There’s adventure to be found both on- and off-road across Asia – indeed, some would say that any drive in the region qualifies as an adventure…
It’s true; driving in rural parts of Asia is not yet the everyday experience it is in most of Europe and North America. Driving experience elsewhere might not have prepared you for, say, pilgrims prostrating themselves on the roadside or water buffalo standing stock still in the middle of your lane…
Our pre-departure briefing urges guests to “expect the unexpected” on all the routes we use, but some of our drives are more adventurous than others. Here are a few favourites:
Cambodia: Cardamom Mountains
It took a few trips to Cambodia before we were able to drive across the Cardamom Mountains. A quick glance at these photos might hint as to the reason why; the road (such as it is) is impassable after heavy rain. While access might be uncertain during rainy season (we usually visit outside of this period), if you’re able to drive the road, you are in for a treat…
The Cardamom Mountains (named for the cardamom that grows wild here) are one of South-East Asia’s last remaining stretches of primary rainforest. Asian elephants, Indochinese tigers, clouded leopards and sun bears still stalk the forest, and zoologists believe the region is home to many new species. This drive is a rare opportunity to explore a place that few other visitors (and even few Cambodians) ever reach.
We drive this road on our 13-day Indochina: The Mekong to the Gulf of Thailand itinerary. The adventure starts in Pursat, with a mountainous drive to Vang Viel. From here, the dirt road delves into the forest for a 100km rainforest drive to the journey’s delightful and unexpected destination, a luxury riverside jungle camp.
Yunnan & Sichuan, China: Shangri-La to Yading
There are a lot of competing claimants for the title of “the real Shangri-La”, but almost all of them can be found on this drive. Home to mysterious valleys, high mountain peaks and dense cloud-forests, the region where Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet meet has fired many imaginations, not least author James Hilton’s as he penned Lost Horizon in the 1930s.
The road from Shangri-La (thus renamed in 2001 in an attempt to cement its own claim to the title) to Yading crosses an ethnically Tibetan region on the Yunnan-Sichuan border. Signs of Tibetan Buddhism accompany the two-day drive; prayer flags flap atop each mountain pass, the road frequently detours to pass chörten in the most auspicious direction, and Yading itself has a glorious trinity of holy mountains named for bodhisattvas.
For non-believers, however, the road is the most memorable part of this particular journey. From beautifully curvy valley roads, to precipitous mountain drives with dizzying views of the landscape below (not one for vertigo sufferers, this), this drive still captures the spirit of adventure and discovery that drew earlier generations of explorers to this special corner of the world…
Burma: Pyay to Ngapali
There are just two roads across the thousand-kilometre length of the Arakan Mountains. These mountains have long been a barrier to marauding armies and monsoon rains alike, separating Burma’s moist coastal plain from the drier Irrawaddy basin to the east.
On A Burmese Journey, we use the southernmost of the two roads to drive from Pyay to Ngapali Beach. The road takes us deep into rural Burma, through a region that few visitors ever see, through the hills and past scores of tiny villages, from Pyay’s golden pagodas and the Irrawaddy valley to the gentle waters of the Bay of Bengal.
Outside the town of Thandwe the road flattens out and winds through emerald-green paddy fields for the last part of the drive to the coast and Ngapali Beach. While the day’s drive is entirely off the beaten path, Ngapali Beach itself is a popular destination, allowing us to end the day’s adventure in the comfort of a beachside hotel and with a dinner of fresh seafood – a great way to round off a day of discovery…
Qinghai, China: Off-road
Just north of the Qinghai-Tibet border, an unmarked turning leads off the G109 highway and onto a dirt track. Turn right here and head into the hills, zig-zagging across icy streams and past grumpy-looking yaks before climbing up to a windswept hillside with views of a distant ice mountain, Geladaindong.
The Yangtze River has been traced upsteam all the way to glaciers on the mountain’s flank of this mountain – a snowflake (or raindrop, come summer) falling here has a long journey ahead of it indeed, through the heart of China to the East China Sea near Shanghai.
Reaching the source itself requires a fully-equipped expedition, a couple of weeks in hand and a fistful of permits. However, even a few kilometres’ drive here is an adventure, with chances to practice driving on snow and minor river crossings, plus the highest picnic you’re ever likely to have…
This drive is part of our Tibetan Highlands: Sichuan/Gansu/Qinghai/Tibet itinerary.
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh Highway
After driving on Vietnam’s National Road 1A, you might be forgiven for thinking that driving in Vietnam is entirely the wrong kind of adventure. Happily, the country’s Ho Chi Minh Highway is a different experience altogether.
A highway in name only, this broad two-lane road traces a section of the old Ho Chi Minh Trail. A web of tracks, trails and waterways linking North and South Vietnam, the Trail was a lifeline for North Vietnamese forces during what is locally known as the “American War”. On our journey Summit to Sea: From Yunnan to Vietnam, we join the Ho Chi Minh Highway just outside Mai Chau and drive south, crossing the 17th Parallel to former imperial capital, Hue, taking two easy days’ drive to cover a distance that would have once taken a soldier several weeks to negotiate.
With heavy and long-distance traffic confined to the less mountainous 1A, beyond soaking up the gorgeous rural surroundings, the main adventure on the Ho Chi Minh Highway lies in experiencing rural Vietnamese life and interacting with your fellow road users, their vehicles often laden with unlikely cargoes…
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this armchair adventure drive. Did we miss one of your favourites? Please let us know – we’re always looking for new places to explore.
Warm wishes and happy travels,
P.S. We may have a new candidate for this list – Mareen is currently researching the drive from Kathmandu to Lhasa via the Gyirong border crossing. For reports (and photographs) live from the field, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Read more of our driving-related posts online:
Our 5 Favourite Mountain Passes in Tibet
Our Favourite European Mountain Passes
