Wednesday, 11th October 2007
Suratthani, Thailand
Slow custom clearance
Breakfast must be very good
Tonight we are staying at the Diamond Plaza Hotel in Suratthani, located half way between the Thai/Malaysian border and Bangkok on the Thai Peninsular. It has been a particularly long day with a 7AM departure from Ipoh and an arrival here in Suratthani at midnight (11PM local time).
Road conditions on the Malaysian peninsular were very good and we made very good time to our early lunch stop at Alor Star just a few kilometers south of the border. Our expectation was that we would reach our destination before dusk but the first of our delays occurred at the Malaysian exit point with visa complications with some of the Chinese contingent. It took about 2 hours to resolve this problem but our real delays were to be on entry to Thailand. Conditions at the border were very chaotic and it took hours to process all rally participants and their cars through Thai Immigration. The sheer number of those involved in the rally really makes delays like this almost inevitable.
The sum all the delays meant that we could not reach Suratthani until midnight. Road conditions from the border to Suratthani were quite good and we made good time, albeit arriving much later than expected.
Despite the late hour, another great meal was laid on by our hosts with live music. Our hearts were not really in the meal but we snacked and then retired to our rooms in the hope of getting some badly needed sleep.
The performance of the Singapore team is worthy of mention at this stage. We have enjoyed some inspired leadership from our Chief d’ Mission, Mr Leslie Chang (aka the Big Cheese). Leslie has kept us focused and has an eye for the detail needed for a rally like ours. Unfortunately his English deteriorated in direct relation to our proximity to the Thai border. By the time we reached the border he was totally unintelligible and could speak only in Thai English.
Daryl Chang (aka Bingo, the Magnificent) provides endless entertainment to our fellow travelers during our meal stops. Bingo is a first class radio operator and translator for his Australian team members. Bingo is also now the only team member who understands his father – Leslie.
Ernest Chua (aka the Stick or ‘Anus’) is an experienced and steady rally hand having navigated for Leslie many times over the last 15 years. He keeps a keen eye on the cars and the radios which are vital to our convoy style of travel.
More on the rest of the team in our next report.
“The attention attracted by Team Singapore, Motorsports (TSM) imported drivers from Australia has, thus far, been overwhelming. To facilitate entry into Thailand, Archibald and David have adopted new names ie. Aki-boon and Lay-pit respectively. We did some high speed chase when the group’s lead car (a VW Toureg) sped towards the end of the sector. Both the Sante Fe and Terracan performed exceedingly well and we look forward to the challenges ahead.”
Leslie Chang, Chief d’ Mission, TSM.
long wait for the the contingent's vehicle entry permits
one final look before the immigration booth
