European Classic Car Rally spotted on Cambodia’s Roads
Caption: The 26 classic and vintage cars created excitement on Cambodia’s roads over the last few days. Photo: Rally The Globe Facebook.
- By Isa Rohany
- February 4, 2024 6:00 PM
SIEM REAP — The 26 classic and vintage cars created excitement on Cambodia’s roads over the last few days. Going through the country as part of their tour of Southeast Asia, the cars carried 52 European tourists, crossing four countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos.
Yi Sam Ang, chief operating officer of the ABOUTAsia tour agency who welcomed them upon their arrival, said the tourists drove from Vietnam, crossing border in the northeast, more specifically in the O’yadav district in Ratanakiri Province.
On Feb. 3, the cars arrived in Siem Reap province, driving through Banteay Srey district. They are to spend two nights in Siem Reap and visit the Angkor Archeological Park, Ang said.
The travelers are then to drive to Thailand, crossing the border in O’Smach town in Oddar Meanchey Province. Afterward, they will go to Laos before heading for Hainoi in Vietnam to end their tour, Sam Ang said. They will have covered 3,000 miles, that is, around 4,830 kilometers., according to their tour’s website.
The group has visited Cambodia annually since 2016, except in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ngob Seng Kak, director of Siem Reap Provincial Department of Tourism.
The visitors’ tour of Southeast Asia, which began on Jan. 27 and will end Feb. 23, is organized by the British agency ‘Rally The Globe’ under the theme ‘Road to Hanoi Marathon’.
Posting on its Facebook page on Feb. 4, Rally The Globe said, “Cambodia Dirt as it has been called, is a twisting section bookended by a couple of villages, whose inhabitants had downed tools to come and cheer us through their locality and perhaps grab a quick selfie when the cars pulled up to the timing point.
“The end of the day had a surprise in store with a guard of honour formed by hundreds of immaculately turned-out school children as we entered Siem Reap,” the post read.
Riding through seven stops, the journey began in Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh city to Da Nang. After Siem Reap province, the group will go to Chiang Mai in Thailand, and afterwards to Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos.
The group will continue from Laos to Sa Pa in Vietnam and finish the trip in Hanoi, according to the agency’s website.
Meng Seavmey contributed to the story.
