The ultimate road trip: Couple takes on 25,000km drive from London to Singapore, conquering 23 countries
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook/Jeremy See
PUBLISHED ONJune 23, 2023 10:50 AMByVenkat Gunasellan We've heard of road trips, from Singapore to Malaysia and to even Thailand. But how about taking a road trip across the globe?
One couple decided to take things up a notch by driving from London to Singapore.
Jeremy See, 47, took to Facebook to share his ambitious adventure on June 20.
In the post, he mentioned that he will be driving across 23 countries for over 100 days with his wife.
To make it more memorable, Jeremy wants to embark on this journey with a Singapore-registered car, an SUV to be more precise, so he shipped his 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.6L V8 to London.
He plans on "driving halfway around the world" and his road trip will start on August 2.
Jeremy also shared the route he plans to take: "UK > France > Belgium > Germany > Austria > Slovakia > Hungary > Croatia > Bosnia > Montenegro > Albania > Greece > Turkiye > Iran > Turkmenistan > Uzbekistan > Kyrgyzstan > Kazakhstan > China > Laos > Thailand > Malaysia > Singapore".
Clearly this is no ordinary vacation as Jeremy mentioned that "border crossings [can] often take up to 8 to 12 hours" and he will also be spending a few days in the Turkmenistan desert.
To be prepared for this arduous trip, his holiday packing list includes 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.
"A huge portion is the car spare parts for maintenance and 30 bottles of octane boosters for places which only have fuel of questionable quality and origins," See elaborated.
Jeremy will also be bringing along video equipment to document the entire experience. Think tripods, GoPro cameras, memory cards and the like.
A bumpy road ahead
Taking the road less travelled for sure have its challenges.
In a separate Facebook post on June 12, he shared just one of the many hurdles he has to cross, even before starting on the trip.
As he will be driving through China, Jeremy said he had to navigate through a series of red tape, mentioning the "process is more rigorous than a job interview."
"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," Jeremy mentioned.
"Extensive information about your income, your father, mother, spouse, children and last three jobs must be fully declared," Jeremy added.
He also mentioned that one is required to pass a China driving test to be granted a temporary driver licence. In addition to that, one would need a Chinese licence plate.
Lastly, Jeremy mentioned: "An accredited local China guide must accompany you at all times and you need to pay for his meals, accommodation and service fees."
Speaking to AsiaOne, he shares his inspiration behind this epic road trip.
"We love driving especially road trips to places off the beaten path.
"An average Singapore driver clocks about 15,000kms 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.
"I am travelling with 11 other cars. Automobile Association of Singapore organised this trip for us as they have the connections, network and know how to get us and our cars across these places," Jeremy shared.
As to what's on the top of his bucket list, Jeremy mentioned visiting places that are not typically visited by Singaporeans.
"Many Singaporeans avoid places like Iran, Turkey & Central Asia because they are worried about the safety of the place.
"I want to show my followers that the people of those places are peace-loving contrary to what is reported in the media.
"I want to eat local food and bask in the culture of minority groups in quaint villages," Jeremy explained.
He also offered pearls of wisdom for people who are interested in going on their own road trip.
He suggested having a tyre pressure monitoring device as it will help you detect any tyre punctures.
And if you're visiting far-off places, he recommended downloading a map, so you can use it offline when you don't have access to data.
Plus, if you're traveling on unfamiliar roads, take the slow lane and drive slowly.
Last but not least, he mentioned: "Understand that it's about the journey and not the destination."
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