Singaporean tries living in his car for 24 hours, here's how it went

Living on the road is an uncommon sight in Singapore, where the majority of residents dwell in HDB buildings and condos.

However, one content creator, Justin Sng, decided to embark on the challenge of living in his car for 24 hours.

The 26-year-old documented his experience in a 25-minute YouTube video posted on Jan 1. 

In the video’s preface, he outlined the challenge he was about to attempt, stating: "The only rule of this game is that I can only use my toilet card three times in the entire 24 hours." 

This implied that he can only step out of his car three times.

Justin packed all the items he needed for his stay. This included his iPhone, iPad, Z Flip 5, portable charger, portable speaker and portable lights. 

His one-day "accommodation" is an electrical vehicle, Polestar 2 electric to be exact, charged to 90 per cent.

The night before the challenge, he had also set up the back of the car to function as a makeshift bed.

Living in his car for 24 hours 

During the 24-hour challenge, Justin had two meals – lunch and dinner – opting for Boon Tong Kee and McDonald's drive-throughs, respectively.

To kill time, he used his laptop to work during the day and catch a movie in the evening.

Additionally, he made use of all three of his toilet passes, using one to return home for a shower.

When he needed to go to the back of his car, Justin emphasised: "I'm not going to cheat and walk out of my car. I'm going to climb to the back because I'm going to honour the rules of this challenge."

He set an alarm for every 30 minutes before calling it a night as his car's air conditioning would switch off at regular intervals. 

To maintain privacy, he used his T-shirts to cover the windows, while a jacket was draped over the windscreen from the inside. Unfortunately, he pointed out that the rear window couldn't be adequately covered.

Upon waking up the next day with just one hour left in the challenge, he made his way to a car park near his home. 

At 11.43 am, he successfully completed his 24-hour living-in-the-car challenge.

Speaking to AsiaOne today (Jan 15), Justin shared why he decided to embark on this challenge.

"I’ve always wanted to film content that’s popular overseas but not so much in a local context. So having seen so many YouTubers try out content like this in other countries, I figured I’d give it a go since I recently bought an EV (electric vehicle). 

"I also always see Singaporeans complaining that there’s nothing fun to do in Singapore, so I wanted to try something a little different than the usual!"

As for the challenges he faced, Justin mentioned that space was an issue. "The car is not the most spacious so it’s a little cramped."

He also struggled to find a quiet place where "parking fees wouldn't cost a bomb".

"Changi Beach has really nice views, and it was free parking overnight, but there were a lot of people," he added.

He also pointed out that it's not an offence for EVs to be idle compared to regular cars that run on an internal combustion engine as the former doesn't release harmful carbon dioxide.

"Also, for those curious, it only drained one per cent of my battery per hour with the air conditioning on throughout the entire 24 hours," he added.

ALSO READ: 'We didn't see a single car or person for over half an hour': Couple who went on 100-day road trip share highs and lows

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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