'Twas a good year ... 2008

You know it's gonna be wet ...

I cannot speak for the rest of the world but 2008 was a good year for me. I got to tick off several boxes on my to-do list, including driving a topless Lamborghini through the hills of Bologna and bit of backpacking in Italy, all without any work involved.
But the highlights came towards the end of the year, when I got to indulge to the max in my passion — 4X4 adventure.
There was a bit of worry, initially. It looked like nature was going to pour cold water on my plans to enjoy Sabah's famous Borneo Safari, with a weather alert warning of heavy rainfall towards the end of October.
The expected deluge might cause ''flash floods and mudslides in low-lying areas and river banks'', the met boys warned, in ''Sabah's coastal areas and the interior''. (Call me an alarmist but wouldn't that description cover the WHOLE state?)
This was to be a homecoming of sorts for me because I had lived in Sabah for several years in the early 1990s, and the 1992 edition of the Borneo Safari was my induction into the world of hardcore 4X4 (followed by the inimitable Camel Trophy of 1993).
In this hobby of ''challenging nature'', rain means tough trail conditions. But that's regarded as a promise, not a threat. It is something to welcome, not to dread.

The one and only Camel Trophy, Sabah 1993.

But, there can also easily be too much of a good thing. Memories are still fresh of the watery disaster of 2007 edition of the Malaysian Rainforest Challenge in Terengganu, forcing participants to abandon nearly 50 vehicles to the rising waters and flee in rescue boats sent in by the authorities.
When our small contingent from the peninsula, comprising journalists, photographers and representatives of Borneo Safari media sponsor, Isuzu Malaysia, arrived at Kota Kinabalu, it looked as if the gloomy outlook was justified.
The sky was a sullen grey and, according to our hosts from the Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club (KFWDC), it had been raining continuously for the past several days. Yup, the 18th Borneo Safari was going to be fun.
Sabah delivered on its promise, serving up mud galore. For the first two days and nights, it was either raining, drizzling or about to pour again.
Anywhere that the chunky tires of heavily-laden 4X4s rolled over, the ground was churned into a greyish mush. Driving was a challenge, and simply walking anywhere was an ordeal that required placing one foot in front of the other, gingerly.
Every piece of kit — shirts, shorts, hats, socks, bags, camp cots — got wet. And we hadn't even gone into the jungle proper yet!
Finally, the sun shone weakly through the clouds on the morning of

''Co-drivers forward with tools.''

Day Three, and not a moment too soon, for the hard part of the eight-day expedition was about to begin.
Only a few minutes had elapsed after I put ''my'' Isuzu D-Max (affectionately dubbed The Monster) in gear when the two-way radio crackled to life. ''Co-drivers forward with tools.'' We hadn't even cleared the camp site and the front of the kilometre-long convoy had already run into an obstacle!
Thankfully, the sun was shining warmly by now but the previous days' rain had dumped part of a hillside across the track. The medium-sized landslide was not a problem, just a challenge — this is, after all, the Borneo Safari.
With willing limbs and strong backs wielding shovels and hoes, the mess of fallen clay was bashed into a passable — albeit barely — path. Winches would be needed.
When my turn came, the Isuzu's 3.0l common rail diesel was more than up to the task, until it reached a point the tyres had no purchase at all. Out came the winch and recovery kit and, with a bit of grunting and a lot of sweat, we crawled to the crest of the hill.
It was a slow, laborious process that had to be repeated every so often, taking several hours before the entire 120-vehicle convoy made it through. It was going to be a long day. It was going to be a classic Borneo Safari.

Just a couple of kilometres up the trail, another steep, deeply rutted slope slowed progress again and yet again, power was applied, the winch cable came out, and the trek continued.
From then on until the expedition's end, the recovery paraphernalia, including snatch straps, shackles and so on, were no longer stowed away neatly but kept conveniently at hand. Until the next obstacle ... err, challenge.
Over the coming week, it would be a routine all the 300 or so participants would become familiar with — the increased radio traffic signalling an obstacle, the queue, the work, the charge through or up difficult stretches, the recovery, and the journey resuming. Slip, slide, stick, dig, push, pull, winch, then go, and repeat.
One of the most comforting aspects of the Safari is the overwhelming hospitality that Sabahans are justifiably famed for, and the large number of fellow travellers who are either mechanics, workshop owners or otherwise mechanically competent.
Whenever a vehicle breaks some part or gets into some other trouble, there are no worries because help is always at hand, all delivered calmly, with a smile, and without fuss.
Twice, the convoy stayed at the same campsite two nights in a row, giving most of the participants time to relax and dry off their wet stuff while enjoying the exciting spectacle of the competitors in action in the arena of the magnificent Crocker Range.

