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Travel And Leisure - India-Asean Car Rally 2004 Part 1
 By : EjjiPrevious | Next
 Posted on : 11 Dec, 2005 Total Views : 3748
INDIA TO INDONESIA – BY ROAD !! RALLY PREAMBLE: When I told anyone that I was going to Indonesia they thought it was passé, knowing my congenital love for exotic travel. When I added “by road” they concluded that I must have had one vodka too many. It took a lot of explanation and physical breath analysis to convince them that I was serious. That perhaps will explain the awe of the first India Asean Car Rally 2004 with the public. The First INDIA-ASEAN CAR RALLY 2004 is the result of the suggestion made by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the ASEAN Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in Feb 2003. It must be said in all fairness, that the present Government of Manmohan Singh must be given credit for seeing it through. As a preamble to the First India ASEAN Car Rally 2004, it was decided to hold a rally inside India. Teams started from Shimla, Gandhinagar, Panjim and Kanyakumari on Nov 13 and 14 and converged in Guwahati a week later. This was called “CHALO ASEAN” and was sponsored by Tata Motors, the Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. Tata Motors supplied the vehicles free. Only Tata vehicles could be driven on this sector. It was not necessary that the participants of Chalo ASEAN will have to travel in the First India ASEAN Car Rally too. One could be a leg-entrant only for the India leg. Similarly, while the rally progresses through other countries. An entrant from any country can opt to drive through one or more sectors/regions/countries only (and not the entire rally route), it being termed leg-segments. Chalo Asean was a goodwill rally and not a competitive affair. It included people of diverse backgrounds like entrepreneurs, industrialists, bureaucrats and journalists. RALLY DETAILS: I did not do the Chalo ASEAN leg, but I had the honor of being one of the privileged few that were chosen to drive on the First India-ASEAN Car Rally 2004, from India to Indonesia. I drove a Tata Safari (Rally Car No. 27). The total distance driven was 8215 km. through 9 countries in 20days from Guwahati, India through Myanmar, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR), Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand (twice), Malaysia, Singapore and ending in Indonesia. All types of roads from dust tracks, boulder roads, sand tracks, crossings by ferry, unpaved dirt tracks, driving across swollen rivers, major highways and world class elevated expressways were traversed. The terrain included roads at sea level up to high mountains. The route went through major towns, small towns and villages; densely forested mountains; large distances with no habitation; roads that were seeing vehicles for the first time in over 50 years (in Myanmar); across1000 years old bridges (in Cambodia); tunnels through mountain ranges opened for the rally vehicles ahead of its inauguration (in Vietnam); roads in mountains that are inaccessible to anyone in the world (Shan Mountains in northern Myanmar); ultra modern 6 lane elevated expressways (in Thailand and Malaysia); and roads still with land mines on the sides (Cambodia). The total driving time was 21 days including a 2 nights and 1 day stop over at Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat). The maximum duration for a single day’s drive was 20 hours and the shortest 1 hour (Nong Khai to Vientane). The single longest one-day-drive was 890 km. and the shortest 90 km. (Longest/ shortest duration of drive per day has no bearing with longest/shortest distance traveled for the day.) Average speed varied between a low of 25km per hour to 110km per hour. Re-fuelling was arranged at designated fuel stations en-route, and where there was no fueling facility, jerry cans of fuel carried by each vehicle were used for spot filling. At some places, mobile fuel dispensers (fuel dispensing pumps fixed on trucks) with tank trucks of fuel beside it were at hand for re-fuelling. The route survey for the rally was done some months before the rally, with specialists from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) who were the technical advisors to the rally. How this exciting route survey was done is a story by itself! The route survey planned everything from the roads, fuel stations, breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner stops, overnight stays, timings, speeds, hospitals, military and police protection in each section/district/division/country, fixing locations using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and every little nitty-gritty that goes to conduct a rally of this gigantic proportion. The India-ASEAN Car Rally 2004 was a friendship rally to promote friendship, co-operation, understanding, business and commerce between all ASEAN countries. There were no prizes