 7:44 am
I am living in Thailand right now. I've been reading articles online about how I need an International Driving Permit to drive in Thailand and that it needs to be issued in my home country (the United States), and is really just a translation of my drivers license at home, but I'm not sure if this exactly fits the situation. Given the relative low cost of motorcycles here, I was thinking that if I was to drive in Thailand, it would make the most sense to drive one of them. It is my understanding that to driving a motorcycle requires a different kind of license than driving a car. At home I've always driven a car, so I never gave it much thought, but I would think that this would mean that even if I were to get an international drivers permit it would be irrelevant since it would only apply to cars and not to motorcycles. How do I get a motorcycle license in Thailand, and is there somewhere where I can learn how to drive one 1st since I don't really know how? Also, if I were to get a motorcycle license in Thailand and then an international driving permit, since both Thailand and the U.S. are part of the treaty that acknowledges this license, would a Thai motorcycle license be accepted when I return to the U.S.? One more question, eventually I plan to return to the U.S., and if I did buy a motorcycle over here I would want to bring it home with me. I think it would also be nice to do some traveling first, which I could do to the other countries that acknowledge an international driving permit. I looked at the list of countries and all of Southeast Asia acknowledges it, as do the European countries and basically every other relevant country, except China. Since China is in the way, short of driving through the war zone in Afghanistan (which I will definitly not do) there doesn't seem to be a way to get to the rest of Eurasia by motorbike. Is there a way around this? Does China have some other type of license that I could reasonably expect to get in order to drive through it? If so, what is the process and where can I read more about it? Also, eventually I would want to try to catch a ferry from Russia or something to get back to the U.S. Are there such things and what are the restrictions and taxes associated with importing a vehicle that has been purchased overseas? Sorry this is such a long question. I want to get all the facts before I decide to do anything!... Read More »
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