Ford Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure Team Ups the Ante

Ford Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure Team Ups the Ante

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Slim River, 24 July 2007 – The majority of the 70 Ford Lanun Darat members, including 15 children of all ages, who attended LANUN DARAT 4 x 4 Adventure No.35, off-road camping will never be quite the same again. For many of the seasoned members who went on the 4 x 4 Adventure last week-end, it came as a pleasant surprise to find a shower room and flushing toilets at the Bukit Slim campsite, some 35 kilometres deep in the forest to the east of Slim River town. The site was picked for its strategic location, just a little over three hours away from Petaling Jaya, its large camping area at the confluence of two mountain streams, and the amenities available.

According to June Chew, brand manager for Ford, the site was selected because it fits perfectly into Lanun Darat’s new direction of organizing more family-oriented activities for its Ford Courier, Ranger, and Everest owners. This shift from hard-core off-road activities towards more wholesome family-type fun is a move welcomed by the participants, who now encourage their spouses and children to come along to share in the fun activity.

The Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure event also had three foreign guests, Mr. Seng Voeung, Mr. Chheang Sopheak and Mr. Banaul Sorak Phivorn who came all the way from Cambodia, on a study tour of the event with a plan to introduce the same concept in their home country. “We are planning to introduce our version of Lanun Darat for Ford owners in Cambodia in November this year. We really enjoyed this event, and we welcome any Malaysian Lanun Darat members who would like to take part in our event,” said Mr. Seng Voeung.

Rena Goep, who hails from Sarawak but now works in Petaling Jaya, a veteran of at least 15 Lanun Darat trips over the last six years, said, “This is certainly one of the best camping trips that I have ever attended.” When asked to elaborate, she added, “The timing of the event was good – we arrived at the destination in the early afternoon, and that gave us enough time to go for a swim in the river, enjoy and explore the natural surroundings, whereas previously, we used to arrive either late in the evening, or at night. The food was excellent, and my only regret is that I didn’t have a stomach big enough to eat more. The toilet facilities were also a welcome bonus, especially for the ladies and other families who came for the trip. I also had time to talk to the other members and made many new friends.”

Paul Si, Rena’s husband, another avid 4 x 4 enthusiast and expert on off-roading, had positive comments as well, “This is definitely the best Lanun Darat trip ever! The venue is certainly ideal for what the Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure team wants to achieve. In fact the bar has been set so high up that I fear for the future, in the sense that it will be difficult to maintain this standard.”

Mr. Too Hing Yeap, from Petaling Jaya, who has attended the full Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure Team 2007 program which started with its Off-road Driving Clinic in early May followed by an Off-Road Day Trip to Karak, puts it simply, “I am hooked!” He added, “My only regret is that the next Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure is so far away in October.”

Sally Low, who holds a very senior position in a financial institution is another new recruit to off-roading who has attended all the Lanun Darat 2007 events. She not only brought her two girlfriends Agnes and Poh Chin along this time, but her husband Nicholas as well. She declares, “I love this lifestyle, and I am looking forward to more events like this!”

To Bernard Ng, an engineer by profession, and a ‘gadget man’, the use of walkie-talkies’ in every vehicle is a ‘thoughtful’ gesture. “On previous trips, especially with long convoys, it used to be very frustrating for some, because one end of the convoy never could know what was happening at the other, but now, we are all in the know. It is not so bad having to wait when you know that someone has a problem in the front of the convoy.”

Udo Kraus, an enthusiast from Germany, was a happy man because he finally had not one, but two opportunities to ‘ford’ a river in his ford Everest. “I am very happy to be taking part in this Lanun Darat Adventure, and I will recommend to Ford Malaysia that they should continue having activities such as these.

The Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure (No. 035) flagged off from the Sime Darby Automobiles showroom in Petaling Jaya at 9.00 is in the morning, and the group navigated to the town of Slim River using ‘tulips’ (a method of navigation similar to that used in motor rallies) after a short briefing by convoy leader Lionel Yew. All the participating vehicles had walkie-talkies for inter-vehicle communication, and newcomers had more experienced members as ‘buddies’ in case they needed assistance. After an hour and a half, the convoy arrived at a pre-determined meeting point, and went for a quick early lunch, before re-grouping again for the final push towards the campsite, 35 kilometres away.

The dirt section covered approximately 20 kilometres, passing through a disused tin mining track, oil palm estates, and finally into the Bukit Slim forest Reserve where the camp site is situated. The going was easy, the organizers having selected the track with care to ensure that whilst there was the excitement of going off-road, there was no danger of anybody getting into trouble, or suffering physical damage to the vehicles.

The track to the campsite is a road often traveled by loggers, sand miners and the local Orang Asli. It was also a treat for the eyes, and a learning experience for the ‘newbies’ as there are beautiful sights to behold, with ever-changing terrain, passing through lush green jungle, with butterflies flitting around, and beautiful birds on the trees. Another was in the form of two river crossings, the second one just yards from the entrance to the campsite.

Nighttime was just as fun, as the Lanun Darat members got together after what was described as a ‘scrumptious’ dinner, thanks to the kitchen crew, to make new friends and shoot the breeze. The life and soul of the party was Andrew Lui, popularly know as ‘Masalah’ who had brought his guitar along, and started a merry sing-along session around the campfire, a session that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Andrew missed the start in the morning, having work commitments, but drove up alone in his Ranger, all the way from Kuala Lumpur to join the group in the evening, and stay the night.

An added and very pleasant surprise came later on in the night, when the hard-working chef prepared and served what Bernard Ng declared as “The best chicken porridge that I have tasted for a long time.” In fact, the porridge was so well received that the entire, huge pot of porridge was ‘hijacked’ from the kitchen tent to the campfire site by some of the more adventurous members.

Early the next day, the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as the ever-diligent chef prepared breakfast. By eleven in the morning, it was time to break camp, followed by simple ceremony, in which all the members were presented with a Ford Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure Team participation certificate that declared in the fun spirit of the event, that “you now have full bragging rights” for having attended Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure No. 035.

On the way out from the campsite, Lanun Darat members stopped by at one of the ‘orang asli’ settlements to hand out donations of food, clothing, books and toys, and interact with the locals. One of the participants, a fourth-year medical student, gave advice to a young Orang Asli mother on childcare.

At the end of the off-road trail, it was time for good-byes; and every body went back with fond and beautiful memories.

The Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure program is a customer activity organized by Ford Malaysia Sdn Bhd, and is open to all Ford Courier, Ranger and Everest owners. This is the 35th Lanun Darat activity since its inception in 1999, and is in its eight year.

The next Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure is scheduled for the 1st and 2nd of August 2007 in East Malaysia. The kick-off party to introduce the new revitalized Lanun Darat in East Malaysia will be held in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu on the 1st and 2nd of August respectively. For West Malaysians, a new variation of the Lanun Darat 4 x 4 Adventure will take place in October, and this time, it will be a 4 x 4 Off-road trip that will end up in a holiday resort for the night instead of camping. Interested parties can visit www.ford.com.my for more information.

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