Petronas Adventure Team

The expedition route will begin in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and finish in Shenzhen, China. Find out where else this 15,000km plus route takes the team.

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Read insightful journal entries from Expedition Member Farid's point of view.

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ARCHIVED JOURNAL - WEEK 1

THE JOURNEY BEGINS
19th August | Day 1 & 2: Kuala Lumpur – Sungai Petani – Hua Hin

The flag-off ceremony was simple yet eventful. This year it was rather special. It was a pre-event to PETRONAS Long Service Award Dinner function at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. The President of PETRONAS, Yang Bahagia Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, along with other Management Committee members graced the ceremony. At 8.30pm, the first car was flagged off, marking the start of our journey to the Himalayas.

Our first overnight stop was in Sungai Petani. The team reached the hotel at 1.23am after a long drive of 350km. I was exhausted and I needed to recharge my body fast. The team began Day 2 at 6.00am. The early start was due to the fact that the team members needed to cover a driving distance of more than 900km across Southern Thailand before our next overnight stop at a small resort city of Hua Hin.

The border-crossing procedure went smoothly for all the cars and there was no major vehicle breakdown in the convoy. Many team members took their turn to drive the heavy loaded 4x4 vehicles, including myself. Being new in such adventure sports, I must admit that handling this vehicle is a challenge and requires extra attention on the road at all times especially with traffic in Thailand.

It was a long day for everyone, but when we finally reached Hua Hin at about 8.45pm, expedition leader Halim, had organised a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant by the seaside. And the exhaustion was quickly forgotten.

With the striking PETRONAS green colour and expedition sponsor logos all over the car, the convoy has attracted a lot of attention along the way. There were men, women, children, young and old, standing by the roadside or from their open back of the pick-up trucks, waving o the convoy. Those looking at us were just full of curiosity. I wondered how much they know of PETRONAS or knew about the Himalayas, but one thing for sure, our presence has brought cheer and smiles to the people.

HUA HIN TO BANGKOK
21st August | A city that never sleeps! This phrase perfectly describes Bangkok.

The journey from Hua Hin to Bangkok was only 210km, but the world-famous traffic in Bangkok took us about four and half hours to reach our destination. But we were ahead of time for one of the important PETRONAS events in Thailand. It was the official launching of PETRONAS SYNTIUM lubricants into the Thai market. In a show of support, all expedition members were present.

Convoying in the city centre was never an easy task. But thanks to our Thai participants, especially to Kun Somsak, arrangements were made with the Royal Thai Police to escort us around. Even with the police escort, keeping the convoy intact on the road was a stressful job. But many of the car drivers are very experienced in handling such situation. Job well done.

Day 4: It was an easy day for us because there was only one combined event that we attended. It was the Community Relations (CR) program and Flag Off Ceremony at PETRONAS Service Station, Sri Nakarin. Fifty primary school students took part in the CR program. Bala and myself were the facilitators for the mini science show for the children. With the assistance from the local Master of Ceremony, my instructions were translated to Thai. They were very smart children. They knew all my tricks!

After the event, some team members took the opportunity to explore Bangkok. Kun Somsak told us about the vast weekend flea market of Cha Tu Chak, where one could find almost anything from army surplus to antiques. Perfect place for some of us to prepare ourselves for our first camping on Sunday night in the Phateui National Park.

For many of us, we truly enjoyed our days in Bangkok. Bangkok is a very fascinating city. But the remaining of Thailand is waiting for us to discover in the next few days.

BANGKOK TO PHATUEI TO MAE SOT
22nd August | I didn’t realise that Thailand is so huge. Since the day the team entered Thailand, we have traveled almost 2,000 km. And we have not even reached the northern part of the country yet.

We left Bangkok on Sunday morning en route to Phatuei. Phatuei is located near the area of Si Nakharin dam, northwest of Bangkok. As the team was convoying out of Bangkok, I have spotted a few PETRONAS stations along the way. This had somehow made me feel like traveling at home. Abdul Rahim, the Managing Director / CEO of PETRONAS Retail Thailand and his team had once again giving their utmost hospitality by hosting breakfast at one of the PETRONAS stations during our refueling stop.

We made out first stop at the historical Kanchanaburi town. For the first time in my life I was able to walk across the famous Bridge on River Kwai. The construction of the Death Railway to Burma had sacrificed many lives, including two grandfathers of the expedition members during the Japanese occupation in World War II. As a post-war generation, it only reminds us to appreciate and defend the peace we are enjoying now.

We continued the journey for our overnight stop at the Phatuei camp area. This trip had taken us through the off-road track across the national park. It was definitely not a comfortable ride. But luck was on our side as the track was dry. We finally reached the campsite at 8.30pm. Camping. When was the last time I built my own tent? 17 years ago!!

We continued our Day 6 journey to Mae Sot town, located 480km away from Phatuei. We stopped at the PETRONAS station in Tak and once again we thanked Rahim for his generosity in providing us lunch. It was a scenic ascending route to Mae Sot as we were driving in the heavily pouring rain. The rest of the afternoon was a free time for everybody and we took this opportunity to discover Mae Sot. This town is not a popular tourist destination, but for some, this is where they could seek bargain gemstones and teak woodcrafts from bordering Myanmar.

In the wilderness of Thailand, I encountered some groups of people who are isolated from development and in poverty. Their life is simple, and tomorrow is their only next hope and future. Yet I could see the serenity & warmth of their hearts. For a moment, I realised how lucky I am to be a Malaysian, which I sometime take for granted.

MYSTERIOUS TIBET
4th September | The journey was getting tougher as we were entering Tibet province! “Alpha Bravo to Stingray. One...
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ON TOP OF THE WORLD
10th September | It was the proudest moment for everyone when we finally saw the glimpse of Mount Everest, or...
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THE HOLY CITY OF LHASA
15th September | Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, means "God’s Land" in Tibetan language. For Tibetans, it is one of the...
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WONDERS OF NATURE
23rd September | After the grueling journey to the Everest Base Camp, the journey home was not as easy as I thought....
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FROM NATURE TO CULTURE
27th September | If anyone ever wonders about the existence of heaven on earth, I think I have found one: Jiuzhaigou...
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THE LAST MILES
29th September | Day 40 to 43 Wanzhou – Yichang – Xiangtan - Shenzhen PETRONAS Trans-Himalayas 2005 is coming to an...
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