CAITA 2012 Daily Report - Day 2

Initiated by the state government of Guangxi Province, the primary objective China-Asean International Touring Assembly (CAITA) is to promote the overland connectivity between China and ASEAN countries.  Dubbed as the harmonious modern “ Silk Road ” as well as the “largest, broadest and longest automobile assembly race in Asia ”, it is one of the main events leading to the annual China-ASEAN Summit that will be held in Nanning City , China .  (Official Website of CAITA: http://carally.org/)

The following is a daily account of Leslie Chang who is the Singapore representative for the event.

Day 2, Penang to Surat Thani  29^th Aug 2012

We left G Hotel in Penang around 7:30am.  The morning traffic was rather heavy on the island and it took us almost 1 hour to join the North South Highway on the mainland.  All the cars in our group eventually cleared the Malaysian Customs by 10:00am.

After my numerous overland trips to Thailand, I have become familiar with the procedure at the Sadao Customs.  While most participants lined up at the Immigration Booth, ….

 

….I found time to 'sneak out' and patronized a nearby fruit store.

 

There was also time to canvass for more ‘likes’ near the border.

 

After lunch, the TV crew caught up with us.

 

They asked Irene for her impressions about the rally.

 

It is evidently clear that Irene was pleased with the interview (and the event).

 

We arrived at Surat Thani and checked-in the hotel on schedule. And we earned one more‘like’ from this friendly security personnel at the basement car park.