Dusty tracks, risky river crossings, dried up artificial lakes, defective wheel bearings and problems with the Chinese vehicle inspection authorities: The 27th stage of the XWORLD Tour provided a whole series of new challenges for the participants. Their journey took them along the “Golden Triangle” on an off-road trip from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Their report shows how they mastered these problems and what they experienced on the way.

“As we set out to our meeting at the hotel on this first day of our adventure our mood is a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Once we have been introduced and briefed on our adventure, we immediately set off on an extended sightseeing tour of Bangkok. Here, we marvel at the breathtaking temples; visit the What Pho and the Grand Palace. The first day comes to an end, but others will follow.

We start the next day by packing the cars. Once we have finished, we head out of the heavy Bangkok traffic and into a new adventure. Our first stop is the royal city of Ayutthaya, with its temple ruins. Then we carry on to the Klong-Lan National Park – the last virgin forest area of Kamphaeng Phet Province, with its incredible waterfall, whose roaring will lull us to sleep this evening, as our camp for the night is only about 800 metres away.

Refreshed by a good night’s sleep, the next day is a real test of our driving skills: as we drive along gravel roads towards Chiang Mai we begin to realise that we are facing a somewhat different driving experience, and we begin to ask ourselves whether the muddy tracks will even be passable in the pre-monsoon season. However, our fears are groundless, our routes are dry and we are able to admire the little villages to the left and right without problems. After lunch we reach the Mae Tup Reservoir – an enormous artificial lake, which to our amazement is completely dried out. Perhaps this is because it is situated in the “Hot” district in Thailand (and we are travelling in the cool season, where a “cold snap” means that the temperature sinks to a pleasant 20°C. Today’s destination is Chiang Mai. Tired and satisfied we enter the town and stroll around the fascinating night market. Each evening, local produce, food and textiles are offered for sale (especially by the peoples from the surrounding mountains).

The next day brings us a special off-road and “4 x 4” adventure - we have an opportunity to watch the elephants training at the Chiang Dao Center. The show is very impressive. These animals can carry and stack tree trunks up to several metres in length. However, even an elephant’s working day comes to an end and we meet the entire team of elephants again at the water hole. Four of us even have the chance to rock our way into the Thai jungle on the back of an elephant. Even though the Land Cruisers have a better suspension, elephants can really go anywhere.

After this experience we travel further into the country, where the multicultural mixture of this northern region of Thailand makes a great impression on us. We discover that the individual tribes of the region can be distinguished by the way they build their houses. Although we would like to stay here, we have to keep on going, as we have not yet reached our destination for the day - Soap Ruak, near to the “Golden Triangle”.

After a refreshing sleep we first visit the Opium Museum in Soap Ruak before continuing on the track along the banks of the Mekong River to Chiang Kong. Along the way we notice many burned or burning mountain slopes. Clearing the forests by burning is typical for this region and although this is officially prohibited, inaccessible areas are still burned off in the traditional way in order to create fertile land.

The exit formalities are somewhat tedious, but finally we are able to board the ferry across the Mankong River and into Laos. Our relief is short-lived, because once again the entry formalities take a long time. While we are being taken to the immigration control on a tuk tuk (a three-wheeled motorised rickshaw with a metal cab for two or three passengers), Melina, one of our tour guides takes care of the entry for our vehicles. Finally, everything is complete and we have officially arrived in Laos – a narrow country on the Indo-Chinese peninsula situated between Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, Thailand to the west and borders with Myanmar and the Chinese province of Yunnan to the north.

On the sixth day of this stage, our caravan once again travels along the banks of the Mekong. We leave the asphalt road after only a few kilometres. The road on which we are travelling was only finished a few weeks ago and according to one of the villagers, we are the first Europeans he has ever seen. Both we and the Laotians watch each other uncertainly. Shortly before we leave, we learn that in Laos the rice stores are always built outside of the villages, so that if the village is destroyed by fire, at least the rice remains safe.

Even though we are fascinated by the Laotians, we have to continue onwards. Then, about 40 kilometres away from our destination disaster strikes. In one of the vehicles the warning lights come on and a suspicious noise can be heard from the front left. In spite of this, we decide to continue and investigate the cause of the noise when we arrive in Luang Namtha. Our confidence disappears when we have to abandon the vehicle after a further five kilometres - the wheel bearing has failed.

Even so, things could actually have been a lot worse. With the aid of two mechanics from Luang Namtha, we are able to replace the wheel bearing overnight. However, it is not long before the next mishap befalls us… The clutch of the Hilux no longer functions. As the car is able to roll, we decide to tow it. Towed by the Land Cruiser “Great Wall”, the Hilux is towed to China. Our next destination is Megla – where the vehicles have to undergo a technical inspection by the Chinese authorities.

This presents a further problem, as the Hilux fails the test. Fortunately, there are no problems with the other vehicles. Luckily we have enough spare parts on board to repair the Hilux overnight, so that it can pass the test without any problems. After making a new appointment with the authorities for the Hilux the next day, we drive on to our accommodation in Jinghong.

This city has a population of almost 400,000 and is the capital of the autonomous Chinese district of Xishuangbanna. For those who cannot remember this unpronounceable name: in translation the name means “twelve thousand rice fields”. We also learn another translation: in China the Mekong is called Lancan Jiang, which means “turbulent river”.

The next morning all the vehicles are repaired. Content, we continue north. For hours on end we pass by peaceful-looking tea plantations. Here, one of the best known and most popular teas is grown, Pu-Erh tea. This is subjected to a special maturing process which gives it its dark red colour and strong earthy taste. Until the 1960’s this maturing process took up to five years, but now there is a method of artificially accelerating the process. Those who prefer a gentle form of production should choose the “raw” type – the treated Pu-Erh tea is sold as “ripe”. Even today, Pu-Erh teas can be matured for up to 60 years in order to develop their unique aroma – although they then have a corresponding price.

On the eighth day of our journey the amazing difference between China and Laos becomes apparent. On the one hand Laos has a natural, backward and often rural infrastructure, while in China building is in progress everywhere. Impressed by this contrast we reach the Hotel in Jianshui, a city with over 500,000 inhabitants in the province of Yunann. The next morning we set off along well-built motorways as far as Jingxi, a small town in southern China. We are still fit enough to take a short walk and watch the singing and dancing on the market place and observe men who write poetry on the ground with water-soaked brushes.

Four days before the end of our adventure, one of the members of our group is forced to leave us due to illness. Severe bronchitis and inflamed sinuses prevent him from travelling any further. However, our journey takes us further along the Vietnamese border. We visit the breathtaking cave system near Sandieling Waterfall and continue along side roads and gravel tracks to the Detian Waterfall. After a typical Chinese meal we continue on to the capital of Guangzi Province, Nanning. On the way we meet wild monkeys, which we feed with bananas and mandarin oranges.

The final two days are peaceful and refreshing, with massages, relaxation and good food. Our final day takes us through the province of Canton. At midday we reach the impressive delta of the Pearl River: Unlike a normal river delta, in which only one river spreads out, in this very closely meshed network of rivers in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, three large rivers with their many tributaries meet to form a river which flows into the South China Sea. Fascinated by this natural spectacle, at the end of the day we reach Shenzhen, where we hand over the Land Cruisers and travel on to Hong Kong by train – the end of the 27th stage of the XWORLD Tour.”