The World Off Road Pt 5

Apocalypse

NOW!
This is a 13,000 km. adventure from thedeveloped malaysian peninsula to the former
war zone of South east asia, which is now aheavenly destination for hard core travelers.

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OVERLANDER FeB.10

45

The World Off Road Pt 5

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12th century Ta Prohm temple was constructed
into the jungle and was invaded by the jungle
after the decline of the Khmer empire. This
mystic place was the set for famous Hollywood
movie Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie.

After the Indian experience – acultural shock on a daily basis- Malaysia seems to be so easy,reliable and affordable. The samegoes in Thailand as well. Tourism
is so developed here that thereal colour of the country is
paled. Motorways, neon signs,
mini markets and malls are
spread everywhere from Phuket to Bangkok. Even the monks
are busy with their fancy mobile phones most of the time.
Thailand and Malaysia would be identical if the former wasn’t
a Buddhist society and the latter a Muslim one. Malaysia is
90% Muslim but is more multicultural, thanks to the Chineseand Indian minorities. Chinatowns and Little Indias are distinct
neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka or Georgetown, thebusy port of Penang island. Malays have the political power
but Chinese have the money. In other words, Malaysia aims
to be a bigger Singapore. You probably know Singapore; A
rich, dollar oriented society, which survives in huge malls,
fancy sushi restaurants, tennis courts and golf courses ina strategically situated island at the tip of the Malaysian
peninsula. If you have no money you are nobody here.
Singapore was very expensive for us, so we had to sleep in car

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An oldstories a Cambodian lad
language bout the geno y could havecide iftobarrier.
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.
betweenfence inA bus accident on a
muddy road in Laosdelayed our trip to
Luang Prabang.

park at East Coast Park (the only beach for Singaporeans) inorder to save money. Mall societies like this are not suitablefor our adventure, that’s why we changed our mind there anddecided to divert our route. Given we couldn’t find a car ferry
to Indonesia we turned to the north, crossed Malaysia andsouthern Thaland and from Bangkok, we drove towards theborder of Cambodia.

Khmer grandeur and Khmer Rouge atrocities
This was an eye opening experience. A long, hard drive
through countries we all got to know from Hollywood war
movies, like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Killing Fields and Deer
Hunter. Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos; we were excited tomake this roundtrip right from the start of our ‘around theworld’ dream.
I remember well the day we entered Cambodia. It was
like entering the third world with all these porters pushing
OVERLANDER mar.10

47

The World Off Road Pt 5

56
their wooden, overloaded
carts with goods carried
from prosperous Thailand.
As long as we were driving
through the rice fields we were
enthusiastic to explore themarvels of Angkor like Lara Croft
did in her first movie. We could
not imagine the mass development
odfdfiothe ruins generated at nearby Siem
f iughfu ifn9uehgiuhgiu
yfe
eigniebh
Reap though. In a rural country
guihef hgiuehguehiu
hgoegufeiuhefuigh feiug ghelike Cambodia this is a Westernhuehgih feiu
ghefgegparenthesis of luxurious resorts, spa
and sushi restaurants. Siem Reap isthe major money machine for this poor country as everybody
flies here from Bangkok to visit the Angkor temples and go
back. And you know what? The temples are worth it. This is
one of the most breathtaking archeological sites in the world,
along with the pyramids of Giza and Acropolis of Athens.
Angkor is by far the biggest one. We did 150km in two days
to see the temples that extend for tens of kilometers into

Visiting the S21
prison and thekilling fields ofthe Khmer Rouge
period is a thrilling
experience.
14.000 people aresaid to be tortured
to death in thisformer schoolof Phnom Penh,
during the four
years of the Khmer
Rouge regime.

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the jungle. We were astonished by what the Khmer created.
The next day, in Phnom Penh, we were disgusted by what
the Khmer Rouge regime brought to this country in 1975. It
was a painful experience visiting the ‘killing fields’ and theTuol Sleng museum, a school transformed to notorious S-21
prison. These were two places where thousands of people diedof torture as enemies of the communist utopia that the KR
wanted to bring in the country. One third of the population (1.7
million people!) died during the four years the Khmer Rouge
dominated Cambodia until the Vietnamese army invaded
the country for good. This genocide was so inhuman and sorecent that nobody should forget. More than anybody, thepeople of Cambodia can’t forget. Looking in their eyes, you cansee only pain. They are discreet, though, polite and generous.
They don’t like reminding their past to foreigners. People ofCambodia are a personification of humanity. We admire them.