The perfect finale to a great adventure was the final night's camp along the pristine beach of Kuala Penyu, on Sabah's southwest coast.
With a sublime sunset as backdrop, new and old friends gathered around flickering campfires, beer in hand and sucking on freshly cooked local shells, to swap tales about the trials and triumphs of the past week.
There was still the closing ceremony to come, winners to be announced and prizes to be presented. But I had already made a decision: Yes, I'll clear my calendar for end October, 2009.
A couple of weeks later, with memories of Sabah still fresh and leech bites still itching, I was making tracks to Terengganu for another wet and muddy rendezvous — the Rainforest Challenge 2008, dubbed ''The Unfinished Business''. Truly, my cup runneth over — with rainwater and mud!

The point of it all

AS the sound of 18 diesel engines died away for the last time in Casablanca on Oct 7, a wave of relief swept over every member of the Petronas Trans Sahara 2004 expedition. There were also feelings of triumph, and a sense of personal achievement and team accomplishment.
“We made it!” “Well done, you did it!” Congratulations were in order, and everyone went around shaking each other’s hands and patting one another on the back. There were tears of joy, and eager anticipation of the journey home to much-missed loved ones so far away.
Now, safe and sound at home at last, with all the creature comforts and the great Malaysian food that we craved for while out there in the desert, there has been time to reflect on the meaning of life, the universe, and what the whole Sahara experience has been about.
It was one great adventure. For some lucky members of the Petronas Adventure Team (PAT), there will be other places to visit in time to come, but many of us will remember this trip as a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we were fortunate enough to have been a part of.
The Trans Sahara proved to be many things to many people. It was a journey of exploration, a long trek through nations and environments that couldn’t possibly be more different than the lush world that Malaysians know as home.
It was a test for each individual participant, who had to dig deep into his or her reserves to find the patience, the perseverance and the tolerance to put up with all the unexpected trials and tribulations that came along. Some of the challenges included seemingly endless waiting to cross borders, long hours of driving, extreme heat, gritty sand getting into everything, and having to go for days without a bath.

There were always some people you liked and some you did not, but everyone had to learn to get along, for the good of the entire group. When everyone was forced to spend so much time in such close proximity, the strain could blow the smallest misunderstanding out of proportion and spark off tiffs. But, in the end, the close bond forged by the shared experiences won through.
There were happy moments when things were great, when the scenery was dazzling or the mood enchanting, just as there were times when everything that could go wrong did. We all passed the test and, looking back now, the good times far outweighed the bad.
It was an opportunity for Malaysians, as individuals and as a group, to let other cultures know about us even as we were getting to know them. Initially, the curious locals of North Africa always mistook us for Japanese, Koreans or Chinese visitors. But when told that we were Malaysians, the reaction was always one of warm welcome.
Invariably, their faces broke into broad smiles, their thumbs went up and they shouted, “Malaysia very good, very nice people, welcome!” It felt really great to be regarded in such a pleasant light, even if we discovered along the way that such welcoming salutes were often ploys to lure unsuspecting tourists into souvenir shops.
As travel experiences go, a PAT expedition is not really the best way to visit interesting places. All too often, the need to keep to a schedule or having to pick up the pace to make up for lost time meant that we had to bypass many interesting places. While the 39 days allocated for the expedition might seem a long time, it still did not allow for much leisure because the convoy had to cover more than 10,000km, much of it over difficult terrain. There were stretches of the route which required eight hours of driving to cover just over 100km of ground.
While it was understandable that the needs of the whole caravan took precedence over the wishes of individuals, it did often lead to the frustrating feeling that one had travelled so far under such difficult conditions only to whiz past some place of great significance, such as historic battlegrounds like El Alamein and Mersa Matruh in Egypt, or the remnants of ancient Roman settlements in Libya.

