# How far can you drive in an ordinary car from Calais **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2007, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480 "2007-08-30T10:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/21 "2007-08-30T15:39:03Z")
I would propose that the Russian coast is not the furthest point you can drive from Calais. If we agree that you can get to Moscow with simplicity… Continue E to Samara SE to Aqtube, Kazakhstan SE through Qazaly to Shymkent Here you are faced with some difficult choices, but it appears you can pass the mountains and enter China by… Heading S to Tajikistan More or less E by a circuitous pass to Kashi, China Continue E through Hami, Zhangye, and finally the major city of Xian From Xian there is little doubt you can navigate to SE Asia, down the Malay peninsula, cross from Malaysia to Singapore by bridge at Johor, and cross by bridge to the last point in continental SE Asia, Singapore’s Sentosa Island. When you see the Merlion, you are, literally, at the end of the road. This assumes that the roads, which my atlas says are present, are passable, and that country boarders can be crossed. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/22 "2007-08-30T15:45:18Z")
The straight-line distance is 6,664 miles from Calais to Sentosa Island. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/23 "2007-08-30T16:52:35Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] Surely it’s no worse than driving across the Russian steppes? I’d certainly want a 4x4 for any extended journey West of Moscow or Ankara. [/QUOTE] Surely you mean east? ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/24 "2007-08-30T19:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] Surely you mean east? [/QUOTE] Yes, well spotted 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/25 "2007-08-30T21:01:43Z")
Here you go: these folks drove from [Tokyo to London](http://www.astonmartinasiahighway.com/eng/diary); in Eurasia, they managed to drive from Tanggu, China to Calais. However, they did take a ferry across the Caspian Sea, and the roads in Kazakhstan were pretty rough on their Aston Martin. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/26 "2007-08-30T21:12:11Z")
And this leads me to discover the existence of the [Asian Highway Network](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Highway_Network) ([official website here](http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/index.asp?MenuName=AsianHighway).) Of course, it’s not clear from a lot of this (and from the Aston Martin travelog I found) that these roads all, technically speaking, exist, but at least there’s evidence that central Asian roads might get you somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/27 "2007-08-30T23:55:40Z")
Part of the issue asked by my OP is whether there are sufficient petrol stations along the route. After all, the typical car doesn’t have that far a range. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/28 "2007-09-02T04:34:22Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] **Sage Rat**. I _assume_ you were making fun of a remark by a British politician in the 1940’s-- from [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wog). Perhaps a link or an asterisk would have helped the clueless(as I was until searching). Carry on. **samclem** GQ moderator [/QUOTE] Apologies. Indeed, the phrase “Wogs begin at Calais” is etched into my mind for how isolationist and superioritist is for such a short length. I expected the phrase to be more known among anyone who knew what a wog was. _wanders off eating his [Nanban](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanban) curry soup, blushing_ ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/29 "2007-09-02T18:12:47Z")
So, if driving on ice is allowed, would that make a difference? Could you drive a car up over the arctic in the winter and end up on the other side of the world? ---
**Author:** ![Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Public_Animal_No.9)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/30 "2007-09-02T20:28:05Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Part of the issue asked by my OP is whether there are sufficient petrol stations along the route. After all, the typical car doesn’t have that far a range. [/QUOTE] I wondered if that part of the question was going to get raised again. I’ve been to Ukraine several times (but not for a few years) where we were involved in a project about 6 hrs drive south of Kiev. There were adequate fueling stations along the way, and there were also periodic sightings of fuel trucks parked by the side of the road selling fuel. Whether these were legitimate or black market sales, I have no idea, but it was definitely an interesting twist on the filling station concept, at least to me. Even though there were adequate (plenty would be stretching it) filling stations along the way, our Ukrainian drivers always had a couple of extra fuel cans (an extra 10 gallons or so) just in case the stations weren’t open or had run out of fuel. All that to say that it would be quite likely to run into problems finding fuel as you head west of Moscow. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480/31 "2007-09-02T20:44:26Z")
One can easily get 500 miles / tank in a Prius. Probably 700 if you are willing to go 25MPH. Though the Prius has pretty low ground clearance and isn’t the best choice on rough roads. Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-can-you-drive-in-an-ordinary-car-from-calais/417480.md?page=1)