Adventure trip

An old woman is polishing the prayer wheel in Lhasa, one of the reallife scenes along the 15,000=km route that impressed all participants of "The Adventure" mission.

The route was tough, mean¬dering 15,000km through Laos,  many cities across China, Lhasa and towards Mt Everest, as we endured both freezing and burning temperatures - through snowtopped mountains and across barren dessert.

But all 20 of us made a safe return to Bangkok on Saturday, accomplishing the taping of a reality documentary show called "The Adventure: Mission to Conquer the World".

Actor and TV host Mathanee "Nino" Buranasiri, who became a fullfledged producer, admitted that the route was harsh and dangerous, but he decided to go through it because of his desire and eagerness to bring new experiences to his Thai audience.

An obsession

"Exploring the route has been my obsession, but it was delayed," he said on completing the 11th of the 30day journey. "Just when I was about to take this trip, I thought it would be a waste if nothing was learnt and hence could not be shared with other Thais."

Taping the journey with eight celebrities including Areeya "Pop" Sirisopa, Sunansa Jiramaneekul, Morris K and Supakorn Kitsuwan was a good decision. He managed to sell the idea of the reality documen¬tary "game" show to Channel 3, and won support from Tri Petch Isuzu Sales, which hastily installed heaters in all nine DMax vehicles in a month.

The journey started on October 24. Besides experiencing varied road and weather conditions, the celebrities and the entourage explored foreign food and sometimes even slept in tents. Throughout the 30day journey, they took part in 17 minigames designed to fit each destination.

One day they drove past a villager who was herding sheep back into a house. The eight were instructed to carry out the task on the spot. According to Nino, the scene was humorous and he ended up paying the villager compensation for some missing sheep. In another game, they joined a tea leavespicking race, having the farmers as judges.

"I remember the judges say¬ing in Chinese, 'even dogs don't eat the leaves' when see¬ing leaves in the basket," Nino recalled with a laugh.

Great experiences

While Areeya was impressed with the spectacular scenery, which kept changing every day, Sunansa believed she cultivated memorable experiences from the journey.

"With this trip, I know we need only basic necessities to live. Back home, there are privileges and you just take them for granted. It's like I had meditated throughout the trip to realise the value of what I have," Sunansa said.

All their views, experiences and hardship will be part of a TV programme set to  air in January. To producer Nino, the programme is his gift to all Thais. And public reaction will tell him if he should embark on his next project.