CAITA Day 9 Trang-Hue:'An Unexpected Detour'

Day 9. Sunday Oct. 22nd

Today, Our destination was Hue City 600km

We started off at 6am and expecting the drive to be smooth and easy going....
About 30km out of town, we came across a whole lot of queeing lorries parked by the road side, apparently, the coastal road was not passable to heavy vehicles, and they were waiting for authorisation to take a extended 250km detour. After a while, we met up with the first convoy, - our’s being the third, and was told of a major rd diversion because of a collapsed bridge. This diversion added another 250km to our run to Hue, it meant that we are expected to be on the road for at least 10 hours. Our detour took us inland for 30km westerly and then north for about 250 and thereafter 170km easterly to rejoin the coastal HW1. The progress was painfully slow, averaging 60km/h through narrow and busy B roads. As we were not given any road map, we could only see where our heading was thro the GPS’s tracer. Our pda did not have the map software for both Cambodia and Vietnam, however, what we could see was the tracer direction and distances as recorded on the pda. This section of the drive was very interesting as we drove up narrow and winding mountain rd. This was where we longed to breakaway from the group and play. But we have to behave as not to upset anyone. There were several occasions where we had to take evasive actions to avoid colliding with the general road users as we encountered a young cyclist cutting across our path, in spite of our honking regularly. The locals here are not taught about road safety, the typical behavior is to behave like the cows– if the car honk, just keep going the direction w/out looking back and they will avoid you. Yes we nearly collided with a cow when it decided to wander across the rd 50m ahead of us. Scary! We passed a m/cyclist transporting a fridge! (see photo)
The accompanying tourist guide was not confident of the inland route that he got out of the lead car several times to ask for direction. It was quite worrying. We eventually got our little fun when the convoy leader slowed and asked our cars to lead while they stopped to do a “song and dance” – a Chinese Team’s way of saying -to visit a toilet. We finally got on to rejoin the main coastal HW1 at 2pm – yes after 8hrs, and have another 400km to go.
On the HW1, we could make up some time but the traffic was building up towards the evening. The scenic view of the coastal rd was rewarding for our tiring eyes, we drove through a 6km tunnel near Hue, which was quite spectacular.
We eventually reached our hotel at 845pm. A total of 14.75hrs on the road! What a day!! Guess what? We are the first group to arrive. I understand later the last group came in 3 hrs later. I was so tired that I crashed on the bed for 3 hrs before getting up at 1am to write this report. Tomorrow, we start at 7am for another gruel ling run to Ha Long Bay – about 700km.

Leslie’s car mate are doing well

Cheers
William & Harold at HUE
0200hrs

CAITA Day 8 HoChiMinh-Nha Trang: 'From Madness to happiness'

Day8. Saturday, 21 Oct.

Today, our journey is from HCM City to Nha Trang, 447km.

We started our journey at 8am and we are greeted with a million motorcycles on the streets. It was a nightmare at such an early hour and especially difficult for RH Drive car in a Left Hand Drive country. The traffic was so chaotic, that it's difficult for me to describe. We had bikes competiting for space on the road. Picture the m/cycle jam on the woodlands viaduct except that it was moving and you will see what I mean. Absolute madness for us foreigners. Our tour guide advised us to keep to the outer lane as the motorbikes will converged on the second and inner lanes.

The traffic speed was 30 to 40km per hour. Again, we had to be very careful not to bum into anyone. Overtaking was difficult and was stressful to drive. Our progress out of the city was on an average of 40km per hour. Once out of the city, the road condition was good and the run was smooth. We passed through small towns, with shops displaying their wares on the sidewalk, constantly peppered with dust from the road. We also noticed there are quite a few Catholic churches in this part of Vietnam. By 12noon, we stopped at a petrol station to take a break and enjoyed our typical fried rice paradise. However, this time we had french loaves with sausages and some fruits as well.

The road leading to Nha Trang is by heading eastwards the coast. Once we reached coastal area, we were rewarded with spectacular views -- the rolling mountains with blue waters. Beautiful. (some pics taken by Ernest Chua) Some of the hills were quite botak -bald of trees, probably from Orange bomb during the war. There was a stretch of road so straight and flat for several km with low flat land on both sides and a mountain view directly ahead. We could easily imagine that we are in some highway in U.S.