or competition involved. All rally cars that finished were given a citation and mementos. The rally was sponsored by The CII, Ministry of External Affairs Government of India, and a large group of sponsors like Tata Motors, Mahindras, Spartamax, JK Tyres, Indianoil, Indian Brand Equity Foundation, Indian Airlines and many others. Overnight stays were at hotels with 5 star rating and above at places where available, down to dormitory accommodation with common toilets in some places. Well-known participants included Vicky Chandok (President FMSCI), Hari Singh (Pan Asia Car Rally winner), Saraswathi Nag Choudhary (national ladies car rally champion), Jagat Nanjappa, Anita Nanjappa, (the husband and wife duo who are national two wheeler & car rally champions), Tutu Dhawan (India’s top notch automobile engineer, automobile columnist and test driver). Foreign participants included Rio Saewono from Indonesia, race circuit director of the Centul circuit in Bogor, Dr. Soe Min Aung, team leader of Myanmar who evidently has close friends in military regime, Dana Stienhenmer, a Vietnam war veteran who lost his knee on duty there in 1973, a member of the Brunei Royal family (who requests anonymity!), and rally champions from other ASEAN countries. RALLY FORMATION & FACILITIES: The rally moved in 2 convoy formations one behind the other, each rally car numbered serially. Each car carried 2 participants, 1 driver and 1 co-driver. Each convoy had an ambulance and a recovery vehicle. Specific vehicles were fitted with wireless for radio contact among the rally cars. A few vehicles were provided with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), which could detect the vehicle on a monitor, anywhere on the face of the earth to an unbelievable error limit of 5cm. The recovery vehicles were driven by two of India’s best motor sport and automobile experts. This recovery team could remove and re-fix a vehicle’s engine in 3 hours time! The recovery vehicles also carried mechanics, engineers, vehicle rescue experts and was equipped for most types of vehicle repairs along with sophisticated tools / spares and a winch that can lift even a large truck. The ambulances carried a host of specialists from trauma surgeons, cardiologist, orthopedic surgeons, anesthetist, general surgeons, and general physicians. One ambulance was a completely modern operation theatre and could be used for a full-scale surgery of any magnitude. The other ambulance was a hospital & pharmacy with lying in facility for 4 persons. A Direct to Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) van was equipped with nearly 2 tons of the best equipment for global positioning, tracking and transmission of feeds to satellites from any place on the rally route. One satellite telephone was available with the rally chairman for communication to any part of the world. Air lift in case of emergencies were provided by each country with facilities for treatment at the best hospital in each part of the country the rally was passing through. The rally was open to participants from all Asean countries. The Rally Committee made the selection of rallyists in consultation with the FMSCI. The final list included 62 vehicles (not counting leg entries) including 2 Tempo Traveler ambulances, 1 DSNG van, 3 Tatamobile, 4 Maruti Esteem, 1 Tata Indigo, 1 Tata Marina, 1 Chevrolet Tavera, 1 Ford Endeavour, 1 Tata Indica, numerous Tata Safaris & Mahindra Scorpios, 1 Tata Sumo, 2 Nissan Patrol, 1 GM Forester, 1 Mitsubishi Lancer, 6 Toyota Qualis, 3 Toyota Landcruiser, 2 Malaysian Proton and other cars. The Brunei Team, professional world-class rallyists, brought 3 Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs from Brunei fully upgraded. The Malaysian team brought 2 Proton cars to drive. The teams from Lao PDR, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia teams were provided with Tata Safari and Mahindra Scorpio SUVs and were free to choose other models if they wanted. Many other cars joined the rally at specific spots on the rally route to drive as leg entries. The combined total number of persons traveling in the rally was 252 (again not counting leg entries). Most were diesel vehicles and a few were petrol vehicles. The vehicles had to be upgraded to international rally specifications. This included among other things, specification lights and special lamps, under carriage shields, spare jerry cans of fuel and 2 spare tyres securely mounted in approved fashion, and a list of mandatory spares. Deb Sircar an Indian rallyist from Kolkota, whose left leg was amputated some years ago, drove a Mitsubishi Lancer sponsored by Mitsubishi, was the star of the rally, proof of what grit and determination can achieve for you. The youngest driver was a Kolkata girl aged 22 (daughter of Deb Sircar), and the oldest a gentleman Ramchandran from Bangalore aged 75 years. The rally was provided with military and police out runners and