The expedition did enable us to see plenty of interesting sights along the way. Even if the experience was often shallow, most of us agreed that it was ultimately better to have had these glimpses, however brief and fleeting, than not to have seen these wonderful places at all. That was another lesson: you can’t have everything your way all the time, so you should enjoy whatever you can get.
In the main, the expedition served to raise Petronas’ profile in the foreign countries where they have joint-venture operations, such as Sudan, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Wherever possible, the PAT members took part in community relations projects at local institutions such as children’s hospitals and village vocational centres, which receive support and aid from the Malaysian oil company.
For other sponsors such as Ford Malaysia, which sent along their 4X4 Everest and Ranger vehicles, and Korean tyre-maker Kumho, the gruelling expedition was as an ideal trial by ordeal that proved their products’ toughness and reliability, beyond all doubt. After all, they survived the kind of conditions and abuse the average consumer’s car and tyres would never have to undergo, even in 20 years of normal usage.

City of contrasts

How many countries do you know of that have been studied so much by so many clever people that they actually have a name for the specialist field of study? Egyptology, Egyptologists ...
The Blast From The Past series takes us to one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

TIME seems to stand still in Egypt, birthplace of one of the most ancient civilisations on earth. While traffic and humanity zip around frenetically in the apparent chaos of modern Cairo, other things proceed at a pace that the Pharoahs’ loyal subjects might find familiar if they were reborn today.
The Petronas Adventure Team (PAT) had looked forward to exploring many of the wonders along the road leading northward from the Sudanese border to the Egyptian capital, such as the Valley of the Kings and the temples at Luxor.
The Trans Sahara expedition’s 18 vehicles had made it safely across Lake Nasser (which the Sudanese call Nubian Lake) after a 48-hour voyage on two barges, and the adventurers were raring to continue with their journey. However, the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly in this part of the world. There is red tape, more red tape and, just when you think there cannot possibly be any more paper work, there are yet more documents to be filled and processed.
Three whole days passed before border officials released all the vehicles, which were finally allowed to be driven on Egyptian roads with the appropriate number plates in Arabic. Each day, the participants checked out of their hotel and waited in the lobby for their vehicles to emerge.
Each afternoon, they had to check back in because there was no sign of their vehicles, nor any indication as to when these might be allowed out.
The team members followed a tight schedule, and the delay at the border meant that they had to skip many of the splendid sights along the way, much to their disappointment.

The convoy rolled into Cairo on the afternoon of Sept 7, and pulled up at the lovely Oberoi Mena House Hotel, in the shadows of the great pyramids of Giza, minutes before I arrived after a long flight from Malaysia via Doha, Qatar.
Cairo is a hive of activity, a sprawling metropolis of some 25 million residents and millions of foreign tourists drawn by the splendours of ancient Egypt. The country’s unique charms certainly justify its status as one of the top tourist destinations in the world, but modern Cairo takes some getting used to.
Traffic is best described as chaotic, with cars going slow on the left lane (the equivalent of the fast lane in a left-hand-drive country), and fast in the middle and right lanes, or any lane, for that matter. A no entry sign may be interpreted as you cannot go this way, or you shouldn’t but you can if you must, or it’s to be ignored. Headlamps are apparently optional; you can turn them on at night or otherwise, use your parking lights, or do whatever you feel like doing.
The roads are crammed with old and battered Fiats and Peugeots jostling for position with newer cars, mostly from Asian manufacturers like Hyundai, Daewoo and Toyota, semi-trailers and donkey carts, plus the occasional camel, especially in touristy areas.
Security is tight everywhere, and policemen toting AK-47 assault rifles are conspicuous at many intersections. The Egyptian authorities are taking no chances with their main source of income, following several deadly attacks on tourists by fanatics and anti-government groups in the past few years.

Special tourism police, smartly dressed in tailored suits and with barely-concealed submachine guns tucked into holsters, have been assigned to accompany the PAT team during visits to, among others, the light and sound show (pic above) at the Sphynx, and a drive through Giza plateau, home of the Great Pyramid of Cheops.
At the pyramids complex, the PAT veterans had a reunion of sorts when they bumped into some travellers whom they had crossed paths with on Africa Trek 2003, their expedition through southern Africa.
There is plenty of time for the team to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Cairo, and shop for the obligatory souvenirs. One of the highlights of the stay here is a dinner cruise on the Nile, complete with performances by belly dancers. The technical crew have been busy searching for parts for some vehicles that have encountered minor problems.