Nha Trang is a lovely /restful seaside resort town with several 5 star hotels: sea- facing. We arrived at 430pm and had time to explore the town. Tomorrow, we will be heading for Hue -- perfume city. We are expected to leave at 6am.
Cheers
William & Harold at Nha Trang

CAITA Day 6 & 7 Siem Reap-Phnom Penh - Ho Chi Minh

Day 6 Thursday 19th Oct. Siem Reap - Phnom Penh. 'PADI FIELDS'

We stayed at the City Angkor Hotel- 4 star, 4 storey property owned by Singaporean. Yesterday's slow progress meant that the visit to Angkor Wat Ruins was postponed to this morning at 6am. Due to time constrain, we were only given 1 hour to explore the magnificent place. We boarded a coach to Angkor Thom, a smaller Angkor Wat which was about 12km from town. After the fleeting visit and a short tour of SiemReap town, we returned to our cars and headed for Phnom Penh 350km. The road out towards the capital city was generally fair with the occasional pot holes to catch the unattentive. We were able to keep an average speed of 80 kmh. We passed by many huge padi fields, so big that it stretches over the horizon - it reminded me of the movie "Killing Fields" After crossing 21 bridges, the last being the biggest-sponsored by Japanese Gov't , we arrived at Phnom Penh, in time for lunch. After lunch, we went for a short city tour, and visited the Royal Palace. Our hotel- Hotel Cambodiana, overlooks the Mekong River, has large room and comfortable beds. A Friendship Banquet was hosted by the CAITA organiser, attended by local Gov't Officials, the Chinese Embassy and local Chinese business leaders

Day 7 Friday 20 Oct. Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh. 'NEARLY TURNED BACK'

Today, our destination is HCM City. 237km. We started the day at 8.10am. Traffic out of Phnom Penh was hectic with motor cycles all over the road, making over-taking a very exciting affair. This is the first time that we were driving with the attitude that Might is Right. Press the horn to warn motor cycle is a neccesity. We saw all kinds of vehicles being used for transportation. E.g. light goods van with a roof rack seated with at least ten people. Single motor cycle pulling atrailer behind with planks placed across, with 10 pax sitting on it. The road was riddled with potholes and after 30km of driving, we could feel the shock absorbers started to soften up. We bak tracked towards Seam Reap direction for a bit, before joining a road towards the Mekong river. By 1015am, we reached the Mekong River ferry crossing. After the crossing, we took another one and half hour to reach the border. Clearing the Cambodian border was a breeze. The real drama started as we tried to cross the Vietnam border. Our two Singapore cars were not allowed to enter Vietnam because the Vietnamese customs did not recognise our Carnet. We had to apply for temporary permit. Even this was rejected as they said they needed 4 working days to process. Our offer of gratication was rejected as it was a matter of policy that RHD vehicle not permissible to drive in Vietnam. So during our dilemma, our Vietnamese team mates assisted us by calling their contacts in Hanoi. With authorisation from the very top personnels in Hanoi, our cars were finally given entry 7 hours later. We were informed that we were the first Singapore cars -- Right Hand Drive cars to enter Vietnam. We finally left the customs at 6.30pm local time. Headed for HCM City, First Hotel. We finished our journey at 8pm. That was a really close call.

I would like to add that the Chinese organiser assigned a vehicle to stay with us throughout our waiting at the border and they too tried their best to get their contacts and their Chinese Embassy to assist. We did not feel let down in any way and grateful for their support. Our highest appreciation goes to the Vietnamese gentleman, Mr Nguyen Duc Hieu, from the Vietnamese contingent. It is through his personal relationship with the highest authority in Hanoi customs that got us through. He had to write a letter of undertaking that we are bona fide competitors in this Rally. He will personally see us out of Vietnam.

After we arrive at the hotel, we were greeted with many of our group members as well as the executive organising committee. For this we are very very grateful to all concerned. Had we not able to cross the Vietnamese border, we had to make a U turn back to Singapore, the way we came.