pilots in the front, middle and end along with an army helicopter all through the route by the countries we were driving through. Even when the cars stopped for re-fuelling or for lunch or tea breaks, the helicopters hovered overhead. A high dignitary of each state/ region/ country accompanied the rally when passing through a specific area, and the dignitary from the next state/region/country took over once we crossed that area. The rally included print and visual media personnel from all leading newspapers and TV networks. Articles and visuals were composed and edited as the rally was on the move and at the last stop every day, was up-linked from the DSNG van direct to the satellites for transmission around the world. The rally had radio communication, GPS, automobile safety experts, documentation and secretarial staff, an official PRO and a host of other officials on board. In sensitive areas in India and other countries the rally was interspersed with armored military vehicles, sometimes with anti-aircraft ammunition and rocket launchers! Every country had an ambulance from their country joining the rally for the drive up to the next country border. It was an unofficial holiday in all the northeastern states in India and some other countries, on the days the rally passed through. No function of this magnitude had ever been staged in the northeast states of India, and also in countries like Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam till this time. Public interest, ovation and jubilation were evident in Myanmar, Lao PDR, parts of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, but low key in Malaysia and Singapore. Every few miles there were ceremonial receptions with gifts being presented to all participants. All designated stops for lunch, tea and overnight halts were transformed into receptions and cultural functions with local food, local music, local dances and local wines. In some places local artisans with handicrafts were on hand, who gave their products as gifts to the rallyists. Amazingly, night driving saw the same enthusiasm and welcome receptions from the people, irrespective of time, place or weather. Even when the rally passed around midnight through the dangerous mountains of Myanmar, the crowds along the roadside were waving flags at near zero temperatures! We were spectators to nearly a hundred cultural shows, garlanded a thousand times by beautiful girls, cheered on by nearly the entire population of the places we were passing through and given delicacies which will make an iron stomach squirm. Sleep was a precious and rationed commodity like fuel in Myanmar. 3 hours of sleep was the norm every day, while 5hours was a luxury. It was mandatory that all drivers had to attend daily briefings before the rally started in the mornings as a matter of rule. While it was mandatory for the driver, other participants were welcome to it. This briefing was also to help the press, TV and satellite transmission crews. This briefing would discuss the last day’s drive and instructions for the present day’s drive will be given. Some cars from Kolkata and other parts of India drove from Kolkata on 17th November to join the rally start at Guwahati, that sector being called the Kolkata-Guwahati leg of Chalo Asean. Brunei had sent their cars by container to Kolkota port. These cars were sent by road in the containers to Guwahati, where they were off-loaded. All rally participants and cars arrived in Guwahati for briefings and vehicle inspections on the 20th of November. The Chalo Asean Rally cars arrived in Guwahati from different locations on 19th, 20th and 21st of November. S.K.Munjal, President, Confederation of Indian Industries and Oil India hosted the entire rally team to a dinner at Guwahati, on the lawns of the massive Brahmaputra Ashok Hotel on the evening of 21st Nov. 2004. A team of officials and technicians affixed the approved stickers for all the rally cars and support vehicles. As per international rally rules, there is a strict code for use of promotional and sponsor materials on rally vehicles. Every signage and sticker has an assigned place on the rally vehicles and has to be displayed in the exact position only. Existing unapproved stickers and signage on some vehicles had to be completely removed or over-painted, in order to qualify for participation in the rally. The whole support team did a wonderful job the whole night. Late that night, the Rally Chairman Mr. Rajat Majumder and his very efficient team scrutinized all rally cars for conformity to approved rally specifications. Rally kits which included uniform tee shirts, full-length jump suits (overalls, each separately color coded for drivers, emergency staff, medicos and officials), caps, itineraries (somewhat like Tulip charts), instruction booklets, carry bags, and other paraphernalia were distributed to the participants. The instruction booklets supplied to us contained every