ASEAN On Wheels and Beyond: 4/19/09

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

ONE WEEK TO D-DAY

1. This time next week Sunny and I would spend our first night on the road, possibly at Ipoh or Taiping in Perak, the start of our two months ASEAN on Wheels journey to the Indochina countries, i.e. we are 7 days to D day, 27 Apr 09. This week will be an intense week as we finish the preparation for the trip.

2. After 2 months of exploring and seeking various approvals, we had decided to scale back on our plan. We decided to drop the Southern China leg of Guangxi and Yunnan, as the cost of approvals and complying with current regulations is very high. Given that our theme is ASEAN on Wheels, we reckoned that the omission is no big loss. We also decided to drop Myanmar as approval (to self drive in Myanmar) is taking a long time. We felt that it may be better to leave it to another trip later.

3. The revised plan now calls for travel to Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, then back to Laos, Thailand etc. All in all, we would have an average of 2 weeks per country, for Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam; enough time to explore the country and not having to rush. Given its size, we plan to spend about 3 weeks in Vietnam. When done, we would have travelled about 10, 000 km.

4. As this is a free and easy journey to explore and experience the Indochina countries, we decided that as a rule we do not book in advance hotels and tours. We will look for hotel room when we arrive at city or town that we are planning to stay the night. The hunt is part of the fun. Our budget is S$100 per night, twin-sharing.

5. For reason of safety and to allow us to see as much of the country as possible, we decided that we will only drive in the day; no more than 5-6 hours each day split between two of us. A comfortable pace.

6. Will focus the next postings on seeking the necessary approvals, getting the vehicle ready, and procuring the necessary supplies for the trip. Look out for them.

7. Sunny has also set up a blog to share his thoughts and experiences during the trip - www.2free-n-easy.blogspot.com. Do visit it.

WHY THIS BLOG?

Travel and driving are two of my passions. Through this blog, I hope to share my adventures and experiences of various self-drive holidays that I embarked. They were:
(1) Part 1 of the ASEAN on Wheels journey with Sunny Loo in my Pajero in May and June 09, which took us to Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in 64 days over 14 440 km. Do visit Sunny Loo's blog too, www.2free-n-easy.blogspot.com too.
(2) Part 2 of the ASEAN on Wheels journey with Lim Yeow Pheng in my Pajero from Oct to Dec 09 which took us to Brunei, East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, East Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa in 65 days in over 9 800 kms. Do visit Yeow Pheng's blog, aseanautoventure.blogspot.com.
(3) A month-long 6 812 miles (10 963 km) self-drive holiday to Western National Parks of USA with my wife (Li Hoon) and son (Weiping) in Weiping's car, a Hyundai Elantra, from 17 May to 16 June 2010, starting and ending at Madison, Wisconsin.

Current Location: Singapore

Distance traveled:

Next Destination:

ITINERARY

Nite Date Place

Part 1, Asean on Wheels
APR 09
1 27 Ipoh, Malaysia
2 28 Kuala Lipis, M
3 29 Kaolak, Thailand
4 30 Chumphon, T

MAY 09
5 1 Cha-am, T
6 2 Korat, T
7 3 Nong Khai, T
8 4 Vientiane, Laos
9 5 Vientiane, L
10 6 Sunnavekhet, L
11 7 Pakse, L
12 8 Pakse, L
13 9 Don Det, L
14 10 Kratie, Cambodia
15 11 Siem Reap, C
16 12 Siem Reap, C
17 13 Siem Reap, C
18 14 Kg Chhnang, C
19 15 Sihanoukville, C
20 16 Phnom Penh, C
21 17 Phnom Penh, C
22 18 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
23 19 Ho Chi Minh City, V
24 20 Ho Chi Minh City, V
25 21 Da Lat, V
26 22 Da Lat, V
27 23 Nha Trang, V
28 24 Quy Nhon, V
29 25 Hoi An, V
30 26 Hoi An, V
31 27 Hue, V
32 28 Hue, V
33 29 Vinh, V
34 30 Ninh Binh, V
35 31 Ha Noi, V

JUNE 09
36 1 Ha Noi, V
37 2 Ha Noi, V
38 3 Ha Noi, V
39 4 Dien Bien Phu, V
40 5 Dien Bien Phu, V
41 6 Udomxai, Laos
42 7 Luang Prabang, L
43 8 Luang Prabang, L
44 9 Luang Prabang, L
45 10 Huay Xai, L
46 11 Tachileik, Myanmar
47 12 Chiang Mai, Thailand
48 13 Chiang Mai, T
49 14 Chiang Mai, T
50 15 Mae Hong Son, T
51 16 Mae Sot, T
52 17 Ayuthaya, T
53 18 Ayuthaya, T
54 19 Hua Hin, T
55 20 Khao Lak, T
56 21 Phuket, T
57 22 Phuket, T
58 23 Phuket, T
59 24 Hatyai, T
60 25 Pulau Banding, Perak, Malaysia
61 26 Cherating, Pahang, M
62 27 Kuantan, M
63 28 Kuantan, M
64 29 Singapore