No more B52 and napalm bombs
We were told that foreign vehicles were not allowed in
Vietnam. You need a special permit, local plates and insurance
that you can’t get issued if you don’t present a guarantee
Young monks study
early in the morningin front of the famous
Bayon temple -The World Off Road Pt 5Children areadorable,
especially in Laos.
We loved them!

100,000 Km. er
in a Land Rov
Discovery3
Car km.: 101,626
ok-Ho Chi
Lumpur-Singapore-Bangk
47
Trip km.: 92,626 Kuala
12,9
pur
Lum
ala
i-Ku
Ma
hiang
Minh-Hanoi-Vientiane-C
km. Refuellings: 23.: 13.1
Diesel lt.: 1701 lt/100 km
ured in Solihull, England.
3/1/2007: Car manufact
letsas,works at Roverland-Gab
26/2/2007: Development
Greecement, oilch slave cylinder replace
22/4/2007: defected clut

BELOW:
Vientiane is themost laid backcapital in SE Asia.
Pat that luang– the golden
Buddhist temple- is the highlightof the city.

letter from your embassy at Vietnamese customs. Embassies
don’t grant documents like this so the only other way was
to pay money. That’s what we did. Thanks to a local tour
operator, we managed to drive our Discovery in the country
and it was worth the 250USD we were charged, after a hardbargain. They were asking for 700 USD…
Vietnam is a totally different country to what you expect.
The painful civil war that resulted to heavy military offensiveby the Americans is hardly distinguishable today. A decade
after its reunification in the 80’s, Vietnam decided to reformfrom a rural underdeveloped communist state to a fastdeveloping economy. They imitated the Chinese model. Tourist
development is impressive as well. We could not believe oureyes when we visited beach resorts like Mui Ne and Nha Trang.
This is the Copacabana of Rio or Surfers Paradise with chop
sticks. We traveled through the country, from the former
capital Saigon (renamed to Ho Chi Minh, after the famous
Viet leader) to Hanoi and what we saw was a great effort by
everybody. Nobody seems to remember the war. There is nohate against Americans at all. Vietnamese are hard workers
and forward-thinking entrepreneurs. Some of them give abad reputation to this splendid country, as they like to takeadvantage of tourists. Overpricing is common, so you have tobargain for everything, even for a cup of coffee. Apart from
this, our Vietnamese adventure was more than satisfying. We
will never forget driving through the DMZ (demilitarized zone)
at the 17th parallel, hiding like the Vietkong into the Vinh Moc
tunnels, walking into the streets of old Hoi An or biking into
the imposing citadel in Hue.

changeadventure begins!
25/4/2007, 7500 km.: The
ond clutch slave cylinder
22/5/2007, 11627 km.: sec
coroc
replacement in Mo
Service in Dakar-Senegal
18/6/2007, 17.625 km.:air inService and handbrake rep
4/9/2007, 33.699 km.:
Namibia
lacement
Clutch master cylinder rep
5/10/2007, 37.567 km.:in East London, S.Africa
ed by
4 new Cooper tyres provid
7/10/2007, 38.343 km.:
Dunlop S. Africa in Durban
Service in Tanzania
8/11/2007, 45.473 km.:, Egypt
front brake pads change
22/ 1/2008, 59.919 km.:Roverland
at
vice
ser
Big
.:
km
20/2/2008, 66.000
pinion, belts changed. Rack andGabletsas. Clutch, brakes
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replaced (after we hit a bao und) exhaust finals replacedgrodistorted (by touching the re wheel base provided byspaswell. New Kaymar double. New BF Goodrich A/T tyre
Outback Import of Greece
las.
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in
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bra.:
3/4/2008, 67.500 km
d.
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lacement
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km
2/6/2008, 78.574
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and handbrake setup inment,.: front brake pads replacekm
232
26/6/2008, 82.
Nepal
nder and.: Clutch slave/master cyli
22/7/2008, 85.076 km-Mumbai
tors
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nit
Nav
in
nt
me
hand brake unit replaces change.: Oil and rear brake pad
24/ 10/2008, 93.845 km
in Cambodia.
oil.: hand brake unit, rear diff
23/ 11/2008, 100.736 km
d Rover Malaysia
Lan
from
nt
me
lace
rep
sealer and turbo

