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Char Is Far

the journey begins where the road ends

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      • Sri Lanka
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      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • France
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Overland Journal Day 186-203: Island Hopping in Southern Thailand (Koh Phangan, Koh Tao & Koh Lanta)

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Overland Journal Day 122-128: China Shenanigans and the Great Wall

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Overland Journal Day 82-92: Tajikistan (Seven Lakes and the Pamir Highway)

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Overland Journal Day 26-40: Türkiye

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Overland Journal Day 1-10: Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia & Croatia

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Expedition Overland
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Destinations
  • Wild Horses next to our camper in Georgia
    Destinations,  Europe,  Georgia

    Exploring Georgia By Camper: The Perfect 2-Week Itinerary (Including Wild Camping Spots)

    December 8, 2025 / No comments

    We hand the wheel to guest bloggers Chantal and Donny. Georgia is one of those countries we couldn’t really picture until we actually rolled in with our self-built 2WD camper. We had a rough idea of mountains, wine and questionable drivers, but Georgia turned out wilder than expected. In this blog we take you along our favourite 2-week itinerary through Georgia, including the wild camping spots we loved…

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  • Overlanders lined up at the Chinese border
    Overlanding

    Carnet de Passage Explained: The Ultimate Guide for Overland Travel

    September 17, 2025 / No comments

    If you’re planning your first big overland trip or dreaming of vanlife routes far off the beaten track, sooner or later you’ll bump into that mysterious document: the Carnet de Passage. It sounds fancy and bureaucratic, especially in French, but really it’s nothing more than a passport for your car or motorbike. When we first learned we needed one for our overland expedition, we had about a thousand…

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  • Driving to Thailand
    Asia,  Destinations,  Overlanding,  Thailand

    Driving to Thailand with your own car: Foreign Vehicle Permit and border crossing guide

    August 7, 2025 / 5 Comments

    We’ve crossed quite a few borders during our overland expedition, but driving to Thailand? That one made us sweat a little more than usual. Not because of the heat (though… that too), but because of the paperwork. If you’re planning to drive your own car, campervan, or motorbike into Thailand, there’s one thing you should know: you can’t just show up at the border and wing it. Not…

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  • Driving from the Netherlands to Singapore overland
    Asia,  Destinations,  Expedition Overland,  Singapore

    Overland Journal Day 232-233: We drove from the Netherlands to Singapore!

    July 31, 2025 / 3 Comments

    We roll into Singapore in disbelief. This is it. The final stop. The dot at the end of the line we’ve been tracing across the map for months. And somehow… it still doesn’t feel real. We’re euphoric, of course. We’ve actually done it. Driven all the way from the Netherlands to Singapore in our Toyota 4Runner, overland, across 22 countries. That’s wild. And yet, there’s this strange echo…

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  • Road Trip Malaysia
    Asia,  Destinations,  Expedition Overland,  Malaysia

    Overland Journal Day 204-231: Road Trip Malaysia

    July 2, 2025 / 2 Comments

    After a mess of paperwork at the border, we finally roll into Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur we pick up a friend and set off on a 2-week road trip through the country’s highlights: jungle cruises in Taman Negara, misty hikes in tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands, street food and colonial old-town vibes in Georgetown, and scooter rides along Langkawi’s tropical coastline. When our friend flies home, we…

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Char Is Far

We’re Charelle and Marcel, living for off-road adventures and the freedom that comes with it. Char Is Far is your invitation to break free, chase dreams, and explore the unknown. In 2024 we drove from The Netherlands to Singapore in our 4x4 with rooftop tent, and the road ahead is calling again. Ready to leave your comfort zone and see what's out there?

Travel with us



Popular posts

Overland Itinerary: Driving From The Netherlands to Singapore

The Ultimate Guide On Riding The Ha Giang Loop In Vietnam (4 Days)

Overland Journal Day 26-40: Türkiye

Kyrgyzstan 2-Week Itinerary: Epic Self Drive With 4×4 and Rooftop Tent

Kyrgyzstan Travel: Everything You Need To Know

Overland Journal Day 117: Border Crossing Into China

The Start Of Our Overland Adventure

Overland Journal Day 41-52: Iran

Driving to Thailand with your own car: Foreign Vehicle Permit and border crossing guide

Overland Journal Day 72-81: Tajikistan (Panjakent and Dushanbe)

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char.is.far

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We came to Andalusia for a week… and left with the We came to Andalusia for a week… and left with the idea to move here.

A few weeks after finishing our overland expedition from the Netherlands to Singapore earlier this year, we landed in Andalusia. Tired, dusty, and still trying to process everything we’d just done. We thought it would be a short break. But this place hit differently. The warm summer sun, the mountains, the beaches, the calm pace of life. We loved it.