After Cairo, the expedition will head for Alexandria, where Petronas has substantial investments in petrochemical facilities. The PAT team members will help entertain and educate handicapped children in a community relations project there. Next up is a drive along the coastal road, which will take participants through World War II battlegrounds such as El Alamein and Marsa Matruh. They will then across the border into Libya, where the first night’ s stop will be at Tobruk.

More Important Than A Matter of Life and Death - the story of Atiqah Abdullah, Queen of the Jungle

Jungle Woman leaping into action.

Atiqah receiving her Jungle Woman award from Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also Kiulu Assemblyman.

If I were to declare that "the Borneo Safari is not a matter of life and death ... It's much, much more important than that" (mental note of thanks to Bill Shankly for the paraphrase), I know everyone reading this blog will roll your eyes and think that I've gone off my rocker. Sure, it's fun (for some people), even important, maybe ... but, really! Right?
But, really, seriously, it is more important than a matter of life and death for pint-sized Atiqah Norsauzelah Abdullah of Brunei, who was recently bestowed with the inaugural Borneo Safari Jungle Woman Award. 

Atiqah  in the posh rear of Cabby with gal pal Lau Jun Hwa (left)

She risked death, literally, just to take part in the hardcore 4X4 expedition, and she did it like a trooper, leaping out of her Land Rover with straps and tackle to commence recovery operations as soon as it got stuck. She fell in the mud, she got up and got on with the programme. At night, she bathed with hot water and dined and slept like a princess, only to get up in the morning to wallow in the mud again.
When her Jungle Woman award was announced, there were apparently some people who disagreed with the choice and made disparaging remarks about her. I hope these people, whoever they may be, read this.

Atiqah, Noh 'Boy' Halim with Humphrey
 the Camel Trophy wannabe in Brunei.

Personally, I know Atiqah as one half of the most helpful couple I have had the pleasure to meet in over two decades of off-roading. While I was in Bandar Seri Begawan for a trip, she and her partner stopped by to chat and admire my Camel Trophy-replica Discovery. They advised me that it might be a good idea to carry a spare cylinder head gasket. Good advice, but I did not have one handy. So they went off and bought one for me, even paying for it first. Enough said. 
I could have interviewed the 27-year-old Art and Design lecturer and written a story as journalists normally do but hers is such an unusual and powerful story that I feel it's best told in her own words, giggles and all. 
Photo credits are due to Atiqah, Lau Jun Hwa and, of course, myself.

Larger than life ... although petite in stature, especially next to a Borneo Safari car.

Hmmm... Let's see. I'm relatively new to the offroading world/community - only started proper off-roading few years ago. Mostly I do Sunday offroad trips to the "ulu" here in Brunei as I work on Saturdays so I am deprived of proper 2 day weekend (so BS2013 was my first ever "long" offroad trip).
Why I like it... Hmm I suppose after I graduated, I came back to Brunei to start my teaching career which restricts me from leaving the state at any time I want so I felt the need to find a hobby that I can do locally. Travelling was my passion so I had to stop jet-setting and find something new to scratch the itch.
I started to visit workshops with my partner (Noh Halim, better known to all and sundry as simply Boy) almost every day after working hours to check on his project cars.
At that time, I couldn't understand what the joy was all about - you fix your car, you test it out, you wreck it, you rebuild it again and the cycle goes on and on and on.
But, I just had to see what the deal was about so I still continued on tagging along with Boy to the workshops and things.
Four months after settling down in Brunei, I made one of my many impromptu purchases - a Land Rover Discovery 1 - it was offered to me cheaper than a Prada bag so I thought "why not?"
Twenty minutes after looking at the car, I convinced myself that I was going to buy it just because I can make a profit by selling it so I made the decision to buy my first ever Land Rover vehicle.
Many years later, I still own the Disco, didn't make a profit obviously as I couldn't let it go; and ended up spending more on LRs than I could ever imagine as we now have 7 LRs.