CAITA Day 5 Bangkok-Siem Reap "Life in 3rd World"

Day 5 18th Oct BKK – Siem Reap 315 Km

Today our destination is Siem Reap, Cambodia

We started at 6am from BKK as we are concern about the infamous traffic jam. We drove towards Chon Puri, on the Hw 7, and then we joined Hw 304, and eastwards on Hw359
We stopped at 730am to refuel. We took in 39.75 liters. Thus we topped up a total of 132.95 litres and traveled 1028km from Bukit Kayu Hitam averaging 7.73km/l

We arrived at Aranyaprathet at 10am.

The border crossing was quite an event. Clearing Thai Customs was smooth, but the headache started when we crossed over to Poipet Boundary Post.

Here is Poipet, the scene changed completely. The roads after the CIQ were immediately in a state of disrepair. We droved 125km of unpaved roads, pitted with huge potholes, - there were more potholes than flat road. The max. speed we could do was 30km/h. The car really suffered from excessive bumps and vibrations. I am sure the car aged 2 yrs from this treatment. To make matters worse, we were subjected to 15 flood crossing – one of which was so bad, that we could feel that the car float and pushed by the swift flowing water.

The rest of the tarmac rd leading to SiemReap was paved but in poor state.

We finally reach our City Angkor Hotel at 515pm, making it 11 hours to cover 315km

Tomorrow, our destination is Phnom Penh

Ps, we have to wash the car before entering PP otherwise a fine will be imposed

Cheers
William & Harold

CAITA Day 3&4 Hadyai - Bangkok

Day 3 16th Oct. Hatyai - Bangkok

Today our destination is Bangkok City 900+km away

We started the journey at 705am. Getting out of Hatyai was a breeze during the early hours. Very soon, we settled at the highway speed of 110km/h
Let me describe the comms system we have in our 2 SIN cars. Firstly, we have the MINI VHF sets, by courtesy of Dr Nick for the loan of his VHF (VHH), from Stan Lee, we have his remote mike, and from Audrey we have her remote mike and external antenna. The second system is by courtesy of Capt McCully for the loan of his Vertex UHF (UHH). The convoy leader loan us their UHF (CHH) to communicate between the convoy leader and ourselves. What we didn’t realised was the main system for the convoy was VHF system, which was informed to me when I inquired this morning. I managed to tune our VHF and the air was abuzz with exciting quiz, riddles, singing, etc. With this frequency opened to us, we were immediately introduced to everyone on the air. What fun! Leslie’s father who initially was shy to speak, very quickly warmed up to the occasion by telling his life story. We had a bit of history about how he became an orphan after his parents were taken away by the Japanese army and executed.
With the buzzing on the air, we soon passed Phatterlung on Highway 4 and stopped for refuel 258km after leaving Hatyai. Here we took in 24.46litres. The convoy”s range was limited by the accompanying mini bus which can reach 300km. This gave everyone an opportunity to rest every 2 to 3hrs of driving. – Good safety feature
Next stop was at 296km later. We loaded 42.03 liters. At this filling station, we took our package lunch. Not sounding unappreciative, we had to discard our fried rice as it started to smell bad. We had our fruits for lunch. A small commotion happened here- A large centipede felled from the hot tin roof onto the table next to us. Everyone scrambled. I will show the pictures when I return
Next refueling point was near Hua Hin after 254km. Here we used 26.71 litres.
We reached our BKK Royal Waterfront Hotel at 7pm making it a total travel time of 12hours. Mr Roger Chang met us at the hotel and treated us to a very nice seafood dinner.

Day 4 17th Oct. Free Day - SSW Factory Tour

Today, the program is free and easy. Most of the guys chose city tour, but we had different plans: Mr. Roger Chang, CEO of Stamford Sports Wheels (SSW), also one of our sponsors for this trip, brought us for a factory visit. Here we learnt about how alloy wheels are made, how quality assurance is built into the process of manufacturing. SSW makes wheels from 15 to 20 inches diameter for export. We saw different destructive tests carried out and was informed SSW is being exported to 36 countries

After lunch, we visited MBK for a bit of shopping and massage. After our facial done, I told Harold his face looked cleaner and fairer as a result. :-)

We were treated to a sumptuous dinner hosted by Leslie’s father in law, who is also in our team.

