Rallying ASEAN

The 8,000 km drive took them over roads rocky and ribbon, past many a silent valley, palm and pagoda. It also saw history hap­pening — borders which had remained closed for half a century were reopened to let the convoy pass.

The first ever India-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) car rally flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from Gauhati on November 22, 2004 ran through Burma, Cambo­dia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, ending at Batam Island in Indonesia 20 days later. Among the 250 people in 60 cars were Bombay’s Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India, Rishad Saam Mehta, the magazine’s special correspondent (travel), rallyist Farah Vakil of Poona, Tata Motors dealer Gustad Anklesaria of Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh), Kaizad Gustad of Bombay and Karl Daru­walla from Singapore.

"It was a trip of a lifetime,” avers Sorabjee, adding that he particularly enjoyed driving through Burma and Cambodia, though the roads there were the most challenging. "Burma is an untouched, fascinating country, seemingly in a time warp,” he says. Due to the insurgency in the country, military helicopters hovered overhead as the cavalcade escorted by troops drove by. "It was like a permanent movie set,” says Sorabjee. "The gov­ernment was unbelievable. Everything was very well organized. The people are so friendly and we received the best hospitality in Burma.” Autocar India was the official magazine for the rally.

(From left) first row: Vakil (right) in front of Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur, rally cars on the streets of Singapore; second row: Sorabjee and Mehta (third and fourth from left) at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex; third row: Anklesaria at the Thai-Cambodian border, Mehta on the road to Mandalay

"It is very difficult to drive through these countries (Burma, Laos, Vietnam...) on one’s own and would have cost a lot of money as well,” states Mehta. As the rally had the full sup­port of the governments of each country, "we were high profile guests, given royal treatment,” says Mehta, with local culture and cuisine showcased at every pit stop. "The temples at Angkor Wat are simply mind-blowing. One has really to see this UNESCO heritage site to believe it. I had just come back from Egypt and I thought I’d seen all temples, but this is really something else!” Driving in Vietnam was also a great experience. "The roads are good and the girls are pretty,” he chuckles.

In the first car of the convoy, which was a radio car, was Vakil who has many a driving mile tucked into her seatbelt (see "Himalayan high road”). "For me, one of the high points was that I got to meet some of my rallying contemporaries after a gap of a decade! It was wonderful to meet them after so many years,” she says. Of the countries visited, Cambodia "has a wonderful feel about it” and is visually very pleasing. An unex­pected jarring moment arrived, however, in Cambodia when Sorab­jee’s expensive camera was snatched from a moving rickshaw as they were sightseeing. This kind of incident really "shakes you up,” asserts Vakil. Logistically, the rally was way too large, she believes. With 250 people checking in all together at hotels after 15-18 hours of driving, "I have climbed up 12-15 floors just to get to a bath and sleep before we started again early next morning,” declares Mehta. Though a non-competitive event, the whole rally was too fast, everything rushed past like a blur, adds Sorabjee.

With Tata Motors the official supplier of the vehicles for the rally as well as the "Chalo-ASEAN” which preceded it (see "Rallying around,” Parsiana, Sports, February 2005) a few of its dealers were given the privilege of participation. Anklesaria’s Landmark Motors was the first to open a Tata dealership (passenger car division) in the small town of Ratlam. "Others like Maruti and Hyundai have come in subsequently,” asserts Anklesaria who was behind the wheel of a two-seater Indigo, a rally vehicle modified in Coimbatore as per Tata Motors’ specifications. "Deve­lop­mental­ly, I would put Malaysia as number one among the countries we drove through. Singapore is at par, of course, but then Singapore is so small. Considering it’s a war-ravaged nation, Vietnam has progressed very well,” he opines. One has to see to believe the kind of disciplined driving in Malaysia and Vietnam: "You dare not break any road rules. The law is very strict.”

Vakil at Khardung La

The event was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, with support from the Ministry of External Affairs and heavyweight corporate sponsors like the Indian Brand Equity Fund, Indian Oil, JK Tyres... It was intended to facilitate and be a catalyst for the free flow of trade, promotion of investment as well as tourism among the countries of ASEAN. If ASEAN countries with their dense populations can forge a free trade zone even by the year 2010, the economic impact will be tremendous, believes Anklesaria.