That's how it started - wanted to make profit - yeah right. I've turned into a LR owner and hoarder since and maybe mechanic in the making haha! LRs, workshops and spare parts shopping became my hobby.
What I like about it? Hmmm ... I think when you start building your car, as opposed to buying it, you tend to get more attached to it. So the satisfaction you get when your project cars turn out to be successful becomes something you constantly look for if that makes sense?
I never stopped restoring LRs since my first one. But that was about it - owning LRs, restoring them and Sunday trips. Never longer offroad trips.
So people asked me: "Why now? Why Borneo Safari 2013? Why not BS 2011?"
Last year (2012) I lost my dear sister, who just died suddenly at the age of just 34. She was perfectly healthy when she died so I never got the chance to say my goodbye. She was still young, and I imagine she could've enjoyed life more in this world had she known.
I was very devastated by her demise as we were very close. I began to question and review my priorities and I finally told myself I have to do things I love before it's too late.
I have always wanted to join BS but never got the chance to do it or rather my cars were not ready for it so after the life changing event,

I was very determined to do things I like so I decided that I must join next BS (2013). I gathered all my sources - cars, mechanics, parts and support to build a machine I could take to BS - the Cabby.
I never looked back, never turned back. I was so determined that Cabby and BS were the only things I could think of throughout the 12 months of its completion. Talk about obsession hehehe!
Three months after the start of project Cabby, I was diagnosed positive for Brugada Syndrome (a very rare heart disease which might have caused the sudden death of my sister).
I went through a very difficult time deciding what to do as there is no known cure for the disease. I was only offered a preventive measure - implantation of a defibrillator - the ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) - that acts as a life saving device just in case my heart fails.
It was almost unbelievable to everyone and cardiologists that I had initially decided to do the implantation of my defibrillator in December 2013, after the Borneo Safari, because I desperately needed to complete Cabby and prepare myself for the safari, so much so I could not afford to be "sick" and not be able to do normal activities after the surgery (hahahaha!!)
My cardiologist was not convinced with my reason for doing the surgery later as he feared my heart would fail during the Safari! Now that's a clever argument.
I then told myself I had to do the surgery as soon as possible so I won't die during the Safari hahaha. I then decided to have the operation two days later. I remembered Boy was furious with my decision as I didn't discuss it with anyone but my cardiologist. I just told him when he fetched me from my hospital appointment.
"I'm doing the surgery in 2 days time cos if I don't do it now, I might not be able to recover in time for BS so let's go home and pack our things and go camping as I will need at least three months to recover, i.e., cannot lift my arm, cannot drive, cannot carry things, basically cannot be normal during recovery period so I want to go camping for the last time".

I stayed strong, everybody else around me stayed strong. Mechanic stayed strong too - he continued working on Cabby to ensure I get to join BS before my heart fails. At that time, going to BS was like my final wish before I die hahaha. Not going to BS was clearly not an option as I did the surgery just for BS.
Everybody got emotional. Several months later, I recovered from the most painful times with the help of morphine, painkillers, yoga and support from Cabby team. Cardiologists declared I was then fit for BS, yeay!
Cabby is a Land Rover Defender truck cab (hence the name Cabby) produced in 1988. Again, it was one of my impromptu LR purchases. It used to serve a construction company as a workers' carrier.
When I first bought it, it was in a very undesirable state (no floor, broken axles, seized engine, no seat base and everything bad you can think of from a BND500 worth of car) but being a LR enthusiast, I was blindly optimistic that I could turn it into a decent car for my first ever BS.
Even Boy thought I needed to be more realistic with my vision but I think I have made it clear that no one can stop me when I'm that determined.
Boy reluctantly took up the challenge of building another "trash" and became Cabby's project manager.
Everyone who had seen the state of the car when I first bought it didn't think Cabby would be done in time for BS2013. I refused to agree with them. Instead, that gave me more reasons to prove them wrong.

Yes, it's pink underneath ... got a problem with that?

Building Cabby was relatively easy compared to our other LR projects as I had decided that it would still run on genuine Land Rover engine, axles, transmission, etc so I won't have to deal with a lot of fabrication had I gone for Japanese specs and "kahwin" the parts.

