Singapore-Macau 7th Feb – 8th March 2009
Organised by Hero4x4xplore
Feb 5th – 7th
Pre start and Day one

What a difference a day makes. From shovelling snow out of our driveway so we could reach Teeside airport, to eating al-fresco in Singapore’s main shopping mall in Orchard Way. This was our introduction to John Brown’s Grand Peninsular & Oriental 4x4 Adventure Drive through South-East Asia’s Golden Crescent: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and southern China. We signed up eighteen months ago for this 9,967km/6,195 mile trek, along with 23 other participants from various countries, all of us in our own 4x4 vehicles which had been containerised and shipped out around Christmas time.

We were last in Singapore back in 1980, (Gosh, that’s nearly 30 years ago), shortly after we were married, when we were investigating business opportunities in the contact lens/optical field. We were now back to enjoy the fruits of our labour. A heavy shower en-route from airport to hotel reminded us that the climate is tropical, hot and humid with average temperatures between 23-30 degrees C. First impressions of Singapore are of a clean, quiet and very civilised city. There is absolutely no litter/graffiti/chewing gum anywhere and there is no horn-blowing. The main shopping area in Orchard Way was vibrant and busy with an incredible array of shops. Quite how they all make money is a miracle. With (Tiger!) beer priced at the equivalent of £5 and a meal for two costing £50, we know how the food/drink establishments earn their living. The hotels also know how to charge, with breakfast costing us £35! And we weren’t even at the world-renowned Raffles Hotel. Our budget had been blown within 24 hours. The people, though, are gracious, polite, helpful and well dressed.

Next day we checked out of our ‘budget’ hotel, relocating to non other than the Raffles Hotel which was the event’s H.Q. for the next two nights, so our accommodation and dinners would now be looked after. The Raffles is synonymous with Oriental opulence. Here it became clear that everything was ten times more expensive than is reasonable. We completed documentation i.e. collected road-books, event apparrel, immigration/customs/carnet paperwork to add to our already thick file, then collected our vehicle from the shippers, checked the measured distance for our trip-meter and re-acquainted ourselves with various items of luggage. We found that Paul, in addition to forgetting to pack his shaving kit and swimming trunks, had also omitted to pack any knickers whilst Jayne had omitted to pack a second bra! During the day we met up with familiar faces from previous trips to Southern Africa and Mexico/Central America. The day concluded with a reception and splendid buffet dinner at the Raffles Hotel, courtesy of the event organisers.

We felt the effects of jet-lag next day, Friday 6th February, when we awoke at 9.30 am. We scrambled out of bed and scurried down to breakfast, anxious not to miss a ‘free’ meal. The menu included Poached Chicken Breast Roulade with Wolfberry Broth & Boiled Seasonal Vegetables! The waiters/waitresses were very attentive. We noted that even the sugar lumps were individually wrapped in cellophane. This was the Tiffin Room and reminded me of the film ‘Breakfast at Tiffini’s’, albeit in more lavish surroundings. During the afternoon rather than opting for the conventional City Tour or River Cruise, we visited the Changi Museum which commemorates the WWII Allied POWs who suffered horrific treatment at the hands of the invading Japanese. The event organisers then held a briefing session back at the hotel followed by a farewell dinner at an Indo-China Restaurant located on the waterfront.




Saturday 7th February: Day One: Singapore-Malacca (255km/158mi)

A restless night last night was a reminder that our bodies hadn’t yet adjusted to being 7 hours ahead of U.K. time.
The first vehicle was flagged away at 9 a.m. from the formal Start Control on the forecourt of the Hotel to the tune of beating drums and Chinese dragons. A short drive of 30km/18mi along the expressway led us to the border post and bridge into Malaysia. This bridge used to be a causeway which was blown up by the Allied Forces during WWII in a vain attempt to stop the Japanese invasion during the retreat southwards from Malaya. I suppose Singapore could be likened to the Isle of Wight, being an island at the southern tip of mainland Malaysia. Having completed Customs/Immigration procedures, including getting our all-important Carnet stamped, we stopped for fuel & coffee at the first opportunity. Thankfully, having just left the most expensive place in the world, we were relieved to fill our empty tank with diesel costing just £20, and two coffees cost us a mere £1.

The 200km/120mi expressway run to Malacca was quickly covered, allowing us the afternoon to explore this fascinating city. Malacca is one of Malaysia’s top-drawer destinations. Owing to its strategic position on the Strait of Melaka, the city was a wealthy centre for trade with China, India, Siam (Thailand) and Indonesia, attracting waves of conquering Europeans including the Dutch, Portugese & British, each adding their own cultural influences. Modern Malacca was swept up in the sudden economic boom of the 1990’s, suffering from commercialisation and modernisation, but nonetheless offers an interesting insight into the city’s lifestyle. We roamed the busy streets, feeling hot & sticky in the afternoon heat, before taking a colourful ‘tuk-tuk’ or rick-shaw back to the hotel. We felt quite safe as conventional traffic is slow-moving and there are no nasty fumes to engulf you.