Penang to Kuala Lumpur
High point: Discovering we had been given a room each at the most amazing hotel we have ever seen!!
Low point: No music! With the stereo out of action we continued with the fantastic Rubik’s Cube (only 1 though !)
No point: The multi-purpose room at Kellie’s Castle
Quote: “she’s a witch, she’s a witch, burn her!” The simultaneous chanting of the Monty Python line at the girls who saw into the future that it would rain.
Pak Nam Lamae to Phuket
High point: Being welcomed into Phuket by the local media just in time before the monsoon rains hit hard! And being invited to the comedy night featuring Milo!
Low point: Monsoon rain stopping us from visiting the beach on our only planned day off in Thailand.
No point: Bangla road
As we approached Phuket, the local press were waiting for us to arrive and followed us into town. We had been delayed by the start of the daily Monsoon rain and made it just in time before the peak of the tropical storm. By amazing coincidence, the day we were due to arrive in the area was the exact same night that a Comedian friend of FTFE, Milo, was due to perform. Pete who runs the comedy night heard about FTFE through Milo and very kindly spread the word in Phuket, contacting the local press who eagerly awaited our arrival for an interview.
Vang Veng to Khon Kaen
It was a pleasure to meet Somsuk, a very friendly and helpful guy, at the appropriately named friendship bridge. The crossing into Thailand seemed to go very smoothly. The only disappointment was the underwhelming switch from right to left hand drive. Steve had been eagerly awaiting the “scalextric” style crossover point but in the end was just like crossing the road! The bridge itself was impressive with views over the Mekong.
Day of preparation and handover in Luang Prabang including Mekong river boat trip.
Today was a planned transition day for the stage 3- stage 4 cross over. Ross, Paul and Steve completed a long drive though the magnificent mountainous jungle and reached Luang Prabang a day early, enabling a morning adventure before preparing the new crew for the road.
We hired a private river tuk tuk for an early morning boat trip on the river Mekong. We would be taken to some local villages including the whisky village and the Pak Ou caves. A 2 hour cruise up the river gave some stunning views and chance to experience some of the local villages, fisheries and river life. The first stop was the whisky village where we were greeted with some locally distilled whisky, followed by a visit to the local village temples and market. We moved on to the next stop the Pak Ou caves caves where we explored an ancient Buddha sculpture temple hidden in the depths of caves which are only accessible by boat.
Steve Curley from the London Fire Service had heard about the expedition and kindly hooked us up with our hosts for the day at The Wright Event. http://www.thewrightevent.co.uk/driver-training
The morning began in the classroom, to get understanding of how four wheel drive systems work, before getting the chance to experience some extreme off road conditions! Read more →
