India
In April 1967, Greg Lehey, 18 years old, and
his father, left Kuala Lumpur at the wheel of a
Citroen ID19 for a trip which was to take them
eventually to England. He kept a diary, and
also took a few pictures while crossing the
sub-continent East to West.
his father, left Kuala Lumpur at the wheel of a
Citroen ID19 for a trip which was to take them
eventually to England. He kept a diary, and
also took a few pictures while crossing the
sub-continent East to West.
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Page creation 03/03/2007
The diary starts on April 20th in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, from where father and son
drove to Penang and boarded a boat to
Madras (today's Chennai), on the
South-eastern coast of India. They drove then
all the way to New Delhi, via Hyderabad and
Nagpur, with of course the unavoidable halts
in Khajuraho and Agra. They went on to
Chandigarh, Amritsar, climbed the mountain
up to Srinagar in Kashmir, then crossed the
border and reached Lahore in Pakistan on
May 15th. The trip took them through
Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey before they
reached Europe; on June 6th they were in
London.
Lumpur, Malaysia, from where father and son
drove to Penang and boarded a boat to
Madras (today's Chennai), on the
South-eastern coast of India. They drove then
all the way to New Delhi, via Hyderabad and
Nagpur, with of course the unavoidable halts
in Khajuraho and Agra. They went on to
Chandigarh, Amritsar, climbed the mountain
up to Srinagar in Kashmir, then crossed the
border and reached Lahore in Pakistan on
May 15th. The trip took them through
Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey before they
reached Europe; on June 6th they were in
London.
Greg has put his diary and some pictures online (English):
The car is by no means the main subject, but it gives a fairly good idea of the atmosphere of
such a trip in those days: the "stinking heat" and the sweat sticking to the blue PVC, the dust,
the absence of road signs, the red tape at borders, the nights at local YMCAs or at "grotty
little rest houses", the expensive gasoline, the greasing routines.
The ID19 does not seem to have suffered that much, apart from a minor hydraulic leak,
quickly fixed (picture below), and a couple of flat tires. They did not see any other DS, but
were confirmed theirs was the best choice; the few Land Rovers they encountered all failed
due to damage to the differential. And in spite of the "grotty little roads", impressive speeds
could be reached, such as 130 or even 150 km/h ! As a matter of fact Greg notes the first
time they were overtaken was... in Germany.
The car is by no means the main subject, but it gives a fairly good idea of the atmosphere of
such a trip in those days: the "stinking heat" and the sweat sticking to the blue PVC, the dust,
the absence of road signs, the red tape at borders, the nights at local YMCAs or at "grotty
little rest houses", the expensive gasoline, the greasing routines.
The ID19 does not seem to have suffered that much, apart from a minor hydraulic leak,
quickly fixed (picture below), and a couple of flat tires. They did not see any other DS, but
were confirmed theirs was the best choice; the few Land Rovers they encountered all failed
due to damage to the differential. And in spite of the "grotty little roads", impressive speeds
could be reached, such as 130 or even 150 km/h ! As a matter of fact Greg notes the first
time they were overtaken was... in Germany.
Bottom left: the famous Taj Mahal in Agra. Bottom right: the non less famous sculptures of Khajuraho.
Greg has indeed Citroen blood in his veins.
Norman, his father, was driving a Traction
Avant during the family's first years in
Malaya, where he was working as an
architect since 1954. In the early 60' it
became clear an upgrade was necessary,
with a car able to endure the tough local
roads. In August 1963 in Paris, Norman
purchased a brand new ID19, and had it
shipped it to Port Swettenham (today Port
Kelang), Malaya.
The goal of the 1967 intercontinental trip was
initially to send young Greg to study in
Germany; but the sheer fun of driving was
also part of the story, since the car later had
to be shipped back to Malaya, where it
continued to be used for a few years, before
being scrapped (more precisely, "driven
over a cliff") in 1972. Greg recalls there were
quite a few DS in that country in those years,
including a "Prestige" version belonging to
the French ambassador.
Norman, his father, was driving a Traction
Avant during the family's first years in
Malaya, where he was working as an
architect since 1954. In the early 60' it
became clear an upgrade was necessary,
with a car able to endure the tough local
roads. In August 1963 in Paris, Norman
purchased a brand new ID19, and had it
shipped it to Port Swettenham (today Port
Kelang), Malaya.
The goal of the 1967 intercontinental trip was
initially to send young Greg to study in
Germany; but the sheer fun of driving was
also part of the story, since the car later had
to be shipped back to Malaya, where it
continued to be used for a few years, before
being scrapped (more precisely, "driven
over a cliff") in 1972. Greg recalls there were
quite a few DS in that country in those years,
including a "Prestige" version belonging to
the French ambassador.
The white (well, probably) 1963 model-year ID19.
Greg's father replaced the ID19 with a DS21 Pallas in 1973, which Greg also used in
Australia in early 1978 (picture above); Greg himself subsequently got another DS21 Pallas,
then a DS23 Pallas. More than enough for him to justify in his personal site a specific page
about his history with the D series (English):
Australia in early 1978 (picture above); Greg himself subsequently got another DS21 Pallas,
then a DS23 Pallas. More than enough for him to justify in his personal site a specific page
about his history with the D series (English):
Top: during a break in the Khyber Pass, Eastern
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan.
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