Having direct bolt-on stuffs also meant that we can replace parts easily in the jungle if need be so we don't have to worry about fabrication/welding/etc.
In order to accommodate the "princess" owner during the safari, Cabby was designed to have flat surface at the back so it could be turned into a bed at night with a canvas over the hood sticks to serve as the bed's roof in case it rains.
Cabby has built in compartment to store spare parts and drawers to store dry food to ensure easy access during brief stops in the jungle.
To ensure I enjoy the experience of my first ever BS, Cabby's project manager prepared a bespoke "room" at the back of Cabby in such a way that it would be easy for me to set up my toilet tent and effortlessly plug in the electric shower, the freezer to store frozen meat which can last for the whole trip, electric fans for sleeping in, laptops and mobile phones and other luxuries.

As for driving needs, Cabby was equipped with basic stuffs such as spotlights, reverse led lights, camping lights on both sides of the car, winching light behind the front grill, RPM meter, turbo boost meter, VHF radio, dual battery monitor, smaller steering wheel for easier control, raised shifter to accomodate the petite driver, GPS(es), GoPro camera, new seat base for comfort, and pink interior for the feminine feel hehehe.

Cabby runs on a 300TDi engine, with an automatic transmission gearbox, 24 splines rover axles, new offset steel rims, 6 degree corrected arms, heavy duty steering rods, heavy duty steering guards, front and rear differential guards, lamp guards, electric winch, dual batteries, new seals for all doors and windscreens and window channels, new intercooler, new transmission oil cooler, thicker radiator, new this new that all new until bankrupt hahaha.
Now that I have done BS, I'm looking at a different international event for 2014. The plan is to join RFC next year. New experiences related to offroad activities excite me - whether it's a competition or an expedition. So at the moment, I believe in making full use of the lifespan of my ICD's battery as I will need to go through surgeries every seven years to get it replaced. Awful but that's life  ;)

Where a Sunday drive can take you to Tuesday

Andy 'One-Ten' Wong

The story below was published in The Star, Malaysia, two years ago (circa June 2011). The trials and travails faced by travellers described in it no longer exist since the road to Ba'kelalan has been completed. I have left the story as it was published then to retain its original flavour, and also to remind readers not to wait too long to go out and chase that dream. The great wilderness may not be there much longer. 

I dedicate this post to the memory of a good friend and a legend in the Borneo 4X4 community, Andy 'One-Ten' Wong. Rest In Peace, dear friend. Carpe diem

Yes, this was a road ... between Long Semadoh and Ba'kelalan.

IN a faraway land known as Borneo, a place that many Malaysians have never visited, time stands still. Truth is, the clock's hands do move but ever so slowly that it feels like time hardly passes at all.
It's not that backward, though, they do have cars there.
Up in the mysterious mountains of north-eastern Sarawak, there are no traffic lights or jams but they take an entire day, or two, to drive just 12 kilometres. Or maybe just two kilometres.
The slow pace is not because there are no roads. There's one road, at least. Not just any road, mind you, but one of the last great driving adventures in the world.

It’s also the worst road I’ve driven on, and I’ve driven on plenty in far-flung places. Here, a Sunday drive could stretch to Monday, or maybe Tuesday, or even Wednesday. For those in a hurry or travelling light, a MASwings Twin Otter flight from the nearest town of Lawas about 130km away, takes less than 30 minutes.
Here, a couple of inches are a big deal. Having a set of tyres an inch bigger or smaller in diameter makes a world of difference – between making it home or not.
Here, the "road" swallows even jacked-up Land Cruisers that look like monster trucks in town and spits out bits of bumpers, hubs, CV joints and other assorted car parts.
“Here” is Ba'kelalan, billed by tourism marketeers as “Sarawak's hidden highland paradise” where the journey (to and from) is really the adventure, although the destination is pretty nice, too.
Until recently, this writer had heard about the unusual charms of this slow-paced Garden of Eden where they grow apples but didn't really believe those tall tales.
One fine day, after reading about the 1Borneo 4X4WD Expedition to Ba’kelalan (185km east of Miri as the crow flies), I decided to find out if these tall tales were true.

It would turn out to be an epic road trip which entailed an 800km drive from Kuching to Miri just to get to the preliminary starting point. Here, I collected several travelling companions and motored over border to Brunei to pick up more companions, then back into the Sarawak district and town of Limbang.

View from a tyre track.

