Didier Vacher has never driven a tuk-tuk, but he hopes his inaugural trip in the ubiquitous three-wheeled Thai taxi will take him some 24,000km across 31 countries from Bangkok to France.
"Everyone tells me it's crazy," the 44-year-old Frenchman said.
"I divorced in September, and I haven't been feeling very good," he said before his trip. "I told myself, `you need some fresh ideas.'"
PHOTO: AFP
Vacher, who heads food services for cruise ships by profession, left Thailand on Friday bound for Malaysia and Singapore, then plans to cross the sea to India, Bhutan, Nepal, Iran and Turkey until finally arriving in Europe.
Then he will head to his hometown of Saint-Emilion in southwestern France, home to the world-famous Bordeaux wines.
The entire journey will be overland, except for the leg from Singapore to Madras, India. The tuk-tuk and its driver will make that journey by air.
"I would like to arrive before July 1, which would mean 400km or eight hours of driving every day," he said.
He also wants to leave enough time to visit the world's great cultural sites on his trip, including the Taj Mahal in India and the ruins of Persepolis in Iran.
Along the way, Vacher wants to raise awareness among people he meets about the fight against AIDS and against child abuse.
At the same time, he hopes to "make himself known," by trying to publish a lengthy guide to cruises. He's also created a Web site.
He's financing his trip -- a cost of 20,000 euros (about US$26,000) -- almost entirely on his own, except for 10 percent that a Miami-based global cruise group has agreed to sponsor.
Everyone else he asked to sponsor his journey turned him down.
"I sent 300 or 400 e-mails looking for sponsors, but they all told me the same thing: it's too dangerous," he said. The risk of kidnapping, armed attack or theft scared potential sponsors away.
But he boasts of the firsts his journey is already making.
"This would be the first tuk-tuk to enter Bhutan," he said proudly.
The fee for the tourist visa to Bhutan was expensive but all-inclusive: US$1,290, for everything right up to food and lodging.
Only two countries refused to open their borders to him: Myanmar and Saudi Arabia.
"I tried everything, but it was impossible," Vacher said of his application at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok.
"Even when I explained that I wanted to beat the Guinness world record, they said no!"
Vacher hopes his tuk-tuk will unseat the Briton who holds the current record for such a three-wheeled voyage, for a trip of 19,160km from India to Britain.
The possibility of a breakdown doesn't faze him.
"I know a little about mechanics, and a tuk-tuk is very basic. It has a small engine" of 550cc, he said.
Vacher set out with a full tank of 50 liters, which should get him through the first 650km or 700km.
The tuk-tuk, a vehicle Vacher describes as "midway between a car and a motorcycle," is an unavoidable part of Thailand's urban landscape.
His tuk-tuk was built in the province of Samut Prakhan, east of Bangkok.
"I had them install covers in case it rains, but it's all open, there's no sides," he said. He did have a trunk installed so he can carry supplies.
The adventurer took along a camera and digital camcorder, a scanner and a color printer so that he can give photos to the children he meets along the way. And he wants to try to meet with newspapers in each country to spread his message: "It's a wonderful life, but beware of AIDS".
Describing himself as "used to long trips where there's nothing to see" from his cruise ship experience, Vacher said he's not worried about getting bored.
"If people are intrigued by the journey, I may take one or two people along sometimes," he said.
But as for whether they'll get a free ride: "We'll see!" he said.
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