Travel

This is a real story, the first time in history, about a group of Chinese from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, traveled in five 7-seat ISUZU Trooper 4x4 Wagon across Europe, Africa and Asia from Olympia to the Great Wall of China at the turn of the Millennium. The trip took 4 months (131 days) and covered 38,000 kilometers. The adventure was initiated and sponsored by the Hong Kong Phoenix Television Co., and was broadcasted to the world via satellite everyday along the trip.

It was late July 1999, when I was first consulted and invited to form the fleet. It consisted of five customized off-road vehicles for 19 to 20 passengers. Each of the vehicle had be able to carry a load of over 1000 kilograms, including cameras, satellite transmission equipments, daily necessities for the team, spare parts for the vehicles etc. The cars had be able to survive the scorching heat in the Sahara, the freezing temperature in the Himalayas, to navigate on all kinds of terrains such as winding mountain paths, gravel roads, on ice, in deserts, on motorway.......

The trip scaled the altitudes from -410 meters below sea up to +6000 meters high. Furthermore, the tight schedule of the trip required a ground speed of no less than 150km/hr at times, and coverage of 1000 km a day.

The trip started at Alexandria Athens, cross the Hurghada sea, through Egypt, Luxur, Aswan, Suezcanal, Sinai Israel, Jerusalem, Tiberia, Palestine area, Jordan, Amman, Baghdad Iraq, Basra, Iran, Kermanshan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Isfahan, Kerman, Zehedan, Pakistan, Dalbandin, Quetta, Sukkur, Mohenjdar, Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, India, Amritsar, Delhi, Agra, Varansi, Nepal, Kathmandu, via the highest pass in the Himalayas to Tibet, finally took a 30 days tour around China and finished in Beijing China. The route had covered the four major ancient civilizations and the three major religions in the world. Along the way, we visited the hostile ground with prolonged political turmoil and religious conflicts; passed the areas housing fatal endemic diseases such as plaques and malaria, earth-quakes and other natural disasters; encountered anti-government terrorists and separatists; escaped from the wild animals in mountains and deserts. The trip tested our physiology to the limits.....the rapid change in climates, altitude, tiredness, hunger; showed the power of the vehicles; and strengthened the coordination and cooperation of the team members.

In addition to the sponsorship by ISUZU, there are many other accessories manufacturers such as Dakar, Verio, TJM, ARB, IPF, KOITO, Warn, OZ etc, who have given us great support to make this historic trip possible. Here I wish to share with you some of the photos taken along the trip in the following pages. I hope you like these pictures.