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rg8eg fewiru
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The World Off Road Pt 5

Laid-back countries
Laos is the most heavily
bombed country on earth.
By Americans – who else?
Hundreds of innocent people stilllose their lives every year fromUXO – unexploded ordnance.
Driving through the country,
though, is a refreshing and muchsafer experience. Traffic is low on
the twisty roads that run throughthe forested, hilly landscape. People
are more relaxed than the Vietnamese
Damn– they actually have a Thai style.
one hou oen Saduak, ar outsidfExpatriates
are more than the touristsloati
centuries e Bangkok, ng market about
seems tobehindinthecountry
and the hot spots arefrom modern T be left
distinct here; Vientiane, Vang Vieng andhailand.
– French style - Luang Prabang were theonly places where we felt as if we were in
the famous Kao San road of Bangkok. You know what I mean:
strips full of cafes, guest houses, tour agencies and massage
parlors. Every other place gets you back to a 19th century ruraland peaceful lifestyle. We fell in love with Laos and we will gothere again to meet more tribal people.
Northern Thailand is much more developed than Laosbut is laid back as well. This country is incredibly organized.
Wherever we traveled, roads were perfectly paved, towns
well signed and lively from dawn until late at night. Don’tkehg rire iu
rg8eg fewiru
yew fer 8gyug
uyvg uygdw8
gv dygwudyg
wduyg7wd fydg

Kayan – Karen women do nothave long necks as people
believe. Wearing the heavy
brass rings, pushes down theircollarbone and the final result ismostly an optical illusion.

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Saigon is a
motorbike hell!

get panicked by last year’s political turbulence in Bangkok.
Thailand is as safe for its visitors as eight airbags in yourcar. Police are always there to protect foreigners. Thai people
are peaceful, permissive and respectful. In their every day
life, they adore food and socializing through dining, which
they like to do all day long. Stalls are spread everywhere andthey serve a dazzling variety of food. After a long walk in
Chiang Mai – our favorite town in Thailand – you can always
have a Thai massage before dinner – possibly in a Buddhist
temple. It’s like an exhilarating aperitif that costs no morethan five Australian dollars! From Chiang Mai, you can takethe motorway and travel safe and sound to the Malaysian
border but what we did was more exciting. We followed theold hippy trail to Pai village and from there to Mae Hong Son
where we met some of the hill tribes living there. Visiting avillage of ‘long neck” women is a must even if you do it in a
package tour. The women that came 13 years ago as refugees

The World Off Road Pt 5
from Burma live here under the surveillance of the Thaigovernment and make a living thanks to the tourists whoarrive to see them in daily basis. Many people say this is an‘anthropological zoo’ and maybe they are right. Try to change
this whenever you go there. Don’t just take photos and go on,take some time and speak with these lovely ladies. They haveheartbreaking stories to tell…
Most hill tribes of northern Thailand are of Burmese
origin. They were forced to leave their country to escape therepression of the military junta. This regime altered the historyof a beautiful nation and diverted our route as well. Restrictive
laws for foreigners had obliged us to ship our car from
Chennai to Malaysia as independent travelers are not allowedin the country. Burma was a country we missed and that’s
why we wanted to enter there. Entering Burma from Thailand
is straightforward. You just need to leave your car at Mae Sot,
cross the bridge and take a temporary permit, valid for one
day. We visited the Myawadi, a border town, and we saw thatthe standards of living are much lower than in neighboring
Thailand. Dusty streets, bustling markets, pedal rickshaws
and a blend of Indian and Asian faces, these are our memories
from our short visit to Burma.
Getting back to Kuala Lumpur after a three month, 13,000
km. roundtrip to SE Asia, was like getting back home. We
felt nostalgic in a way as this was a familiar place to us but
we were already missing the bustling towns of Vietnam, therice paddies of Cambodia, the fresh air of mountainous Laosand the hippy lifestyle of northern Thailand. Malaysia was likehome with all these malls, fancy restaurants and multiplex
cinemas but we didn’t want to go home yet. We were looking
forward driving through Indonesia to East Timor and – yes!
– get to Australia. A down under adventure is yet to come!

In Chiang Mai wecelebrated thecolorful Loi Kratong
festival among
thousands of locals.

7

8

Go to www.theworldoffroad.com to see where we are now!

We travelled under
torrential rain in Vietnam.

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