Pankaj Rayamajhi

Kathmandu:

How would you like to drive a Mercedes Benz 14,000 km from Germany through 10 countries and come home to Nepal?

It all began in Kathmandu when Albert Hokarmp, 47 along with his wife Anja, 32, and their two children Yanna, nine and Pieer, six hopped inside their four-cylindered 2430 cc red white 1973 Mercedes Benz 240 Diesel, license plate Ba 1 Cha 7561 and decided to go for a ride. A two-week long ride that took them back home to Reinberg, Germany — a ride over 14,000 km long and across 10 countries spread over two continents. Date May 10, 2004. Albert, a volunteer with Kathmandu based German development agency DED for over two years, loved Nepal so much that when he left quite hesitatingly, he left in style. A German car from Nepal to Germany from Nepal with love. Danke bitte!

But hang on. That isn’t the complete story. Enter our very own Binod Chhetri Acharya, 30, a Nepali bloke who drove the same car back to Kathmandu from Germany a month later. Yes, the same 1973 Mercedes Benz 240 D all over again across 14,000 Km back to Nepal. Wow, talk about frequent flier miles. Although Binod had seen tonnes of action speeding Volkswagen

Beetles and Enfield Bullets to Tibet and back, nothing had prepared him for this fantastic adventure. Binod, one of the founding members of the Himalayan Enfielders and the Classic Auto Works, a restoration station for lost and limping vintage automobiles, had met Albert in Kathmandu in 2000 and the two men bonded instanteously. “Almost like two kids, they always discussed cars and motorcycles! And when Albert finally offered Binod the opportunity to come to Germany and drive back the Benz, he jumped at it immediately!” says Anja.

So began the two Bs’ journey — Binod and the Benz. Hilariously, the car failed all mandatory tests required in Germany, including safety and road tests. The technicians at the Heidelberg Mercedes Workshop in Germany couldn’t help but wonder how the rag doll car made it to Germany in the first place. Imagine their horror when told that the car was going right back to where it came from. Binod laughs, “We weren’t charged a single Euro for the entire overhauling of the car. I believe they did it out of sympathy for a poor Nepali, Albert still believes they did it to get the car out of Germany as soon as possible.” The car was also registered with CarNet, the leading vehicular support and insurance network. Without Carnet’s assistance you wouldn’t even be able to drive out of your garage, let alone from Germany to Nepal. Binod was also given a crash course in repairs and maintenance. Of course, loads of beer and good lucks too.

August 27, 2004. Binod drove the Benz up to Belgium and then the Netherlands to pick up his partner for the trip, David Zemmer. David, also 30, had lived in Nepal and was an avid motorcyclist. The two drove back to Germany and then there onwards, the car travelled past the Alps into Austria. Next stop Italy, where the car was saved from being impounded due to failure in safety laws just by saying” Mount Everest! “They travelled southward alongside the Mediterranean Sea, with full police motorcycle escort till the beautiful city of Taranto. What followed next was a 14 hour ferry ride on Adriatic Sea alongside totally inebriated college kids, half of whom didn’t know where Nepal was but promised Binod that they would come anyways. They landed in Greece and headed down towards Athens. Too bad they couldn’t make time to visit the ancient Pantheon but reached just in time to make it for the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games traffic. Binod recalls “We were in the middle of biggest traffic deadlock in Athenian history and met cars coming into the city that had been stuck for close to 15 hours. Lucky we were leaving.”

Home at last or at least Asia. After driving hundreds of kilometers alongside the Aegean Sea coastline, over the Asia Minor region and into Turkey. “Turkey was by far the most interesting country of them all. Sleek superhighways, beautiful people and wonderful bars. Istanbul was just fascinating” says David. Across the border and into Iran, where they were grilled at almost all checkpoints. Continuously searched for contrabands, drugs and even weapons. Binod says, “We had to use sign language to the show the custom officials that we were not driving a Euro 30,000 2004 model Mercedes Benz S class but this noisy contraption! Communicating with the locals was almost a daily problem, given that all the countries that we drove through spoke different languages. German, French, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Persian and even Pushtu.”

After conquering the Autobahn in Germany, seven km long tunnels in Italy and desert highways in Iran, they suffered a major setback, or rather a huge accident in a remote Pakistani town of Sibi on the night of September 5. Binod recalls” It was just before 10 in the evening. David was driving and I was taking a nap in the backseat. Then all of a sudden, this huge Pakistani truck sped right at us and next thing we know, we’re off the road in a ditch still doing about 80 kmph. Then the car fell about 30 feet head first into a gorge. It was only because of the sturdiness of the Mercedes Benz we still around. We were unconscious for over 30 minutes and were pulled out by passing truck drivers. Our guardian angels seemed to have full time jobs.” After that, both men abandoned the car at a local garage and flew to Nepal.

For Binod, driving past every country was like speeding through a kaleidoscope of culture and ingenuity. Six months later and repairs worth nearly Pakistani Rs. 90,000, Binod flew back to Pakistan on February 9 to pick up the car. Surprising, the Benz still had the same vibrancy as before and soon they on the road again. They crossed the famous Wagha Border in Punjab and into India. And then again, due to the highway blockade in Nepal, the car was again stuck in Bhairahawa on February 15. So close yet so far. Finally, on March 10, 2005, full seven Months late, the Mercedes Benz 240D arrived in Kathmandu like a conquering heroine. Badly battered, bruised and unrecognizable. The car looked like something straight out of Cartoon Network. Interestingly enough, the Bridgestone tyres that carried the car all the way from here to Germany and back were bought in local Kathmandu store. Not a single puncture in over 28,000 Kms!

Binod is still ecstatic, “I’m going to restore this beauty all over again and will take it to Tibet and back late this year. If I find potential partners, I’m going to do it again. And hopefully, this time around take my two daughters along. They have to see how diverse and interesting the world is. I would love to take them all the way to France and Spain and if fate has it, cross over into Africa. But I’m going to bring her back again. Back home to Nepal.” Will you ever sell? “Well, I can’t turn down a good offer, can I?” Any takers?

(For more on this story and pictures, email binodchhetri@hotmail.com or visit www.adventureway.net)