Just once in your life!

       "Along the road, your steps may tumble, your thoughts may start to stray. But through it all a heart held humble, levels and lights your way. Joy at the start, fear in the journey. Joy in the coming home. A part of the heart gets lost in the learning somewhere along the road..."
       Those are the lyrics of a beautiful song called "Along the road" by Dan Fogelberg. I couldn't stop singing it as I wrote about this intrepid expedition.
       One fine evening at the super cool Jazz Blues Bar and Restaurant on Silom Road, I met Lukas and the team he assembled around himself for the "Volvo challenge -driving from Switzerland to Singapore across Australia overland".
       This imaginative venture came from the initiative of Lukas and Shaun who felt inspired to live life to the fullest from what was going on around them. If you can survive a helicopter crash, as Shaun did in mid-February 2009, surviving a trip through several countries to Australia shouldn't be a big problem. Everything around them was telling them to "Seize the Day".
       "My family likes to travel so much. My mother is Argentinean and she loves to travel by car. She told me that if I wanted her to go with me, I would have to drive! So I can truly say this is a family enterprise," said Lukas
       Lukas Baumann lives in Switzerland and turns 39 this year. He recently resigned from his job as an executive board member, head of marketing and sales, for Gutzwiller Fonds Management AG. Shaun Rolevink lives in Australia, although he works as a radiographer and inspector on an oil field in Papua New Guinea. The two men are chasing their dreams and following their hearts to do a great thing together -drive across 16 countries, including Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, over a distance of 25,000 kms.
       They will drive a Volvo 940 Polar Estate. That's right! The 940 Polar Estate is fourteen years old already! The 4-speed automatic station wagon has almost 300,000 km on the clock. When I found out they were making the journey in this classic car, I got a big surprise. Then, I asked Lukas what parts and maintenance equipment they would need to take along and how they would keep the car running along the way.
       "I'm so glad I picked this car to be my partner on this journey," he told me. "As eveyone knows Volvo has a good reputation for safety and security so I have great trust in driving one, especially one that belongs to my family. We all believe in this brand. Almost immediately on arriving here in Thailand, I contact Wearnes Automotive to support me with the maintenance and I got a great response and lots of kindness."
       "They told me, my car needed regular checks and careful preparation to drive such a long distance. There was a strange sound I was hearing from the engine along the way and the engineers at Wearnes Automotive checked everything and found it was caused by poor quality gasoline (not in Thailand though). So they drained off the gasoline and put new stuff in the car. After that, the bad soundn totally disappeared. The only other thing I had to change were the brake pads on the rear wheels," said Lukas.
       His answer underscored the famous Volvo brand values, namely safety, sustainability, quality, design & development, environment and lifestyle. It has been widely known for some time that Volvo is number on for safety. Putting all this information together, I had no trouble accepting that Lukas and Shaun could make their dreams come true driving such a car.
       For the discerning car lover, Volvo is the most trustworthy brand. With a Volvo you can always be sure of driving safely and in style.
       If you would like more information about Volvo, it's easy - just contact Wearnes Automotive, the biggest Volvo dealership in Bangkok, telephone +66 2 319 9800-9. Alternatively, drop by Wearnes' Volvo showroom at Huamark or Ladprao. If you do, you'll be sure to fall in love with them.
       Anyway, the rally isn't a competitive event, although there are lots of fans supporting it. Really, it is just a way for the two men to chase their dreams. With the support of their relatives, colleagues, business associates, clients and friends, all should be well.
       For myself, many thing about this project made me smile, even as the world around me was suffering from the financial crisis.
       Find out more about just how inspiring it all is by clicking to their blog at www.LCBdirect. Perhaps next time it will be your turn to chase your dream, at least once in your life.