Tomorrow, our destination is Cambodia, Siem Reap, and 300km from BKK, which we planned to start at 6am.

Cheers
William & Harold

CAITA DAY 2 Ipoh - Hadyai

15 OCTOBER
Today,our destination is Hatyai, Thailand
We were given our lunch box, the convoy rolled out at 815, and headed to Sg Perak R&R for refuel. This is our first top up since our initial topping at 2nd Link. The average consumption was 8.39 km/l, not bad for a 3.5 SUV. We calculate the range we can expect is appox. 600 to 650 km per tankful.
We reached Batu Kayu Hitam and topped up again to prepare for the LLLOOOONG 900km tomorrow from Hatyai to Bangkok.
This time the fuel economy improved slightly to 8.48km/l
Clearing thai Customs was smoother with the Carnat then normally without. We reached the BP GRAND Hotel, Hadyai at 3pm.
After 2 hrs power nap, Harold and I ventured out to explore the shopping scene. We walked past the very first foot massage shop, and seeing the shop keeper, a pretty decent looking young lady, invitingly asked if she can massage our feet. Feeling rather tired from the drive, we decided to pamper our aching legs.. As we sat down on the reclining chairs, we had a unusual surprise.... Remember the 'topless car wash' joke? where passing motorist was enticed by the signboard offer topless carwash. After the motorist has paid and seated whilst the car are waiting to be washed, FAT 'TOPLESS' GUYS walk out of a room to wash the cars. Well, that's what happened to us. We were massaged by a coupe of transvestites. Oh goodness me.. I remarked about the topless carwash and we both laughed. About 10 mins into the massage, Harold's situation improved a little. His mussuer change and a plump girl took over. Well I just suffered in silence. OKOK the laugh is on us and hope you enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we head for BANGKOK, 900km away. The organisers have taken my suggestion to start the day earlier at 7am as we hope to reach BKK hotel by 6pm. We are expecting a hard and tiring drive because we expect to be delayed by the infamous BKK traffic jam, and after a long journey, it is not funny anymore
We had just finished our dinner at the hotel, and after this blogging, we will look for bird nest soup. YUM YUM.

Cheers
William and Harold
9pm local time

CAITA DAY 1 Singapore - Ipoh THE START

Saturday 14 Oct Begining of Our LONGEST DRIVE

This morning started with the Organising team loading our cars with their
stickers, which to their dismay, we have very little space left for them. So we
selected their main sponsor's China National Oil Co's stickers for the car
We were surprised and realised how meticulous the event organisers were when they handed us some of the official event T shirts, it had our SIN flag on it. Fantastic! MUST wear them, especially border crossings

The Flag Off was at the Furama Riverfront Hotel (former Apolo Hotel) at 830am. We were informed later that the Mayor of Nanning City, China, flew in to officiate the Flag Off ceremony. The ceremony was quite elaborate, with portable event back drop set up specially for the Start, and speeches from the Officials wishing us farewell for the 'Rally'. We convoyed to Tuas with the assistance of SMSA officials and CISCO outriders. Clearing Customs on
both sides was a breeze and we were regrouped at the Petronas station on the 2nd Link. On the journey started, the convoy maintained at leisurely paced of legal speed limit.
Our 1st stop of the day was Ayer Keroh. Leaving the highway, and 3 km after the
toll plaza, we turned left into a resort called Puteri Resort, for our break, and enjoyed our packaged lunch box of Fried Rice paradise, prepared from SIN
Next stop was Denkil R&R on the Elite Highway. Nothing much happened except
Leslie's father accidentally 'locked' Leslie's father-in-law inside the Forester. The poor guy was unable to get out because of the child proof system was activated, and this matter was
only discovered after they finished their 15 mins break. We were looking forward to introduce to the CAITA team the well known Kajang Satay, but was not opened unfortunately.
The MAL traffic Police had a lean day today, as we were cruising at legal speeds.