conceivable instruction. It told us what to do in case of heart attacks, vehicle accidents, snake bites, food poisoning, allergies, anti-malarial medication, list of medicines being carried, security precautions, down to advice asking us to be “discreet” (whatever that word meant!), “as the rally was passing though some of the highest HIV infected areas in the world”! A 24 hour control room had been arranged by the CII and Ministry for External Affairs GOI at Hotel Ashok Brahmaputra, Guwahati, with every conceivable communication and secretarial equipment and staff for use by the rally participants, media and every one connected with this rally. RALLY STAGE 1 FLAG OFF (GUWAHATI): The ceremonies for the ASEAN Rally started on the afternoon of 22nd. Nov. 2004, in the presence of the Chief Minister of Assam and the Minister for External Affairs, with the Chief Ministers of all the North eastern States, ASEAN Secretary General and ASEAN Ministers in attendance. Security was unprecedented and the whole town was at the Nehru Stadium, Guwahati, and all other building terraces and treetops around the stadium. The function included skydiving, army motorcycle dare devil show with an army band in attendance. A ceremonial flag off of 11 lead cars (cars representing the participating countries) by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 4pm, in the presence of External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, Secretary-General of ASEAN Ong Keng Young, besides diplomats and ministers from ASEAN countries, was broadcast live via satellite. These 11 cars were security screened by the PM’s Special Protection Group before entering the stadium. The drivers and occupants of these cars were given instructions on protocol and security details. One interesting instruction was that the cars should be driven only at an angle away from the Prime Minister and never directly towards him! All the rally cars were then parked overnight for the technical start next morning. After the ceremonial flag off, the day ended with a dinner hosted by the Chief minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, the theme being “Flavors of the North east”, along with a fashion show, cultural program and presentation on tourism, all focusing on the Northeast States. This dinner program, location and menu attracted as much column space in newspapers and prime time position on TV. Even “The Hindu” had a detailed article “Mouth-watering menu” next morning. The highlight of the evening was Assamese rice beer served in bamboo containers! GUWAHATI (Assam) TO KOHIMA (Nagaland): The next morning Monday the 23rd November at 6am was the technical start of the rally. The Chief Minister of Assam was there punctually at 5.45am. The rally convoys moved out of the starting point to an unprecedented welcome by the people of Guwahati on this dark foggy and cold morning. The swelling crowds had gathered right through Guwahati even at this incredibly dark morning. It was a lovely sight to see whole towns along the rally route through Assam, lining both sides of the road. The vehicles were literally stopped by the crowds who wanted nothing more than to give gifts, take pictures and shake hands! The rally passed through some sensitive areas and the Indian army was there in full strength on both sides of the road all along the route through Assam and Nagaland, where Kohima was the first night stop. Army helicopters were flying along with the rally. In one town in Assam, the whole rally came to a standstill for more than an hour, as a rumor had floated about, that Shah Rukh Khan was one of the drivers! The crowds insisted on peeping into each and every vehicle to see the non-existent SRK! After much scrutiny, (one rallyist adding to the melee, but to the rally’s advantage, announced to them that SRK was following the rally in another car!), the crowd allowed us to move on. After a drive through the lovely highways in Kaziranga National park and a reception hosted by the Nimulgarh Refinery, a ceremonial welcome in Dimapur, we entered Nagaland and on to Kohima. The grand reception in Kohima was a cultural program and dinner hosted by the Chief Minister of Nagaland Mr. Neiphiu Rio and his wife Mrs. Kaisa Rio in the State Banquet Hall with the mandatory shows and Nagaland cuisine of the most extraordinary variety, making vegetarian rallyists nervous! KOHIMA TO TAMU (Myanmar): The Chief Minister of Nagaland flagged off the rally from Kohima at 4.45am next morning, 24th November! (Sunrise is around 4am!) The rally now moved through Manipur. On this stretch the rally was interspersed with army vehicles with rocket launchers and other ammunition due to the problems in the area. A wonderful state with abundant natural beauty, the reception at Imphal was perhaps the biggest event this small state had ever seen in living memory. The ceremony was in the Imphal stadium, a state of the art stadium with artificial