THESE days, it seems like a gamble if you're planning to make a trip across the border.

Like other riders, I go to Johor for off-road trips or makan sessions with riding buddies.

On Tuesday afternoon, I found myself trapped in a massive jam at the Causeway.

Approaching the checkpoint in Woodlands, motorcycles normally stick to a single lane, while cars take two lanes. But this time, even the car lanes were occupied by motorcycles.

I was stuck in the "handlebar to handlebar" jam and was choking from motorcycle exhaust fumes, some 1.2km away from the immigration booths.

Motorbike horns blared. If you're slow in moving forward, the smallest of gaps would be filled by the rider next to you.

Even an ambulance was caught in the jam. Some said paramedics came to render assistance to an injured rider.

Nick Singh, a fellow rider, said: "I have stopped going to JB three weeks ago. My bike overheats easily in slow traffic.

"There are ways to avoid the jam. You either go very early in the morning or use the Second Link (at Tuas). But, it can be a hassle because it will affect your sleep or you end up wasting petrol taking the longer way to Johor Baru."

A motor mechanic, Mr Hi Chi Hiong, has no choice but to endure the daily jams at the checkpoints.

Mr Hi, who finishes work at Bukit Merah at about 7.30pm daily, said: "Before the manhunt for Mas Selamat, it was normal to wait at least an hour to clear customs. Nowadays, I leave work and get home close to midnight.

"After I bathe, I'm just too tired to do anything else, other than to sleep. The next day, I wake up at 6am to repeat the whole process again."

Caught in the jam, riders do the strangest things, Mr Hi said. Some, who are in a hurry to relieve themselves, just dash to the side of the road or bushes to urinate. Others wait in discomfort, he said.

Mr Hi said: "If you have a pillion, it's not so bad. You could ask the pillion rider to look after your bike while you use the restroom. If you're riding alone, you have no choice but to 'tahan' (endure in Malay), because you just can't park your motorcycle at the side."

My ordeal on Tuesday probably hit me worse than usual because it was out of the ordinary.

Thankfully, I got a lucky break more than an hour later and got out of the jam.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Mar 22, 2008.