A bevy of beauties getting ready for a traditional dance performance in Mongolia.
One of the most heart-warming surprises Chandrasekaran Rajaratnam received on his 30,000km overland journey from Kuala Lumpur to London was a pack of fresh reindeer meat from a Sami tribesman in Norway.
The label read 118.80 Norwegian kroner – around RM49.80 – for nearly 300gm of meat.
Chandrasekaran and his truck Eddie.
“It was so red, like liver. I stewed it with carrots, onions and potatoes in my truck.
“It was really lean – definitely wild meat. It had a gamey, slightly musky, earthy flavour, and it was unbelievably tender.
“I remember feeling so content and grateful to that kindly tribesman after the meal. I hadn’t had such a good protein boost in days,” he recalls.
Even as he drove out of Kuala Lumpur at 1pm on May 20 last year, fear and doubt flooded his mind.
Chandrasekaran having a simple meal in the cabin of his pickup truck.
“’What are you doing?’ I asked myself. What if the truck breaks down? What if I get lost? What if I fall sick? What if I encounter bandits?
“But I kept driving. I let fear and doubt flow through me and ignored them.
“I had prepared as best I could, and I left the rest to fate and serendipity,” he says.
Now 60, Chandrasekaran is a retired research and development engineer in the semiconductor field.
After undergoing open-heart surgery in 2020 and losing his best friend and brother-in-law to heart attacks, he realised time was not on his side.
When Chandrasekaran met other overlanders, they would sometimes travel in a convoy for safety or to share the cost of guides, such as in this picture in the Gobi Desert.
If he wanted to fulfill his dream of overland travel, he had to act – and that he did.
Chandrasekaran drove through 15 countries – Thailand, Laos, China, Mongolia, Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain – before reaching his sister’s house in London on Oct 5 last year.
“At the end of my 30,000km journey, I realised I had done it to conquer fear,” he reflects.
Chandrasekaran began the trip with five other overlanders in three vehicles. By the time they reached Norway, they had each set off towards their own destinations.
A herd of camels in the Gobi Desert.
One of the toughest stretches was camping in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert for five nights.
The region is known for its brutal temperature swings, from 39°C to -47°C, but they had timed their arrival for summer. Even so, they had to wrap up against the chilly 5°C nights.
“The Gobi Desert is beautiful but unforgiving. I saw so many animal carcasses.
“Many lay where they died, their skin, fur and skeletons intact – meaning they weren’t preyed upon or even scavenged.
“The animals simply died and rotted away,” he says.
Many intact carcasses of animals that simply dropped dead in the unforgiving Gobi Desert.
In Mongolia, they were detained by police for three days after officers refused to recognise their driving licences and international permits.
“Eventually, a kind Mongolian gentleman found us on Facebook and helped get us temporary approval to drive through Mongolia – without asking for anything in return.
“Now, I have many new friends from the journey, and we keep in touch via WhatsApp,” he says.
Chandrasekaran walked on the Great Wall of China, explored the Forbidden City and saw the Terracotta Warriors. He stood in Moscow’s Red Square and visited St Petersburg.
Spring at St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow.
He car-camped in hundreds of beautiful sites across 15 countries. And yes, he encountered scammers.
In Laos, three salespeople sold him a SIM card for 80,000 kip (RM16), but 45 minutes later claimed they couldn’t register it and tried to sell him another one for 220,000 kip (RM45).
Putting on a fierce expression, he raised his voice and said, “No! Give me my money back!”
Miraculously, the first SIM card was “fixed” instantly, and he had internet access.
At a roadside restaurant in China, Chandrasekaran ordered fried noodles, while his companions chose premium dishes.
Wild camping is illegal in Amsterdam, so Chandrasekaran would use camper parks for €24 (RM115) a night, and he was surprised to find many people camping regularly.
After an hour, they received their meals, but the waitress suggested he order something else if he wanted his food to “arrive faster”. He refused.
“Fifteen minutes later, I got a horrible, oily and tasteless bowl of noodles,” he says.
Chandrasekaran’s companions’ meal cost 245 yuan (RM150), while his stubbornness saved him – his bill was only 25 yuan (RM15).
“But those negative encounters were rare.
“Almost everywhere we went, we were surrounded by kind, well-meaning people.
“They knew we were far from home and went out of their way to help. We were even interviewed by reporters along the way,” he says.
Chandrasekaran could not bring himself to use this public toilet in rural China.
On long, quiet drives, Chandrasekaran named his 2021 Isuzu single-cab pickup truck Eddie, after a close friend.
He admits to talking to his truck – “sounding like a madman” – though Eddie never replied.
The truck, along with modifications, cost RM150,000. The rest of the trip set him back RM50,000.
For 138 days, Eddie was his home.
Now, Chandrasekaran is planning another overland adventure – this time through the Himalayas, the Pamir Highway and Eastern Europe.
Follow his journey on his Facebook page, Endurance Overlanding, where he shares hundreds of pictures and videos from his epic drive.
