At the Auditorium, all participants were given official t-shirts, notes and lesson on proper radio communication procedure.
Although the reporting time at Stamford Tyres head office on the morning of the departure was 0530 hours, we managed to flag off on schedule.
After a monotonous drive along the North-South Highway , the Simpang Pulai route towards Cameron Highlands proved a little more challenging. To end the day’s drive, good old-fashion English tea was served at this hilltop café.
The convoy spent the night at Equatorial Hotel.
We visited a strawberry farm the next morning. Farm owner, Mr Raju, was friendly and provided informative insight regarding farm practices and crop harvesting.
Obviously, some of us were more interested in tasting the freshly-picked fruits.
The convoy headed towards East via Gua Musang Highway . For those who have never been here, this die-die-must-drive world-class mountainous highway must surely be the highlight of the day.
Good old-fashion English tea was again served during our rest stop at Lake Kenyir Resort.
The participants had 8-course Chinese dinner and checked in at Awana Kijal.
On Day 3, during our lunch stop, the convoy had an impromptu walkabout tour at the award-winning Tanjung Jara Resort.
And we took the opportunity to pose for this group shot with the lead car (Hyundai Avante) and the sweeper car (Hyundai Santa Fe).
At Kuala Terengganu, we visited the traditional boat-making yard, …
…toured the historic Chinatown , …
..and stopped for durains!!
The evening ended after a night drive-thru cum commentary along the magnificent Kertih oil refineries.
By the last day, the teamwork within the convoy was so strong that the participants were looking after each other via the radios. This resulted in a safer and quicker over-taking procedure on those 2-way winding roads along the east coast. One of our last stops was the Turtle Sanctuary at Cherating Beach where some participants handled …
..and released little turtles to mother’s nature.
While we were driving home near Johore Bahru, Car # 9 ( Gary ) transmitted over the radio and broke the news that his wife (Bee Bee) could be expecting their 3rd child. Bee Bee must be commended for her endurance in coping with her early pregnancy, looking after 2 young boys and being Gary ’s co-driver over the 4-day / 1,800km journey in the not-so-comfortable Golf GTi. Well done, Bee!
Lastly, Car # 10 (CT Koh and wife from Heng Long Int’l Ltd - participants cum official partner of the event) brought cheers to the convoy. They invited all participants to their beautiful home for a post-event and durian party.
On behalf of BIG Rallye, I would like to thank all official partners and everyone in the convoy for making this ‘Driveaway that other Driveaways talk about’. Your support and encouragement will inspire us to provide more successful events.
Coming soon... story on Post-Event Party
