Citroën Oldi... not 4x4 but overlander!... and now in Asia

[cheminsmonde]

Hi there,
Hachille our former french baker delivery van in the french villages is happy to come to share few of our stories...
Not 4x4, low ground clearance, 3 gears, 70hps, fuel engine... but Hachille is a real overlander! From Buenos Aires, he succeeded last year to reach Ushuaia after 3 months of travel... then heading north we reached bolivian border after 7 more month of trip...
As it was not enough for the travellers we shipped Hachille to Malaysia and continue nowdays our travel in Asia. After Malaysia, Thaïland and Cambodia, we are now in Vietnam enjoying the crazy mountain roads... and now waiting in Hoi An for some spare parts to repare our dead bearings...
Here are some photos of our 2007-2008 adventure

Wales Watching on Peninsula Waldes

Muddy dirt road...

again...

Bivouac in Chaiten... end of the wonderful Carretera Australe

On the Carretera Australe

On the way to Ushuaia

The southest dirt raod on earth... estancia Moatt, terra del Fuago...
See you next for more pics in Asia...
or on http://www.cheminsdumonde.net
Yann and Geraldine

 

[cheminsmonde]

And some asiatic pics

Arrival in Malaysia

Nice Bivouac on Penang Island

Fishermen village in Thaïland

Hachille in Angkor temples, Cambodia

Bivouac on the cambodian cost near Sihanoukville

On the road again!

3 nights waiting at the vietnamese border to get a permit...

Mountain roads in Vietnam...
and more to see on http://www.cheminsdumonde.net

See you on the roads!
Yann and Ge

 

[buddha]

very unique vehicle. and GREAT photos!

 

[haven]

Welcome to ExPo, Yann and Geraldine! Thanks for sharing your adventures. And thanks for reminding us that we should stop worrying so much about the perfect vehicle, and start traveling!

Please tell us more about how you shipped your vehicle from South America to Asia. Which shipping company did you use, and which ports? Was it difficult to fit your van into a container? Did you use the services of an expediter in port? Was your vehicle damaged in any way during transit?

I was fascinated by the speed and density of traffic in Ho Chi Minh City. I hope the roads are less busy in rural Viet Nam.

Chip Haven

 

[Harald Hansen]

Excellent pictures, and good on you for using the old lorry!

 

[DiploStrat]

Quick Translation

For those of you wondering about a few of the photo captions, "Piste" in French means "track" or "dirt road" in English! (Has nothing to do with anger or the results of drinking too many beers! :beer

Note the essential equipment:

-- 6" lift
-- 35" tires
-- 4x4:exclaim:

(Of course, to be fair, they are not trying to take that beast to Africa.)

These cats are serious overlanders! Hachille is equipped with:

-- Batteries/solar panels/genset
-- Dual fuel tanks
-- Stove/fridge/toilet/shower/water tanks
-- GPS/Satphone(2)/satinternet :camping:

And, of course, Geraldine and Yann are SERIOUS photographer/cineastes!

Website (vith video!) http://www.cheminsdumonde.net/site/_etape_index.php

(Lots of great photos.)

Bon chance et bon voyage les gars et soyez les bienvenus chez Expo !

 

[cheminsmonde]

Thanks all for your comments,
Diplostrat... translation mistakes have been corrected... after so many km... we mix languages
To answer Haven's question regarding shipping...
Hachille fit into a 40 high cube... if we remove the rooftop boxes and fuel jerricans... but spare wheels and racks stay on the roof.
For our Europe to Argentina shipping with used the services of Kuehne and Nagel a global logistics company. Very good service, no extra to pay on arrival... no damage...
For our Argentina to Malaysia trip we devided into 2 journeys... the first one was Buenos Aires to Anvers (Belgium).. we used Grimaldi Roro Services and we have done the travel on board... 30 days navigation.. very nice experience... for the Anvers- Malaysia shipment we used again Kuehne and Nagel... good service... the only problem (but K and H was not responsible for it) was the entry permit for our van... too old for such a modern country!... we managed after 10 days of paperwork to get the driving permit...
Traffic in rural Vietnam is less stressful but roads are in very bad conditions for our Hachille... we've broken front wheel bearings... and we are waiting now in Hoi An central Vietnam a UPS delivery parcel... which seems to be lost for the last days... not a good advert for this Express delivery courier company...
Well, we are lucky to be in Hoi An and we are enjoying the nice location... we took the vietnamese driving style renting a small 110cc motorbike!
See u on the road
Yann and Geraldine

 

[DiploStrat]

Argot:"Don't sweat the small stuff!"

Si vous pouviez voir l’état de mon français des temps en temps! L’essential c’st voyager, apprécier, et apprendre !

I love the contrast between Hachille and all of your high tech toys. (And the photos aren't bad - even if they are taken with a Canon!)

Question on Grimaldi shipping and theft from cars in transit. Were you comfortable that your truck was safe? Could you access it during the voyage? Would you use Grimaldi again, perhaps for a raid en Afrique?

Hope the bearings arrive soon. En attendent, bouffez beaucoup de Chai-gio !

 

[cheminsmonde]

Regarding Grimaldi security,
we were quiet sure about the safety on board and during the stop in different ports. The deck where overlands vehicule were parked was closed and locked. We could access our van during the travel with somebody of the crew to unsealed the door... The chief mate ask us one time to look after our vehicules because there are going to unload some vehicules from our deck... it was in Dakar... we were 3 overlands van on board we lokked after our vehicules 4 hours each. It was a very nice time on board for us... food was good, crew very nice; we add table tennis tournament together... evening parties... very nice... it does not seem to be the same on all Grimaldi Roro Ships but for us it was a nice experience and for sure we would do it again to travel to any destination... Africa is one of our next destination... of course not with our Citroen!

 

[DiploStrat]

Thank you!

... et si jamais a Bangui ...

You have a place to stay.

 

[grahamfitter]

C'est bon. :lurk:

Cheers,
Graham

 

[dhackney]

Yann and Geraldine,

Congratulations on your travels! We are sorry we did not meet you last year here in South America. We are following you to SE Asia, and hope to see you there.

Not 4x4, low ground clearance, 3 gears, 70hps, fuel engine... but Hachille is a real overlander!

How many people reading this forum are dreaming of seeing themselves in the exact spots shown in these photos? How many of those people are convinced they must have 24" of ground clearance, portal axles and full lockers to do so?

As the real world of overlanding continually demonstrates: "It's not about the truck, it's about the experiences."

 

[upcruiser]

As the real world of overlanding continually demonstrates: "It's not about the truck, it's about the experiences."

Amen! Some of my best experiences travelling have been without a "rig".

Cheminsmonde, Great photos! I love it! Keep us posted.

 

[cheminsmonde]

Some news...
We are still in Hoi An Vietnam.. we got some spare parts yesterday to fix the dead bearings and ball joint... We got the help of the wonderful mecanic team of the Victoria Hotel... If you go to Vietnam just go to see the classic cars owned by Claude the manager. 8 Ural Side Car, 2 Renault Goelette 4x4 from end 50', 1x Vespa 150cc from 1954... a wonderful team... Claude organises overland expeditions with his old Sidecar...

more to see on victoria hotels
and some photos of our Hachille "in the garage"

see u on the road

 

[Overland Hadley]

Fantastic!

Good luck and safe travels.