Somewhere between the olive hills and white villages, we caught ourselves saying: “We could actually live here.”

Now, four months later, we’re back. Not just for tapas and sunsets (although, yes, plenty of those), but to explore the area properly and check out some houses. Because early next year… we’ll call Andalusia home for five whole months.

If you know any hidden gems, mountain towns, or must-visit coffee spots, drop them below! We’d love your tips 🧡

#andalusiatravel #visitandalusia #andalusia #andalucía #andaluciaviva #andalucia_photos
The not so sexy side of overlanding? Border crossi The not so sexy side of overlanding? Border crossings. 🚧

Long lines, X-rays, interrogations, car checks, piles of paperwork and waiting for hours.

We’ve cursed at it, laughed about it, and sometimes dreaded it. But even in all that hassle, we carry something many people would give anything for.

Privilege.

It hit us hard in Iran, when we met a girl who had the exact same dream as us. To pack up, hit the road and see the world. She had the passion, the drive, the curiosity. What she didn’t have was the right passport. Her dream stopped at a border she couldn’t cross.

While we get frustrated at yet another form to fill in, the truth is: the fact that we can move, that a piece of paper or a stamp usually opens the gate for us, is something we often take for granted. A privilege we did nothing to earn.

So yes, borders are the messy, less glamorous side of overlanding. But every time we roll through one, we try to remember how lucky we are to even be in that line.

What are your thoughts on this?

Oh and since so many of you asked, our Carnet de Passage guide is now live on the blog. What it is, how it works, the costs, and how to apply. Link in bio to the blog 🙌

#overlandbound #overlandlife #overlandtravel #overlandjournal #overlandinglife #vanlifeadventures #roadtripadventures
Sometimes I really feel like the odd one out 😅 Th Sometimes I really feel like the odd one out 😅

This birthday gift was sooo good, props to @toetmarcel. And some solid inspo for fellow overlanders & vanlifers 🎉

Send this to your partner, so they get the hint 🫡

#travelcouplegoals #overlandlife #4runner #toyota4x4 #toyota4runner #4runnerlifestyle #4runnernation #vanlifecouple #overlandtoyotas
🚐 Big news (& giveaway!): we’ll be on stage at the 🚐 Big news (& giveaway!): we’ll be on stage at the Vanlife Magazine Theater during @camperbeurs, the biggest camper fair in the Netherlands. And... you can be there with us!

📅 On Sunday 21 September we're joining two panel talks (in Dutch):

💸 Talk 1: Costs & budget on the road: how much does overlanding really cost and how do we afford it?

🎯 Talk 2: Preparing for the road: how to prepare for a long, overland expedition? What to arrange before you leave? Including planning, Carnet de Passage, budgeting, visas, documentation and everything else you'd like to know!

Together with @vanlife.magazine.nl we’re giving away 2x2 tickets for the entire Camperbeurs weekend (19–21 Sept) in Hardenberg, The Netherlands. Come join the talks, meet other vanlifers and overlanders, and ask us anything about our drive from the Netherlands to Singapore. 

🔥 How to win 2 tickets:
1️⃣ Follow @char.is.far
2️⃣ Tag the person you'd love to bring in the comments 👇

Winner announced Thursday evening, so just 2 days from now.

Will we see you there? 😊

#kamperen #camperleven #vanlifenl #dutchvanlife #wereldreis #daktent
Hi guys 👋 we've been wanting to introduce ourselve Hi guys 👋 we've been wanting to introduce ourselves on here ever since... Well, since we left for Singapore in March 2024. Better late than never 😂

We're Charelle and Marcel, living for off-road adventures and the freedom that comes with it. We refuse to exile travel to "some other, seemingly more appropriate, time of our lives" (as Rolf Potts puts it in his book Vagabonding).

👧🏼 Charelle is 32 years old, a freelance communication & content strategist by trade, and the voice behind everything you read here and on the blog. She's currently writing a book about the expedition and somehow still finds time to lift heavy and sip good coffee in between.

👦🏻 Marcel is 38 years old, quit his job running an engineering department before our expedition and is now working as a freelance advisor, helping companies in the construction industry solve complex challenges. He's an excellent drone pilot, loves a winding mountain road, and isn't scared of much. Actually, we're still figuring out if he's scared of anything at all.

We're two strong characters. And yes, we clash sometimes. But above all, we complete each other. Not in spite of our differences, but because of them.

We don't travel to escape life, but to live it head-on. We choose roads that stir up dust, conversations that spark something deeper, and visit places that humble us as much as they awaken us. Along the way, we're building a life that feels right, because we shaped it ourselves. 

