Cambodia-Thailand-Myanmar
Destination Rally just finished a fantastic run throughout Southeast Asia on December 1 and spices were the theme for this year’s event. As we drove along some of the most scenic areas of the three countries, participants could see, smell and, above all, taste the different spices. Some of the most breathtaking sites we visited were Angkor, Pre Vihear, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Kentung, Inle Lake, Bagan and so many more hidden gems along the way—making this year’s rally even more cultural than usual.
On November 8, we started in the quaint city of Sihanoukville, on the Gulf of Thailand, where 21 cars had been shipped from all over the world. Some of the fantastic vintage cars on the menu included everything from a 1924 Vauxhall, a 1927 Bentley Speed Six, and a 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, all the way to a 1971 Mercedes! Our participants came from Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, U.S. and Thailand. The 22nd car, the 1969 Mercedes Pagoda from Lord Laidlaw, joined us later in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the last part of the rally. After the initial briefing and presentation of the rally, the welcome evening ended up with everyone on the dance floor, a great and surprising start!
After a monk’s car blessing ceremony, we started our first rally day with a late monsoon rain while driving through the famous Kampot pepper plantations. It was a memorable start, driving through the rain on a dirt road with potholes, while a truck getting stuck in the mud blocked the entire way, forcing us to redirect people. The Dutch 1927 Bentley got into problems on the dirt road, with the front wheel coming off…a mistake by their mechanic back home, which fortunately got solved before the mountainous part of the journey. Upon our arrival in Phnom Penh, we joined together for a police escort entrance into the busy city with fast and furious driving on the wrong side of the boulevards, an excitement normally reserved for heads of state. After a glorious arrival at the famous Raffles hotel, we briefed our participants on the political situation and the history of the Khmer Empire to give them an insight into the country and its people.
Thank God our mechanics were ready from day one, since as usual, car problems always turn up at the start: overheating, gear problems and so forth.
The next day, after a short visit at the infamous Tuol Sleng prison from The Killing Fields, we drove to Siem Reap, the famous home of Angkor temples at the time of a local festival. We stayed at the Grand Hotel d’Angkor, another great hotel to enjoy for two days while visiting the sites and taking memorable photos in front of Angkor Wat. Time for people to get to know each other in our own rally “Club House,” a place to mingle, get updated information and free drinks! We left people with some great Cambodian memories following the beautiful visit to the Angkor sites that ended at night with a superb private dinner among the lighted temples.
On Day 5, we enjoyed a nice rural drive through the hills, ending at the beautiful secret temple of Pre Vihear, situated atop a mountain on the Thai-Cambodia border. That night was also the important cross-border briefing in order to have a smooth ride into Thailand.
On Day 6, after the first exciting nine days in Cambodia, it was time to say goodbye to our fantastic local logistics team as they ensured a seamless first border crossing into Thailand.
A fast drive on highways and good Thai roads brought us to the city of Khon Kaen and a wonderful lodge on the riverbank. So far so good, all cars arrived, although some not until after dark.
Thailand was still mourning the death of its beloved King, which we respected, but it did bring a particular atmosphere. The contrast with Cambodia was quite big, as Thailand is a 21st Century developed country, with highways and shopping centers.
On Day 7, we drove north to the Laos border and the quaint little town of Chiang Khan made of small wooden houses and colorful pagodas on the bank of the Mekong River. A day driving through hilly, single-lane roads along the river and the Laos border with lots of police checkpoints…but no police in sight! We ended the day in Dansai, the city made famous for its annual masks festival, where we visited the museum.
The next day, we drove a fantastic winding road through national parks, a great drive for the Mustangs and Sunbeam with powerful engines, a real rally road. We stopped for a chicken and rice lunch alongside a beautiful waterfall, where some went for a dive!
Day 9, took us to the UNESCO Heritage site of Sukhothai, the first Thai capital. Entrants had the option of driving around the site or bicycling it, before taking the fast road to Mae Sot on the Burmese border. It was here that the 1969 Mercedes got sent to Chiang Mai on a flatbed for repairs to serious gear troubles.
On Day 10, the Rolls-Royce (with an ignition problem) and one of the Mustangs (with a vapor lock problem) left the rally and drove straight to Chiang Mai via the highway. This was also the day that the rally enjoyed one of the best drives of the entire Spice Road Classic, as we drove alongside the Burmese border to the quaint mountain town of Mae Hong Son, passing the Burmese refugee camps and crossing many national parks via a scenic winding road.
“1864 turns road” was Day 11’s challenge, especially for the vintage car drivers. Here we also had our ER doctor’s first intervention where we stopped for a road accident between a truck and a motorcycle. Even though none of our participants were involved, our medical team reacted quickly to help the victim and a Canadian citizen who were soon driven to the nearest hospital. A well-deserved two days’ rest was waiting for us in Chiang Mai at the Dhara Dhevi, a Thai-Burmese style palace in a lovely garden—truly a five-star, deluxe experience. Superb photo opportunities were to be had with the cars in front of probably the best hotel of the rally.