The Terracan is surprisingly economical. We topped up the tank to the brim at 2nd Link and reached Ipoh with 1/4 tank left. We arrived Ipoh's Casurina Hotel at 545pm.We will calculate the actual fuel used at refuel tomorrow morning before going over to our next stop: HATYAI - Thailand

Now we are planning to have the famous Ipoh Hor Fun & Tau Gay Chicken for supper after this travelogue report
Cheers
William & Harold at the IPOH Parkson Cybercafe 1030pm

CHINA - ASEAN TOURING ASSEMBLY

How it all began
One month ago, I was informed by SMSA of a group 4x4 enthusiasts attempting a convoy drive of 24 cars starting on 6th Oct.06 from QuanXi Nan Ning City, China to Singapore and return- estimating 11000 km, traversing through north Vietnam, into Vientiane, Laos, down to Bangkok, south towards Malaysia and finally to SIN on 13th Oct.
On the return leg, on the 14th Oct., they invited All ASEAN countries to sent 5 representatives to accompany their convoy, passing thro Malaysia (Ipoh), Thailand (Hatyai & BKK), Cambodia (Angkor Wat & Phnom Penh), Vietnam( Ho Chi Min City, Nah Trang, Hue city, Ha Long Bay) and finally crossing the Chinese border to Nan Ning City on the 24th Oct. A total of 5000km for the return leg
All participants are invited to the ASEAN Summit Dinner to be held in Nan Ning on the 26th Oct.2006

I was invited to be part of Team Singapore, driving a Hyundai Terracan 4X4, belonging to Mr Tan Teng Lip, for the trip. This is made possible through the generosity of Teng Lip, the President of SMSA, who unfortunately, had to be in Brazil for official meeting during this period. My co driver is Harold Netto, a well known figure in the Rally world during the 60's and 70's, partnering the late John Soh in their trusty VW Beetle.
The only other entry is to be driven by Leslie Chang, a well known rally driver, in his Subaru Forester 2.0 Turbo. Leslie will be assisted by Ernest Chua, a professional photographer, also an experienced navigator After the event, the two cars will be shipped back to SIN.

With the planning of the trip, we solicited commercial sponsors as the total expenses is estimated to be around $10000 to $12000
We are grateful to our following sponsors who have supported us in cash and equipment for this Drive:
- Stamford Tyres International for supplying new FALKEN tyres and SSW Stamford Sports Wheels
- Aztech
- Komoco for their technical assistance in the preparation

More sponsors to be announced

Preparation
Sat. 7th
Visited Stamford Tyres at Jurong, selected the SSW Stamford's latest sports rims and fitted FALKEN 255/55x18 tyres plus 2 spares, Checked the wheel alignment, found the TOE IN was too excessive and had it corrected. The guys over at Stamford were ever so helpful. Ah Wei even assisted to improvise a heat insulator to protect the spare tyre from the exhaust muffler's heat. Good. Wheels and tyres done

Mon 9th Oct
The Terracan was sent to KOMOCO for the prep work. I have compile a check list for the mechanical work to be performed, and Komoco's service manager William Chua was enthusiastic enough to carry out all the work requested. We had a fuel tank skid protector plate fabricated. A courtesy car was loan to Teng Lip for his convenience whilst the Terracan is in the workshop.

Tues 10th, Collected the car. As expected the car ran smoothly, checked out the 4X4 system,and 'learning' the owner's manual.

Wed 11th,
All the sponsors stickers are pasted on the car. Now it is wearing the proper dress code and looks the part too.
Collected the Carnet from AA Singapore. All documents are now complete. My only concern is 3rd party insurance cover for Cambodia. My several emails to the insurance companies in Cambodia failed to seek a response
Press conference was held in Teng Lip's office in the evening, followed by a talk given by Mr Eddie Keng, sharing his experiences in Indo-China, during his many reccee trips.

Thursday, 12 October 2006
Today, we had the Terracan fitted with a exhaust snorkel system which we improvised using flexi hose connected to the tail pipe.This will be useful when crossing flooded area. Finally the Hyundai Terracan is ready.
We are now mentally prepared as well. Comms fitted, on-board F&B purchased,and packed in the car including half dozen toilet rolls!

William Lyou
http://5in10.blogspot.com