Perth to Paris

[GTVeloce]

As some of you are aware, my brother and I have been planning an extended driving trip which we have called Perth to Paris. The car we have chosen to do this trip in is none other than an Alfa 75! Any way, I will go into more details in future posts but the quick synopsis so far is we have managed to import the car from Melbourne into Singapore and have just crossed the border into Malaysia. The car is going well so far. I have attached a pic of the car on the docks in Melbourne.

[bonkfrog]

Well done! Keep us informed. Best wishes for the trip from the Alpine Chapter Inc.

Cheers

John

[ACE]

Julian,
Best wishes and best of luck.
Truly a bucket list adventure.
cheers
Ace (Canbrah)

[aggie57]

Fantastic!  Look forward to regular updates.

[Evan Bottcher]

Awesome! Looking forward to updates. Particularly interested in a little info on the logistics, permits required etc. Have a blast, and take lots of photos!

[John A Pucak]

Glowing headers

[GTVeloce]

Sorry for the delay in posting, however, all is going well so far. We have just driven into the heart of Bangkok and parked for the night. Today has certainly been the most interesting day of driving so far. Its amazing how you get accustomed to things quite quickly. Last night whilst eating dinner in a place called Prachuap Khiri Khan, I saw a scooter with three girls on it (none over 16) , all without helmets and driving done the wrong side of the road. What was really amazing was I didn't think anything of it!


I have so many things to cover but first the car (this is a car forum!). I know this sounds like the craziest thing to say but the Alfa 75 TS is the perfect car in southeast Asia. Ours is mostly stocked (albeit many parts rebuilt) however, the suspension is quite high (haven't measured it but I think it is actually original ride height) and we have put bigger than standard wheels (Yoko A drives 185/70/14). It rides well on the roads, its frugal, its small and nimble and we have managed to make the A/C work fine. So far the car hasn't missed a beat and there is nothing I would rather have been in.


I will try and post more details in the next few days re driving conditions, cars, permits etc. And I will try and work out the best way to get some photos up.

Julian

[aggie57]

Fantastic adventure Julian.  Really interested to know what your planned route is - are you following the approach that John Faine and his soon took:

http://melbournetolondon.com/

By memory they went north until they reached Mongolia and then turned left.....

[alfagtv58]

Nothing really to add to this Julian, apart from letting you know that there is another forum member that is really looking forward to reading your updates.

A brave and wonderful journey!

[GTVeloce]

Right, a lot has happened in the past couple of months but on the upside I get my laptop in a week which will make it much easier to update posts and keep people abreast. However, we hit a snag in Thailand. Basically, the plan was to travel SE Asia and then ship the car around Myanmar as we can't drive through there and we weren't willing to pay the exorbitant fee to drive through China (~$12,000!). So we organised shipping through a freight forwarder from Thailand to Calcutta in India. Just as we were dropping the car off at the docks the guy calls us and saids we have to pay an extra $683 to get a signature I know we don't need to pay for. So we made a quick decision and I have had to drive the car back to Singapore to ship from there. much cheaper but I miss out on a week in Vietnam which is where we are going to spend the time while the car is in transit. of all the countries we have been to, the only one we have had any trouble in is Thailand (trying to extort bribes etc). Everywhere else has been smooth sailing. India could be interesting but we are really looking forward to drive in the Himalayas. Let's see how high the old girl can go!

[Davidm1600]

A real Boys own Adventure.  I do hope you are taking copious notes, photos and/or even video footage as it is worthy of a book or a film.  So few will ever have an adventure like you guys are.  All the best and have an amazing trip, which I can only imagine you are.

[GTVeloce]

Good news - the website is finally up and running! My brother is hand coding it as we go along (not bad for a first timer!). We still need to back fill plenty of content but there is something there now. Address is www.perthtoparis.com

Bad news - a few days ago we were in a toll both queue in India when the truck in front decided to back up so he could change lanes without looking. This is not surprising given Indian driving habits. Not surprisingly he drove into us. Mostly the damage is just a broken headlight although the panel above the light is also buckled slightly.

So, I'm chasing a LHS Headlight for an 89 75. Does someone have one out there?

Thanks
Julian

[Neil Choi]

Julian,

Great to hear from you.  The update and website are fantastic, keep it up.

The roads look horrendous.

Looking forward to more.

Neil

[Darryl]

Nice work on the website + fantastic story.

[Nate Dog]

Holy Crap!

Fantastic

A new follower.

Keep us abreast!