Day 13 took us again on a great drive to Chiang Rai, our last stop before crossing the border with Myanmar, passing along the White temple and the amazing tea gardens of Singha Park. We welcomed our last arriving participants that night at dinner.
On November 21, the rally entered Myanmar (Burma), going from the 21st century back in time, and from a four-lane highway to a single-lane country road. This border crossing was our first “Drive-in” border crossing ever, as the drivers never had to leave their cars, and cleared the crossing in just 10 minutes! We drove along a very scenic road through little Christian and Buddhist villages, with hanging bridges over the river, where we stopped for lunch and a short visit by hired 4×4 to the Akha ethnic tribes just before reaching Kentung. Time for another medical intervention, this time with one of our own mechanics—11 stitches on his knee.
Day 15 was the most difficult day of the rally. After a 6 a.m. start, we headed out on a very private road as we received special permission from the government to be the first vintage car rally to use this road! A great drive through mountains and hills, green pasture and thousands of yellow flowers along the roadsides, land of the Silver Palaung ethnic tribe all the way to Namsang in the Shan Hills. Unfortunately, we had our first accident of the rally between a car and a motorcycle. Again, thanks to our emergency doctor and our compulsory ambulance we were able to handle the incident in a quick and efficient way.
On November 23, Day 16 we made our way past the famous Htam San cave going down the hill to Inle in time for lunch at the Inle Princess Resort & Spa, a little paradise on the bank of Inle Lake. Now it was time for two days’ rest and the opportunity to catch up on some mechanical work, like on the Porsche where the horn got stuck and they had to drive for one hour with the sound of their horn blaring!
Day 17 was a free day to enjoy the wonders of the famous lake, with a boat tour to local markets, archeological sites and the famous floating gardens. We also visited the local orphanage (where some participants made donations), while the mechanics took the opportunity to go over the cars.
Being in the Shan Hills and their colorful pastures mixing fields of red, yellow and green, Day 18 was a relaxing drive past the famous Pindaya cave and its 8,000 Buddhas, followed by a short drive to the British colonial town of Kalaw, where we stayed in a new lodge and had dinner around the fire as it got quite cold that night.
The next day we had prepared some school equipment donations for the little school next to the hotel, where the kids entertained us with songs and dances.
A further drive down the Shan plateau to the Elephant Camp, where some of our female participants enjoyed very much the elephant washing and scrubbing in the river, a thrill well worth the time. We made our descent towards the arid plains of Mount Popa just in time for a magnificent view of the sunset over the monastery. Capping off the day we had to escort the Rolls-Royce for the last 30 kilometers as it had arrived after sundown.
Day 20 and a short hop to Bagan, on a sandy road, where we stopped at a local peanut farm and palm sugar factory in time for a nice lunch at the Aureum Palace Hotel in Bagan. A two-day stopover to discover the site of Bagan and its 2,500 pagodas then followed.
As part of our “Responsible Tourism” activities the Rally sponsored nine kids from poor families for their noviciation ceremony in a wonderful old wooden monastery. Participants in the rally were able to experience, first hand, this incredible event in the life of all Buddhists.
The next day, although free, took the participants to new heights with a hot air balloon flight over the thousand pagodas and stupas, with a breathtaking sunrise to be remembered.
On November 29, Day 22 took us through the “Texas” of Myanmar with its oil wells along the site of the famous Irrawaddy River, and further on to the new capital of the country Naypidaw and its very large, 20-lane Parliament Boulevard. Arriving at the Kempinski hotel, just in time for our VIP dinner with members of the Ministry of Tourism, the evening was a nice introduction to the local political scene.
Day 23 was the last day of the rally, but also another first for any rally as we left in a heavily guarded motorcade to enter the new Parliament complex to visit the main hall, which made for great photos, thanks to the Union Minister of Tourism.
The rest of the day was quite easy driving on the highway linking Naypidaw and Yangon, a five-hour stretch all the way into the heart of Yangon, passing the famous Shwedagon Pagoda and ending at the Governor’s Residence, another landmark hotel. All cars made it to the end, thanks to our team of great mechanics. We were honored with the presence of the Minister of Hotels and Tourism for our last night’s dinner in the beautiful gardens of the hotel.
On December 1, we drove in a police escorted convoy to the harbor for container loading.
To sum up the rally, it was a fantastic discovery of Southeast Asia for 21 teams through mountains and hills passing quaint villages, hundreds of golden pagodas and stupas, various ethnic tribes, UNESCO Heritage sites, rice fields and thousands of smiling children along the way.
Was it worth it? It seems so, as we already have six cars from this rally signed up for next September’s Chile-Argentina Road Classic, an exclusive event limited to 22 cars!