Part 2, Asean on Wheels
OCT 09
1 14 BSB, Brunei
2 15 BSB, B
3 16 Temburong, B
4 17 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Sh), M
5 18 Mt Kinabalu Natl Prk, Sh, M
6 19 Sandakan, Sh, M
7 20 Sandakan, Sh, M
8 21 Danum Valley Conservatn Area, Sh, M
9 22 Semporna, Sh, M
10 23 Tenom, Sh, M
11 24 Miri, Sarawak (Sk), M
12 25 Miri, Sk, M
13 26 Bario, Sk, M
14 27 Niah Caves, Sk, M
15 28 Sibu, Sk, M
16 29 Kuching, Sk, M
17 30 Kuching, Sk, M
18 31 Singkawang, Kalimantan, Indonesia

NOV 09
19 1 Pontianak, K, I
20 2 Pontianak, K, I
21 3 Sandai, K, I
22 4 Sampit, K, I
23 5 Banjarmasin, K, I
24 6 Banjarmasin, K, I
25 7 Batu Lichin, K, I
26 8 Balikpapan, K, I
27 9 Samarinda, K, I
28 10 Balikpapan, K, I
29 11 Balikpapan, K, I

30 12 Balikpapan/Cruise to Surabaya, I
31 13 Cruise to S, I
32 14 Surabaya, J, I
33 15 Mt Bromo, J, I
34 16 Tanah Lot, Bali, I
35 17 Ubud, B, I
36 18 Ubud, B, I
37 19 Jimbaran, B, I
38 20 Munduk, B, I
39 21 Ubud, B, I
40 22 Nusa Dua, B, I
41 23 Nusa Dua, B, I
42 24 Sengigi, Lombok, I
43 25 Kuta, L, I
44 26 Kuta, L, I

45 27 Sumbawa Besar, Sumbawa, I

46 28 Lakey Beach, S, I
47 29 Dompu, S, I
48 30 Senaru, Lombok, I

DEC 09
49 1 Mangsit, L, I
50 2 Ubud, Bali, I
51 3 Ubud, B, I

52 4 Lovina Beach, B, I
53 5 Ubud, B, I
54 6 Ubud, B, I
55 7 Ubud, B, I
56 8 Banyuwangi(Licin), Java, I
57 9 Jember, J, I
58 10 Surabaya, J, I
59 11 Surabaya, J, I
60 12 Tretes, J, I
61 13 Surabaya, J, I
62 14 Surabaya, J, I
63 15 Surabaya, J, I
64 16 Surabaya, J, I
65 17 Singapore

US National Parks
MAY 2010
0 17 Madison, Wisconsin
1 18 St Paul, Minnesota
2 19 Pierre, South Dakota (SD)
3 20 Custer, SD
4 21 Custer, SD
5 22 Sheridan, Wyoming
6 23 Helena, Montana (M)
7 24 Babb, M (Glacier)
8 25 Babb, M (Glacier)
9 26 Whitefish, M (Glacier)
10 27 Whitefish, M (Glacier)
11 28 Gardiner, M (Yellowstone)
12 29 West Yellowstone, M (Yellowstone)
13 30 West Yellowstone, M (Yellowstone)
14 31 Jackson, Wyoming (W) (Grand Teton)

JUNE 2010
15 1 Jackson, W (Grand Teton)
16 2 Salt Lake City, Utah (U)
17 3 Moab, U (Arches/Canyonland)
18 4 Moab, U (Arches/Canyonland)
19 5 Escalante, U (Bryce Canyon)
20 6 Springdale, U (Zion)
21 7 Springdale, U (Zion)
22 8 Page, Arizona
23 9 Cortez, Colorado (Mesa Verde)
24 10 Durango, C
25 11 Idaho Springs, C
26 12 Denver, C
27 13 North Platte, Nebraska
28 14 Lincoln, N
29 15 Des Moines, Iowa
30 16 Madison, Wisconsin

MY FAVOURITE EXPERIENCES

1. Eating a Maggee Mee lunch while enjoying the sight and sound of Khon Pha Pheng waterfalls, Southern Laos.
2. Exploring Beng Mealea, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
3. Wading in the river over the thousand lingas at Phnom Kulen, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
4. Visiting the morning market at Kg Chhnang, Cambodia.
5. Exploring Hang Nga Hotel, the Crazy House at Da Lat, Vietnam.
6. Enjoying the boat ride at Tam Coc, Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
7. Driving along Highway 6 and Route 279, from Ha Noi to Dien Bian Phu and absorbing the stunning scenery of mountains, villages, padi fields along the way.
8. Driving from Tay Trang to Udomxai (Laos) and getting the adrenaline going as we dealt with the many physical challenges along the way.
9. Visiting the Hall of Opium in the Golden Triangle Park, Thailand.
10. Overcoming the challenging terrain in Western/Central Kalimantan, from Pontianak to Sampit.
11. Watching the sunrise at Mt Bromo, Java, Indonesia.
12. Enjoying a relaxing massage at Ubud Wellness, Ubud.
13. Watching sunset at Novotel Lombok Mandalika Resort.
14. Enjoying the captivating coastal scenery of northern Sumbawa, as we drove from Sumbawa Besar to Dompu.
15. Trekking up to Ijen crater, appreciating the labour of the sulphur workers and awed by the stunning scenery.
16. Awed by the stunning rock scenery in the US National Parks, especially Arches and Zion.

ASEAN On Wheels and Beyond

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

ONE WEEK TO D-DAY

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