Being one of the active members of the Chinese Association in Teluk Intan, businessman Zhang Sheng Ang decided to enrich his life by signing up a car-driving tour together with his better-half, Yin Hai Yian, to 19 countries across Europe and Asia.

This whole journey was estimated at more than 20,000km, and they took 65 days to complete the trip. They were ultimately successful driving their cars from their first destination, United Kingdom, to the final destination, Malaysia.

Diesel cost up to RM20,000

Due to the great distance of the journey, Zhang invited Deng Chang Ming from Seremban as his alternative driver. The group of three followed the Perak Royal Automobile Club motorcade comprising a total of 13 cars throughout the journey, and spent nearly RM20,000 for diesel alone.

Of the entire fleet, 35 people completed the journey whilse five to six of them participated only in part of the journey such as from Europe to Russia, from Russia to Xinjiang, or joining the team on the way back to Malaysia.

A month before the departure, Zhang and his team-mates sent their cars to Port Klang with for shipping the UK. Right after they reached UK, their cars had been delivered to their hotel. Even though two of the cars were having the problem of diesel-freezing, they managed to solve the issue and commenced their journey by travelling across the English Channel and landed in France, where they began their long expedition of more than 20,000km.

They were speeding through their journey in western Europe, as restrictions in the those countries had been eliminated. From western to northern Europe, they had to be fully rely on the satellite navigators for guidance due to costly tour guide fee of 300 euros per day.

Breathtaking sceneries along the way

During an interview with Sin Chew Daily, Zhang said majority of the team members had taken part in relatively short car-driving tours before. Therefore the daily average driving range of 200 to 300km throughout this journey did not manage to knock them down. Furthermore they enjoyed the breathtaking sceneries as well as local customs along the way.

This was the fifth car-driving tour of Mr. and Mrs. Zhang. Their previous expeditions were: 19-day Thailand-Vietnam tour; 52-day Tibet tour; 19-day Myanmar tour, and 23-day Malaysia-Thailand-Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam tour. They are constantly delighted and never get tired of car-driving tours!

Tips for long-distance driving tours:

1. The four-wheel-drive less than five years old should be examined two or three times prior to departure.

2. It is recommended to have a second driver in each car to reduce the driver's stress.

3. The team leader must have back-up drivers to take over the wheel whenever necessary.

4. Medication must be readily available in each car to cope with unexpected ailments, etc.

5. Drivers must get used to daily driving distances of more than 300km without feeling lethargic.

6. Participants are encouraged to join a relatively short distance driving tour first before going on ae long distance one. (Translated by LIM LIY EE/Sin Chew Daily)