Entrepreneur Goes On Epic Journey In Vintage Car

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Harbouring a dream of exploring the world in a vintage car since young, 65-year-old Mohd Daud Kassim has finally brought his vision to life.

Driving a 1968 Mercedes W114, Mohd Daud, an entrepreneur in the power sector, embarked on his journey from Kuala Lumpur on Sept 15, accompanied by his close friend Zainal Md Said, 48, an experienced mechanic. Their first destination was Thailand.

After more than 80 days and traversing 20 countries, including China, Azerbaijan, Greece, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Germany and the Netherlands, they arrived in Marseille, France, on Dec 3, completing an epic journey of approximately 24,000 kilometres.

“During my childhood, I often watched the American comedy series ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’, which was popular during the 1960s and 70s. It was about a poor family from the countryside who suddenly became wealthy after discovering oil on their land.

“They move to Beverly Hills, bringing along all their belongings in a 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster vintage car. Watching this series, I thought it was so much fun and that’s where my dream of exploring the world by car was born,” he told Bernama.

Originally from Segamat, Johor, Mohd Daud said he also drew inspiration for using a vintage car from his late uncle Md Kasim Mohamed who participated in the car rally London-Sydney Marathon in 1977, driving a Fiat 132 GLS.

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On how he prepared for his epic journey, the father of three and grandfather of three said work on restoring his classic car started four years ago.

“The advantage of vintage cars is that they are fully mechanical, making them easier to maintain and repair,” he explained.

When asked about the challenges he faced whilst travelling, Mohd Daud said one of the biggest hurdles was dealing with border crossing documentation in certain countries.

“I faced this issue particularly when attempting to cross into Russia, which forced me to change my route to Azerbaijan and cross the Caspian Sea by ferry from Aktau, Kazakhstan.

“It was a very challenging experience because we had no references or knew anyone who had used this route. We couldn’t enter (Russia) in our car because we were using an e-visa,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan was not part of their original plan.

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Another challenge arose at the Georgia-Turkiye border, where they had to unload all their belongings, including camping and cooking equipment, for inspection.

“My car had to go through a scanning machine and be completely emptied of its load. It was exhausting because we had to put all the heavy items back into the car before entering Turkiye,” he said, adding there were also occasions when they had to repair the car on the roadside after it broke down.

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They also had a harrowing experience when they got caught in a snowstorm in the mountains in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The car was immobilised and they needed the assistance of over people living nearby to fit snow chains on the tyres before they could proceed.

“We were shivering in the cold and hungry too… thankfully, the locals helped us despite language barriers,” he said, recalling another instance when there was a blackout in the hotel they stayed in.

-- BERNAMA