'Can't take the Singapore out of a Singaporean': Man eats 'cai fan' after 100-day road trip across 23 countries

One thing most Singaporeans miss the most after being away from home for too long is the local food. 

Jeremy See, who just did a road trip across 23 countries from London to Singapore with his wife, shared the same sentiments. 

In a Facebook post on Saturday (Nov 25), the 47-year-old revealed that one of the first meals he had after conquering the 100-day drive was a hearty plate of 'cai fan' paired with a cooling cup of 'kopi peng'. 

"You can't take the Singapore out of a Singaporean," he wrote in the caption. 

In the comments, netizens warmly welcomed Jeremy and his wife back home. 

One also shared that they too crave hawker food after they've been gone from Singapore for too long. 

Another curious netizen asked Jeremy why he ate only a plate of 'cai fan' instead of a whole table of local food including dishes like char kway teow, laksa and wanton noodles. 

To that, Jeremy cheekily remarked that he had to watch his waistline as he's no longer young. 

An epic journey across 23 countries in one car 

Jeremy and his wife first shared that they were embarking on this adventure on their social media pages back in June this year. 

They started the trip on Aug 2 and to do so, they had to ship their Singapore-registered 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.6L V8 to London. 

To prepare for the arduous journey, their packing list included 30 bottles of octane boosters, spare car parts, two weeks' worth of clothes, shoes, eye glasses, medication and food that can be easily heated up.

They also brought along video equipment to document the entire experience and uploaded a video of their trip on YouTube on Nov 24. 

In the hour-long video, they showed snippets of them exploring the 23 countries they visited, including France, Belgium, Kyrgyzstan and China. 

During the trip, their trusty sport utility vehicle (SUV) went through a range of different terrains, such as dirt roads in Turkmenistan and the busy streets of Thailand. 

They also found themselves squeezing the car through tight alleyways in countries like Iran. 

To get from one place to another, the car also had to be loaded onto ferries designed for vehicles. 

Prior to the trip, Jeremy had expressed concerns about driving through China. 

"Strictly speaking, China prohibits foreigners from driving through with their own foreign-registered car. You will need the right connections and you will need special permits for each province your journey takes you," he shared in a Facebook post on June 12. 

"Extensive information about your income, your father, mother, spouse, children and last three jobs must be fully declared." 

The road less travelled

In a previous interview with AsiaOne, Jeremy shared that he and his wife were inspired to embark on the road trip because they love driving and exploring places off the beaten path. 

"An average Singapore driver clocks about 15,000km a year. I drive 60,000kms every year. And we have travelled to the usual stereotypical tourist traps such as Japan, Australia, Korea.

"So we wanted to see the parts of the world where few, if any Singaporeans, have stepped into, much less driven into with a Singapore-registered car such as Turkmenistan, Iran and Tajikistan." 

He also pointed out that Singaporeans usually avoid places like Iran, Turkey and Central Asia because they are worried about the safety of the place.

So, through his travel experiences, he hoped to show his followers that the people in these countries are "peace-loving", contrary to some people's perception. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Jeremy See once again for more details. 

ALSO READ: Singaporean man drives all the way to China and back

melissateo@asiaone.com