Eight stamps on my passport later, I was in the company of around 80 fellow travellers from Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah, heading for the hills in 36 four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles.
After an entertaining detour to sample a bit of traditional jungle driving and river fording, expedition leader and local taikoh (big brother, or Boss) Clarence Labo led the convoy up some seriously steep slopes that proved to be a strain for many vehicles’ engines. Intermittent halts were needed to let the hot engines cool down.
The 90km run from the Sarawakian town of Lawas to Long Semadoh was relatively easy-going on wide tracks maintained by the logging companies operating in the area. In these parts, they’re called highways.
The passengers were treated to magnificent views while drivers kept one eye on overworked temperature gauges and the other alert for the log-laden behemoths that were the main danger to other road users.

On these timber roads, traffic flow is not fixed to the left or right side but rather, on right of way for the laden logging trucks. These heavy behemoths have priority to hug the hillsides so that they can stop safely in the event of emergencies while all other traffic must stay out of their way and use the ravine side, mere metres from a very long drop if anything goes wrong.
As the convoy snaked its way upwards through Long Tanguh, Long Ramirang and Long Luping, it wasn’t long before the two-way radios crackled with quips about how many places here were named after Ah Long, one of the participants from Brunei. Or, maybe the residents owed him a lot of money. (“Long” is actually “river” in the languages of the Orang Ulu, the collective term for the natives in Sarawak's highlands.)
Before nightfall, we arrived at Long Semadoh with just enough daylight left to set up camp by a pristine mountain stream. After driving almost the entire day, a good night's rest was just what the doctor ordered considering what lay ahead the following day.
Ba'kelalan was just 40km away but the Lawas-bound local pick-ups we passed along the way hinted at the rugged terrain lying in wait. They were all completely caked in mud up to the roof!

Lost sole along the way.

Setting off early the next morning, about 25km of reasonably smooth motoring brought the 1Borneo adventurers to what they had come for – MUD!
Just how bad is this so-called road to Ba'kelalan? It's viscous and vicious, gooey and gluey, with consistency ranging from thick oatmeal porridge to peanut butter, the type that sticks uncomfortably to the roof of your mouth.
The yellow-brown clay is too soft to support a vehicle's weight but sticky enough to cling to tyres, feet, clothes and just about everything else that touches it. And this was on a fine day with brilliant sunshine and blue sky overhead.
From here on, progress became painfully slow as each vehicle charged through the murk as far as momentum would carry it before bogging down in ruts that were thigh-deep in places.
Even the best-equipped 4X4 ended up stranded on the raised plateau between two canyons masquerading as tyre tracks, all four wheels spinning helplessly without any purchase on the slick mud beneath.
Willing souls with strong backs set to work with winches, tow ropes and assorted digging implements to fill the deepest holes and coax the heavy trucks up the slippery slopes.

Getting a single vehicle through a 100m stretch in 20 minutes was cause for celebration until one realises that it would take 720 minutes – that's 12 hours – to get the entire 36-car convoy across.
Fortunately, the vehicles that had made it across moved on to tackle the next muddy obstacle – just 500 metres away at the other side of the hill so the entire convoy was not held up at one spot.
Anyone who has attended one of the Rainforest Challenge 4X4 competition special stages would have seen men and machines taking on similar obstacles but this was a road that the locals used daily just to get from Point A to B.
The ordeal did not let up after the first two major obstacles, with more deeply-rutted stretches waiting to trap traveller all along the remaining 12km or so to Ba'kelalan proper, which the last car reached at sunset, nearly 10 hours after we set out from Long Semadoh.
The return journey would turn out to be even tougher because it rained intermittently, turning the ground into a squishy slurry that made every footstep a deliberate, considered action.
The same 40km that had taken us about 10 hours to cover on the way in would see us driving, winching, towing and digging from 10am to 1.30am the following morning before reaching a campsite, with a brief halt at 11pm for instant noodles eaten on the muddy road.
We were lucky. According to the locals, they frequently camp by the roadside or sleep in stuck cars.
To the locals, the torturous road is not an adventure but their lifeline to the rest of the world. Everything bulky and heavy that they need – fuel, cement, roofing & other building materials, etc – is hauled up on that road, and it is vital for transporting the famous Ba'kelalan rice to market.
In its present unsealed state, it is easily torn up by the heavy vehicles, which cut deep ruts into the soft surface. So they solve the problem by using bigger diameter tyres to lift themselves higher, but they end up cutting even deeper ruts.
So, when they reach largest practical size tyres, the ruts are so deep that everyone MUST use those tyres. It's a vicious circle that can only be broken by making the road all-weather, sealed, tarred, etc.
The government has allocated funds and entrusted the task of building an all-weather road to the army corps of engineers. Empty drums that used to contain sealants are scattered everywhere, signalling the approach of progress.
Although the works are behind schedule – the road was supposed to be completed in April – it should be no more than a year before the drive to and from Ba'kelalan is no longer an adventure.

