Initiated by the state government of
Guangxi Province, the primary objective China-Asean International Touring
Assembly (CAITA) is to promote the overland connectivity between China and
ASEAN countries. Dubbed as the
harmonious modern “Silk Road” as well as the “largest, broadest and longest automobile
assembly race in Asia”, it is one of the main events leading to the annual
China-ASEAN Summit that will be held in Nanning City, China . (Official Website of CAITA:
http://carally.org/)
The following is a daily account of Leslie Chang who is the Singapore
representative for the event.
Day 10, Hue to Hanoi 6th Sep 2012
The distance for today’s journey is more 750 km. For safe measures, I decided to do a basic inspection on my car this morning. To my disappointment, I saw one of the chips on my windscreen has enlarged into a ring shape that is larger than a 50-cent coin. Secondly, I noted that the rear right tyre is leaking air. To get going, the latter was temporarily resolved by using a borrowed portable pump.
Our first stop was an important landmark at the 17th parallel – the boundary that divided North and South of Vietnam during the war which ended in 1975.
We had our lunch at Vinh City where most of the roads were flooded but remained passable to traffic.
For our onward journey to Hanoi, the entourage avoided using the National Highway 1 due to the ongoing road works along many sectors. Instead, they decided to travel on the inland route which is commonly known as The Ho Chi Minh Trail – a historic path once used by the Vietcong to deliver weapons and supplies to the armies fighting in the south during the war. Evidently, some roads on this trail need serious repair.
This boy, seen here carrying his pet, evacuated himself out of his house due to the rising water level.
The Tucson did not have an easy time either. It had to undergo this ‘watermanship obstacle’ while the sky was getting dark.
