The tripThe initiative for this marathon trip came from LeaseDeal, the innovative car lease company that distinguishes itself by the monthly invoicing of the miles that have actually been driven. LeaseDeal is organising the trip in cooperation with tour operator TiaraTours and motoring magazine Autovisie. The shortest and most obvious route from Amsterdam to Singapore would be to take the southern route through Turkey. But this precisely what the teams are NOT going to do. The EurAsia Cabrio Challenge teams will take the northern route: from the Netherlands to Germany, through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore. The overall distance – to be covered in 33 days – is 17,000 kilometres: some 515 kilometres a day. The festive entry in Singapore will be on the Dutch Queen’s birthday, April 30th. The EurAsia Cabrio Challenge’s route, the longest possible route over land from Amsterdam to Singapore, passes through parts where tourists rarely come, adding just that little extra touch of excitement. In Mongolia for instance, most of the roads are unpaved: the teams will cross areas where the local population has rarely set eyes on a car. Let alone foreign convertibles! From the more than 100 entries which Autovisie received after a competition announcement for the Challenge in their August 2006 edition, they ultimately selected forty travel-mad participants. In pairs, the competitors will drive their own convertibles to Singapore. Dutch actress Victoria Koblenko, Ukrainian by birth, will join the group in Irkutsk and take part in the second stage of the marathon trip. We expect the twenty teams to drive the 17,000 kilometres with their tops down whenever possible, despite the cold, snow, ice and mud (Russia), sand storms, heat (Mongolia), sun and tropical showers (Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia)!

Countries

The Netherlands Germany Poland Lithuania Latvia Russia Mongolia China Vietnam Laos Thailand Malaysia Singapore

 Vietnam

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Viêt Nam in Vietnamese) has a population of about 82 million. The eastern coastal line of the Southeast Asian peninsula is part of the country. Vietnam borders China to the north, the Gulf of Tonkin (and the Chinese island of Hainin) to the north-east, the South China Sea to the south-east, Cambodia to the south-west and Laos to the north-west. The country has a tropical monsoon climate. The narrowest part of the country is only some tenths of kilometres wide. The capital is the northern city of Hanoi and the largest city is the southern Ho Chi Minh City, former Saigon. The most densely populated areas are the two most important river deltas: the Red River Delta and Mekong River Delta. The ethnic Vietnamese represent over 85% of the population. They only speak an Annamese-Muong language. The predominant religion is Buddhism, with a strong emphasis on ancestor veneration. The Vietnamese will try to avoid quarrels and conflicts at all cost. In their eyes, disruption of harmony may lead to loss of dignity. In their longing for harmony, the Vietnamese will sometimes refrain from saying ‘no’ if ‘yes’ sounds more pleasant. A foreigner who quarrels or loses his patience goes down in their opinion, after which they will refuse to help him.