Satria GTI Club ‘Invades’ Phuket
Town driving never does justice to a sporty car like the Proton Satria GTI and it usually shows its best on country roads and highways where the full power can be unleashed. And long drives are the most enjoyable, as many owners often discover on Sunday mornings.
Last month, the Satria GTI Club organised a year-end drive all the way to Phuket, Thailand, and a total of 48 cars took part in the event which had Continental tyres as the title sponsor. This abridged report on the 6-day adventure of over 2,200 kms is contributed by the club.
Day 1:
After the flag-off on December 26 from the head office of the Sime Darby Tyre Group in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the Convoy made its way along the North South Expressway, clearing all toll booths without stop, all payments and collections of toll tickets having been prearranged by PLUS (a co-sponsor of the event). Travelling at speeds dictated by the police escorts, the participants got a chance to unleash the power of their beasts, enjoy their Satria GTi’s exhilarating handling and test the grip of their Continental tyres, especially after the Jelapang Toll outside Ipoh, Perak.
At the Bukit Kayu Hitam border complex where, after a speedy green lane clearance, the participants bid farewell to Malaysia and entered Thailand at Sadao. With the Thai police there to pick up the lead for the convoy, the group arrived promptly 3 hours later to J.B. Hotel, Hat Yai, the stop for the night.
Day 2
After a hearty breakfast, a quick briefing and a vehicle safety check, the Thai police again accompanied the convoy for the 8-hour journey to Phuket, taking in the scenic towns of Phattalung, Trang and Krabi. Traffic at the bigger towns was heavy but with all cars having walkie-talkies, everyone managed to get through without getting lost. The roads closer to Phuket were quite the challenge with curves which would make most women envious.
As scheduled, the convoy arrived at the Ban Thai Beach Resort, Phuket Island, to the warm welcome of its hotel manager and staff. Orchid garlands, cool refreshing drinks and cold wet towels were handed out to the participants. As promised, the participants were given the honour of being the first occupants of the rooms at Ban Thai Beach Resort’s new wing.
Everyone took the opportunity to discover the mystery and famed sites in Phuket. Some went straight to the rooms and others hit Patong Beach, with the shopping area seconds away from the hotel. The clubbers sniffed their way to the most happening disco, the Banana Club, which played a variety of music, beginning the night with house and trance and slowly ending with R&B.
Day 3
The day started with another event briefing. All the participants were then ushered to their cars and the convoy made their way again with Thai police escort to the Phuket Shooting Range for the first of the team games, the Proton ‘Point and Shoot’ Competition. Each team was represented by several members and participated in the 0.22, 0.38mm handgun and 0.45 rifle shoots. Those not participating took the opportunity to try their hand at becoming the next ‘Billy the Kid’. It was quite exciting but difficult as the recoil from the handguns was difficult to manage. The rifles were much easier. Some participants tried the shotgun but from the bruises, they received as a result of fierce kickback, they would not want to wield one of those again!
After the event, the convoy then drove to the Sri Bhurapa Nut Factory. Here the second sets of games called the ‘Nut King Kao Competition’ began where each team had to compete on games utilizing cashew nuts. It was quite competitive and amazing how all teams pulled together to help their members. The nut factory hosted a variety of preparation of cashew nuts for consumption.
Dinner was a massive event called the Haha Banana Gala Dinner. Participants were treated to a seafood barbeque buffet in a royal table setting with Manila Machine providing live music. The VIPs for the Gala Dinner were the Patong Beach Police Chief and Phuket Island Police Chief of Traffic who were given a brief on the club and were suitably impressed with the Proton Satria GTI.
After dinner, the shopping spree game began. Participants were asked to choose the best team member and another 5 to participate. The 5 were given 1000 baht and 20 minutes to shop for predetermined items. The items were then used to dress the Best Team member in drag. While the participants were out shopping, the others took to the floor and displayed their dancing skills which rocked the predominantly farang (mat salleh) crowd. All participants performed really well and managed to get the exact items and at premium discounts. They then proceed to dress the sixth member in drag and paraded them on stage. Then several volunteers were picked from the Hotel crowd to mime a song and dance with the selected drag queens. It was lots of fun.
Day 4
Thankfully, for those who had only slept at 5 am, the itinerary on this day was left clear for the morning with activities only starting after lunch. The activities were held within the hotel compound and comprised the Continental Tyre Challenge, the ATZ Wiper Change Competition and the ATZ Battery Challenge. Each team selected participants to change the items mentioned by the game name and they were timed for the fastest team to complete the task.
Dinner was another night convoy drive to the Kan Eang II Seafood restaurant on the other side of Phuket Island. Besides a police escort to the restaurant, every junction, traffic light and roundabout was blocked by stationery traffic police to facilitate a non-stop convoy to the restaurant. At the seaside dinner restaurant the winners of the Team games were announced. After dinner the convoy headed back to the Hotel for a free and easy session. Everybody took the opportunity to rest and get ready for the next days long drive back to Hat Yai.
Day 5
All the participants were beginning to look weary from the many activities held over the four days but the weariness was accompanied with sheepish smiles. Nobody was ready to leave and yearned for an extra day. After breakfast and a briefing, all drivers were instructed to check their cars to ensure a safe journey back to Hat Yai. With the able assistance of the Proton Edar mechanics, all minor problems were resolved on the spot. The convoy said their reluctant goodbyes to Phuket and proceeded to Hat Yai where they arrived on schedule 8 hours later.
Day 6
The convoy proceeded as scheduled on the last day of 2002 and cleared the Thai border checkpoint in Sadao. After a speedy and efficient clearance at Bukit Kayu Hitam border checkpoint, the convoy was met by the Malaysian police escorts for the short drive to a petrol station for a fuel stop. The convoy then proceeded to the showroom of Edaran Idaman, a Proton Edar dealer in Alor Star for refreshments and also to meet some GTI owners from the north before proceeding to the Sime Tyres factory for lunch and a factory tour. There, the Satria GTi Club made a donation to the Rumah Anak Yatim Ayer Hitam before being briefed on the Sime Darby Tyre Group and taking a factory tour.
Thereafter, the convoy made its way southwards to the penultimate destination, the Sungai Buloh R&R outside Kuala Lumpur. The drive was challenging as it began to rain and there was heavy traffic. Fortunately, the police paved the way for the convoy and after 3 hours, everyone made it safely to the Sungai Buloh R&R where they were greeted by the Home Base Team made up of members and their 21 Proton Satria GTIs who could not make it to Phuket but was joining the convoy for the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Dataran Merdeka.
With a police escort, the convoy made its way to Dataran Merdeka and arrived in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building to greetings from almost 20,000 people who surrounded their cars and congratulated them for a successful journey.
It was great trip and fulfilled its aims to promote disciplined, responsible, and safe driving in the spirit of One Malaysia as well as fostering goodwill with the people of Thailand.
All pictures courtesy of Satria GTI Club
