Thailand covers an area of 500,000sq km (about the size of France) and shares its borders with Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. The first Thai town we will arrive at is Nakhon Phanom, which is one of the oldest cities in the country. When we pass through the town’s centre, we will see Phra Pathom Chedi, Thailand’s largest.
The following morning, we will push off for Bangkok, the nation’s capital. The 740km drive will take us past cash crops of sugar cane and cassava, and when we reach the Central region or Thailand’s “rice bowl”, rich emerald paddy fields as far as the eyes can see.
Nicknamed the “Venice of the East” Bangkok still retains some of its charm in the existing wats (monasteries) and palaces. Bangkok, like Beijing in China, has many cultural distractions for members of the PETRONAS Adventure Team. Some of the places, which we will see, are the Wat Phra Kaeo and Grand Palace, National Museum, Thieves’ Market, Vimanmek Palace (the largest golden teakwood mansion in the world) and a boat trip on Bangkok’s khlongs (canals).
Route 4 will take us away from Bangkok, down through the narrowest part of Thailand (only 20km wide), and pass scrubland to reach Hat Yai – the shopping hub of the Southern region. Amongst the ancient massage parlours and barbershops, there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of gold shops and air-conditioned shopping centres here. Non-shoppers will want to go and see the all-day long bullfighting, held the first Saturday of the month.
Our drivers will note that we have driven 1,673km around Thailand and soon it will be time for us to find our way home to Kuala Lumpur.
