Smokey Joe
The decision—assisted by red wine and a sneaky amaretto (which proved to be a mistake)—was made last night. At 7:30 a.m. we all left the hotel, confusing the guide who had been told 8:30, and trundled off at various speeds and, as it turned out, in different directions. The Lagonda was emitting a veritable smoke screen, the result of gallons of lubricating oil being slopped around the cylinders.
Because there has been general concern about water in the petrol system, I decided to check my fuel filter for evidence of such. It seemed fine. However, I clearly failed to put it back together properly, because a few miles into our journey Nigel pulled up alongside and said, “You’re leaking badly.” With the problem rectified, I now wondered: how much fuel have I lost? We needed to refill. All this meant that by the time we got going again, the slow cars (Ham’s Lagonda and escort Chris) were 24 miles ahead of us. We caught up at another petrol station before we ventured into another rain system.
Southern Thailand has been a little disappointing scenically. Ribbon development, including light industry and crappy tourist hotels, has obscured our view of the countryside. But just as we arrived at our hotel, we saw the sea! I realised that, apart from a couple of large lakes (the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea), we have not seen an ocean-type sea—if you can call the Gulf of Thailand that—on the whole of our trip. The hotel is a golf and spa resort of some size. Our room, for instance, is number 2220. Unfortunately, the golf course is closed, and so too is the spa. It probably explains why we are the only guests. An empty hotel is weird.
Tomorrow is another day, but we are all feeling a little happier about nursing Ham’s Lagonda into port. He succeeded in delivering it 286 km today by taking it steadily (max speed 35 mph). It will take a while, but we will get to Singapore—in one week exactly.
I must not forget to mention we lost two comrades today. Ed has left for a holiday with his wife and Paddy joins, bringing his own particular brand of engineering expertise.
Nigel has said goodbye to his wife and has taken on the third of his children on the trip. Welcome Zara.
I really enjoyed reading about Smokey Joe and the adventure that came with it. The way everything unfolded, from the unexpected issues to getting back on track, felt so real and relatable. It shows that every trip has its surprises, and sometimes those are thelog parts we remember the most. Also, it made me think about how some vehicles reach a point where the effort to keep them going becomes a bit too much, and that is where services like cash for cars caboolturecan be helpful for people who decide to part ways with their old car instead of pushing through another repair. Thanks for sharing this story, it felt like I was right there following the journey.
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