Great Arc Of India & Rising Sun - November 2008

It was with great sadness I learnt of the tragedy unfolding in Mumbai last Thursday morning. I know both hotels well and therefore could picture the terrible scenes as reported on the radio. Whoever is responsible and whatever their motive it is a brutality against innocent people and against India.

Most of us rally enthusiasts have travelled to many parts of the world and if we allowed this sort of terror to terrorise us we would not leave our homes and consequently not take pleasure in the immense hospitality this world has to offer.

Being resilient, and not to allow intimidation, to show support for India, there are no changes to the rally programme and the Great Arc of India will start as planned in KanyaKumari and finish in Mussoorie.

The Great Arc, I am pleased to report, is full. Sorry I could not take everyone on the adventure.

A number of people have asked, and for the benefit of any doubt, John Brigden is no longer working for Rhythm of a Road Rallies Ltd and I wish him the best for the future.

Tracy Davies is now running the office at Rhythm of a Road and we will be moving into our new offices in early December. Tracy will e-mail out our new address, telephone numbers and e-mail address shortly. Tracy worked on the very first rally, The Jewel of India, in 1999 and has been working for me on other business since and will now be working two & half days a week on preparing and dealing with the paperwork for my rallies. Tracy’s first job was to choose the interior coverings for the Great Arc tents. A colourful choice has been made.

Rod & Jim are now very engrossed in the survey of the Great Arc for next February. Their e-mail reports have been very amusing, Rod has become the Jeremy Clarkson of the rally world (not sure if this is a complement, but Rod, like Clarkson, is very thick skinned.) They have been on the road for over a month and covered 12 days of the route. As you can see below progress is slow as they check out each and every roadway!

But their brief is to produce our best route and our best road book in 10 years of rallies and they are doing just that. Rod came on the Great Arc on a rally bike this year and he knows which routes I am looking for to cross rural India.

This year the camp sites were set in quite wonderful locations. So far they both have assured me they have found locations, each one better that this year, setting high expectations.

With Tracy in charge of admin the office is on top of the paperwork for The Great Arc. I am off to India to run the route and to check Jim & Rod’s toil this week. I will drive the MG from Islamabad to Mussoorie and down the Great Arc to KanyaKumari.

Rising Sun Classic Car Rally – Japan 2009

Looking to the future, I have been to Cuba twice in the last two months to drive this most amazing island, but after driving in Japan last November I will be going with the Rising Sun Classic Car Rally of Japan in September & October 2009.

Why Japan?

I have been to Japan numerous times over the last 20 years and always found it a fascinating country. Next to India, no country on earth is as foreign as Japan. With very contrasting reasons it holds a similar attraction. Last year I decided it was time again to visit the land of the Rising Sun to look at it from the perspective of a possible rally. I have now made the decision to rally in Japan.

Most important, and fundamental to any rally, is the adventure of the driving. Japan has first class roads. More important, Japan is one big mountain with countless country roads which are a delight to criss cross from one wonderful mountain landscape to another. The main road network is so good the country roads are left alone. One can drive with enjoyment, peace and tranquillity, exploring the rural areas.

Not only is Japan a delight to drive, this rally will be a cultural experience of the country. Japan shapes our lives in so many ways, but we know so little about her ways.

This rally will be different in the sense that in India you are an observer of her cultural ways. You do not go into the Ganges with the Hindu’s to wash and expect to be cleansed. In Japan we will become, in the best ways we can, engrossed in her culture and more importantly learn her etiquette. The rally will stay in many traditional Ryokans and Onsens - traditional inns with certain but important customs. Everything fine and genteel that one associates with the Japan of old is encapsulated in these traditional inns. We will observe and enjoy bathing as the Japanese do, being part of this time-honoured Japanese experience. There are many surprises and much to be gained. 

You may want to experience the totally acceptable use of a Love Hotel if you have an hour to spare or even indulge in a sun bath with the locals. 

Etiquette at the table is as important as the food. Bowing is more than a hello or goodbye and Karaoke is a phenomenally serious pastime. Karaoke is not there to laugh at people’s inadequacies, but show respect for an art and so they can sing very well. Here in Japan Karaoke needs to be seen to be believed. 

Drink and be merry on Saki. It is as fine and as varied as whisky and by the time we reach Sapporo some appreciation of the varieties of this rice wine will be apparent. 

You will also see infrastructure that is quite outstanding. Engineering stretched to new limits. Bridges of quite magnificent magnitude. Double-decker flyovers stretching some 50 km across a city. Mighty retaining walls built to prevent the inconvenience of land slippage on quiet country roads.

Our journey starts in the deep south at Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu, and finishes in the extreme north of Japan at Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. Between the two we will see the five volcanoes of Mt Aso; the Takachiho mountain ranges, Little Tibet valley, Ise, Noto & Kii Peninsulas, Mt Fuji and her lakes & the Kitakami Sanchi low lands.

Historical town of Nikko, Uchiko, and Takayama. I have driven to a few out of the way places over the years, and found forgotten towns with streets of old houses – the more neglected the more original.

Drive along the Nichian coast and into the Kirishima, Akan, Nikko, Shiretoko, Shikotsu Toya National Parks, seeing and experiencing the great diversity of Japans terrain - from mountains to rice fields.

Cities of Nara, Kyoto & Hiroshima, castles towns of Kanazawa & Himeji. Garden of Koraku-en, Daisen-in & the Imperial Palace.

I propose to give you 23 days of fascinating adventure across the immense landscapes of Japan and I hope will have an improved knowledge of the second largest economy on earth.

Entry is £16,950 per car with the entry covering the same as our other rallies.

I have also included a car collection from your home to port for UK based cars with return.

Entry will be limited to 15 cars. Provisionally I aim to start on September 20th and finish on 12th October 2009.

Hope others want to join me on this quite unique and exclusive tour of Japan.

Web site with full details to be up and running by year end with marketing from January.

I am away from 29th November to 22nd December in India preparing for the Great Arc in February. If the Rising Sun Classic Car Rally of Japan is of interest please do e-mail me, or phone me on my return in 22nd December or speak to Tracy at the new office from 8th December. Tracy will forward the new office details shortly.

All the best Conrad Birch