Our overland expedition from the Netherlands to Singapore was by far the best time of our lives. We're currently saving 💰 for expedition 2.0 and plan on enjoying life as much as possible in the meantime. This winter we'll embark on a new journey: spending a few months living and working in Andalusia, hopefully with lots of off-roading in the weekends! 🚙

Now it's your turn! We'd love to get to know guys a bit better. Introduce yourself in the comments 🤗 How old are you? What kind of work do you do? What's your passion project? And, most importantly, what's your dream? Let us know 👇
It took us 8 months to drive from the Netherlands It took us 8 months to drive from the Netherlands to Singapore. And it changed everything.

Our entire view of the world. And of ourselves. You start seeing what you're really capable of when you just... never give up.

You learn SO much. Not just about how to replace a flat tyre, but about how the world works.

How people think and live. How little you actually need. And how much we take for granted at home. 

We've been back home now for 3 months. So how do you hold onto your new values in a system that tells you to rush again? How do you even explain what you've seen, when no one around you has lived it?

Well, these are our ways of doing that: 
🚐 Our Malaysia blog just went live (link in bio!)
📓 We're writing a book! Based on our daily journals from the trip. So. Many. Stories.
☀️ Planning to escape winter for a few months. Looking for a villa in Andalusia as we speak!
🚗 Trying to get rid of the smell in our car, so we can go on new adventures again.
💻 Back to client work too, to fund the new expedition. Because yes, obviously we're planning a new one.

So tell us, what's the most epic road trip you've ever done? Looking for some new inspiration!

Audio by @officiallymcconaughey
The end of our expedition. We can honestly say: on The end of our expedition. We can honestly say: one dream is checked off. And that's more than I ever dared to hope for 🙏

Photos from our last week on the road in South Africa, wrapping up the final stretch of driving 50.000 kilometers around the world.

From The Netherlands to Singapore. Three months stuck in the UAE. Ending on a high in Lesotho and South Africa. The Cape of Good Hope felt like the perfect place to close this chapter.

We’ve been home for six weeks now. Still adjusting. And that’s okay. Life at home is... Loud? Appointments, traffic, faces, expectations. It’s a different kind of busy.

On a Saturday night, instead of wild camping under the stars, people ask if we’re going to a techno party. Which honestly feels like another planet right now 😅

So we take it slow. One thing at a time. We don’t mind being back, we just really loved being out there. That freedom. That simplicity. That deep, deep joy. The intensity that makes you feel alive. We squeezed five years of life into one.

And this isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning of a new way of living. One that fits even better. One with room for future expeditions, new dreams, and a life that feels like ours.

#wereldreis #triparoundtheworld #vanlifenl #overlandjournal #overlandlife #overlandtravel #dutchvanlife #roadtripadventures
One of our all-time favorite 4x4 tracks during our One of our all-time favorite 4x4 tracks during our 50.000 km overland expedition around the world 🚙

Not too difficult, but it has some fun technical sections. And the endless river crossings through the bush are just awesome! Didn't even mention the camping under the stars with absolutely no one else around yet.

What a place 🔥

This is Baviaanskloof in South Africa 🇿🇦 what is one of your favorite 4x4 tracks?

#roadtripadventures #southafricatravel #southafrica🇿🇦 #baviaanskloof #4x4ing #4x4adventure #overlandtoyotas #overlandtravel #4x4offroading
After 423 days we parked our car in front of our h After 423 days we parked our car in front of our house in The Netherlands again! 🥹 Back where it all started.

It's been the BEST time of our lives, driving 50.000 kilometers around the world. Overlanding from The Netherlands to Singapore, to the UAE and ending our trip in South Africa. 13 months crossing 25 countries. UNREAL!!!

We will work on the car to get her fixed. If you haven't been following, our car got contaminated during shipment and is not safe to drive for longer periods of time at the moment. We already found a lab in The Netherlands that will run some tests on the car, so let's go! Will keep you guys up to date 🚀

Onto the next one 🫡

Got any questions about our overland expedition? Let us know in the comments 👇 we're happy to help!

#wereldreis #triparoundtheworld #overlandjournal #overlandinglife #overlanders #dutchvanlife #vanlifenl #overlandtravel #roadtripadventures
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  • Wild Horses next to our camper in GeorgiaExploring Georgia By Camper: The Perfect 2-Week Itinerary (Including Wild Camping Spots)
  • Driving to ThailandDriving to Thailand with your own car: Foreign Vehicle Permit and border crossing guide
  • Driving from the Netherlands to Singapore overlandOverland Journal Day 232-233: We drove from the Netherlands to Singapore!

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