turf and tracks, air conditioned conference halls, entertainment and dining areas including the best resources for sports meets one can see anywhere in India. The Chief Minister of Manipur hosted a lunch with the usual cultural programs and flagged off the rally at 4pm for the drive towards the Myanmar border. The border area of India and Myanmar is something to be seen to believe. Army personnel with sophisticated weapons every 100 feet on both sides of the road, looking sideways away from the roads; helicopters surveying the roads in advance and helicopters accompanying the rally; army personnel and carriers at every road junction; border road organization staff and families at all BRO stations waving flags; army personnel and families doing the same thing in the army settlements, outposts, camps and barracks; every high point around the hill roads with army look outs; bunkers with rocket launchers every few yards; re-fuelling at the last fuel pump before Myanmar (owned by Assam Oil Company), with a high ranking Assam Oil Official greeting us personally. The rally crossed the Indian borders at Moreh in Manipur and entered Myanmar at Tamu. Assigned officials of the Indian High Commission or the rally took all passports at international borders on the route with special visas stamped by the Ministry of External Affairs in advance. The passports were stamped with Carnet (a passport for cars), so that the rally was not delayed at any place. But at the India-Myanmar crossing on the Myanmar side, each participant and car was to be inspected personally by their immigration and customs staff. The exit stamp on the passport saying “Exit Moreh Immigration” is perhaps the most valuable passport entry anyone can have. It was the first time after many years that people and vehicles crossed over to Myanmar from India, illegal entries and exits excepted. The usual cultural reception followed on the Indian side, whereas the welcome on the Myanmar side was low key, but quite surprising, considering the reclusive nature of the Myanmarese Government and Tamu border being a very sparsely populated area. The General of the Myanmar Military for Tamu who is also the Divisional Commissioner was at hand to welcome us. A very jolly and cordial person, he interacted with many rallyists and was on first name basis with a few rally officials who had met him earlier during the route survey a few months ago. The road border crossing at Tamu in Myanmar was opened for the third time ever in many years. The first time vehicles crossed the road border being when the External Affairs minister in the former BJP government went to open the road from Moreh to Tamu a few years ago. Next was when the rally route survey cars went through last year. And now for the ASEAN rally. In Myanmar vehicles drive on the right side of the road. For many drivers it took some time to adjust to this system, more so since the entire rally vehicles were right hand drives. There was a military precision evident here at the immigration. Step 1, greet driver. Step 2 take passport. Step 3 Verify passport. Step 4 Ask person to set watch to local time. Step 5 ask person to drive on right side of road. Step 6 wish good bye. Myanmar, though being a military state and very secretive went all out to play the perfect host to the best of their ability. Receptions were held in any place from town Halls, schools and army camps to public buildings and parade grounds. Armored vehicles accompanied the rally throughout Myanmar. The Indian Ambassador and his staff joined the convoy for the drive through Myanmar in their vehicles. This was the usual practice in most countries on the route. (In most places the Indian Ambassador of each country traveled along with the rally, sometimes in the rally cars, till we left that particular country, when the Ambassador of India in the next country took over) Once the rally crossed into another country, the police, pilots, marshals, military personnel and escort vehicles along with the helicopters of the country we had exited turned back, and the entire rally convoy was taken over by the police, pilots, marshals, military personnel and helicopters of the country we had entered. Night halt at Tamu was in a line of hotels the organizers had booked, all on a single road, as no single hotel can hold the entire rally group. Tamu would never in its history have seen 250 guests come over at the same time. All hotels had small single rooms with common squatting toilet pans! A new experience for many. The dinner at Tamu was arranged at a private restaurant but was void of any official ceremony. Our rallyists took over the dance floor and Hindi and English music boomed out in the small Myanmarese town with the local orchestra’s accompaniment till the early hours of the morning. Surprisingly, the locals were not found anywhere near the venue.

 Written By : Ejji
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