Or, you could just fly ...

More photos here

Veteran, pilot and a Ranger

This article was published by Chief Reporter Fred Leong in the New Sabah Times on Oct 27, the day Borneo Safari 2013 was flagged off.

The Borneo Safari is a 4X4 event so tough that all vehicles, as well as their occupants, that make it to the finish line are deemed worthy of respect. 

Anyone who has been on one will tell you that no stock vehicle can make it. In fact, the Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) will not permit any vehicle to join the event unless it meets three minimum requirements (apart from being a fully functioning four-wheel-drive) - it must have a winch, a snorkel and be shod with XT (or Extreme Terrain) tyres. 

But just how much, or how little, modification do you really need in order to be Safari-ready?

Determined to find out, retired motoring journalist Paul Si is putting a brand new Ford Ranger XLT 3.2l Manual to the ultimate test during the Borneo Safari 2013, which flags off from Kota Kinabalu on October 27.

Asked what he had done to prepare the vehicle, Si said: "Just what the Borneo Safari organisers stipulated as compulsory - winch, snorkel and XT tyres, which are 33 inches in diameter, although most of the others are using a minimum of 35". Oh, and lots of stickers."

There are also some protective upgrades, in the form of heavy duty front and rear bumpers as well as side steps.

"But none of these add-ons are intended to improve on the car's performance in any way, just to minimise the damage that is almost a certainty on the trail," said Si, whose first participation in a Borneo Safari was back in 1992. 

"In fact, they probably reduce the performance slightly because of the added weight," said Si, who will be sharing the driving duties with co-driver Captain Andrew Lui, who normally drives a Boeing 777.

"I left the engine, transmission, chassis and suspension alone," the veteran off-roader from Sarawak added, "because I believe they are good enough."

"In a way, it's odd to talk about this Ford Ranger project because stories on vehicle preparation for an expedition are normally about the modifications done, such as adding differential locks, suspension lifts, body lifts, and so on, but this is more about NOT doing modifications," he added.

Si is no stranger to taking on challenges in vehicles almost straight from the showroom floor since he drove his newly-registered Land Rover Defender 110 HCPU from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu last year for Borneo Safari 2012.

"That, too, was minimally upgraded to comply with the organisers' requirements," he recalled, "and it performed flawlessly throughout the event."

"But some friends said it was to be expected, since a Land Rover Defender is designed for off-road use. So I wondered if one of the newer pick-ups might also be up to the task, and Ford was brave enough to take up the challenge."

Fresh from the Ford Kuching showroom floor, the Ranger was kitted out with locally-fabricated metal bumpers and side steps, a made-in-China winch and an Ironman 4X4 snorkel, plus Silverstone MT-117 Extremes, the same set of tyres that had served in the previous year's event.

While the Ranger's toughness remains to be proven on the trails of Gunung Trusmadi, it has already exceeded expectations in one surprising area - fuel economy.

Not many people would expect a 3,200cc, five-cylinder engine to be economical, especially when it produces a claimed 200PS of power and 470 Newton-metres of torque. 

"I did not expect it would be able to return a figure of 7.1 litres per 100km, but that's what we achieved in the drive from Kuching to Miri," said Si. 

"Of course, we were travelling slowly, around 70km/h or so, because we were escorting a group of much older vehicles from Indonesia and that was the speed they were capable of maintaining safely."

In the 1,200km already travelled just to get to the starting line, the new Ford Ranger XLT 3.2l had already impressed with its comfort and quietness, spaciousness, smooth power and amazing fuel efficiency, Si said. 

"Now, we are about to find out how well it holds up to the rough stuff," he said. 

* Footnote: The Lone Ranger held up to the rough stuff rather well, thank you very much.