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Char Is Far

the journey begins where the road ends

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  • Destinations
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      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Indonesia
      • Kazakhstan
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      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Tajikistan
      • Thailand
      • Türkiye
      • Turkmenistan
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Georgia
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Montenegro
      • The Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
    • Middle East
      • Iran
      • Jordan
    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
  • Expedition Overland
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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 / 6 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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  • Wild camping under palm trees at Bottle Beach, Koh Phangan, Thailand
    Asia,  Destinations,  Expedition Overland,  Thailand

    Overland Journal Day 186-203: Island Hopping in Southern Thailand (Koh Phangan, Koh Tao & Koh Lanta)

    May 25, 2025 / 2 Comments

    We drive into the heart of Southeast Asia’s tourist mecca: the Thai islands. Oat milk lattes flow freely, smoothie bowls are everywhere, and we have to try VERY hard to escape the beaten path. But after some searching, we manage to find a few gems that still feel remote and free. We fall into the rhythm of island life: waking up with the sun, no plans, just seeing…

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  • Ayutthaya Temples Overlanding Thailand
    Asia,  Destinations,  Expedition Overland,  Thailand

    Overland Journal Day 173–185: Crossing the Border & Central Thailand Road Trip

    May 4, 2025 / No comments

    Overlanding Thailand and crossing the border from Cambodia with your own car isn’t easy. But thanks to good prep, we make it through to continue our overland expedition to Singapore. We dive into Bangkok life while the 4Runner gets an upgrade, head north into monsoon rains for waterfalls and night safaris in Khao Yai National Park, and explore ancient, crowd-free temples in Ayutthaya. But after days of rain,…

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  • Asia,  Destinations,  Thailand

    Thailand: Off The Grid At Chiang Rai’s Bamboo Nest

    October 22, 2019 / 2 Comments

    Think of the most special place you’ve ever stayed at while traveling. For some people it’s a five star hotel. Others prefer a tiny cabin in the woods, a cute beach cottage or a house in the countryside. For me, it’s the Bamboo Nest guesthouse amidst the mountains of Chiang Rai. Completely off the grid with their own water supply filtered in the jungle, land to grow food…

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  • Photo of several temples in the grand palace in Bangkok
    Asia,  Destinations,  Thailand

    3 Days In Bangkok: What To See And Do For First Timers

    September 1, 2019 / No comments

    Going to Bangkok for the first time? That’s great! Bangkok is one of my favorite cities. It has some beautiful highlights, but also plenty of opportunities to explore lesser known areas. It’s one of those cities that reward you for getting lost, as there is always something going on around every corner. Get your first fix of Thai street food, take a boat or tuk tuk to one…

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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)

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

Overland Journal Day 26-40: Türkiye

Overland Journal Day 117: Border Crossing Into China

Kyrgyzstan Travel: Everything You Need To Know

Overland Journal Day 41-52: Iran

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

The Start Of Our Overland Adventure

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

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This is NOT the Spain we expected 🤯 We’re driving This is NOT the Spain we expected 🤯

We’re driving ridges with nothing but desert landscapes stretching to the horizon. Then we drop into canyons, kicking up dust with our tyres. Hours pass without seeing a single car.

Set up camp on a hill with stellar views of the badlands. Cooking, watching the sky turn orange, then fade into a sky full of stars.

Hard to believe this is still Southern Spain.

About half of this route really needs a 4x4 / high clearance. The other half is easily doable with a van (we get that question a lot 😅). 

What. A. Spot.

When we got back home 2 old pipes gave up after all that rough terrain. Nothing dramatic though. New parts are on the way and we’ll be back out there soon for more weekend trips 😍

Would you drive this?

📍 Gorafe Desert, Spain

#gorafe #sierranevada #spaintrip #overlandtravel #overlandbound
What if there’s another way? To escape the crowds What if there’s another way?

To escape the crowds. Because yes, this is also Spain.

But more importantly: to choose how you spend your time.

This is what our weekends look like now 🧡

Gorafe surprised us; we absolutely loved it! Those badlands views are unlike anything we've seen before.

Have you heard of this place before?

#overlandtravel #gorafe  #spaintrip #sierranevada #4x4ing
El Caminito del Rey exceeded our expectations by f El Caminito del Rey exceeded our expectations by far 🧡 

Normally we’re not that into ultra-touristy activities. We tend to avoid crowds and look for quieter, more remote places. But sometimes… something is popular for a reason.

Caminito del Rey is def one of those places 🙌

Originally built for workers to access the hydroelectric plants deep in the gorge, the path later fell into disrepair and became infamous for how dangerous it was. After several fatal accidents, it was closed for years and eventually rebuilt into the safe walkway it is today.

Walking it now, you can still see how exposed it once was. Narrow paths pinned to vertical rock faces, suspended high above the canyon floor. Never seen anything like it. 

Normally it's sold out months in advance. We decided to just go to the north entrance gate, and were able to buy a ticket there! So make sure to give this a try if it's sold out.

Yeah, we’ll admit it. This one lives up to the hype.

Have you been here already?

#caminitodelrey #spaintrip #caminito #explorespain
Our favorite places from our favorite country in t Our favorite places from our favorite country in the world 🇰🇬

Plus Marcel with a Kyrgyz hat (scroll to the end 👀) .

We’ve now been to Kyrgyzstan twice. First time in 2023, renting a car with a rooftop tent. Our very first taste of overland travel. We were hooked instantly.

Back home in the Netherlands, we did the only logical thing. Bought our own 4x4 with rooftop tent and drove all the way back. And beyond.

Exactly one year later (to the day!), we crossed into Kyrgyzstan again. This time in our own car, chasing the remote mountain corners we missed the first time.

Our Kyrgyzstan blogs are still the most read on our site. Not surprising. This place is wild 🧡

So here it is. Our favorite spots across the country after two extensive visits.

Want the full route? Our 2-week itinerary is in the link in bio. Save for later 🙌

Have you been? Or still on your list? (It should be!)

And any tips for other countries that we should visit? Drop 'em below.

📸 Kel Suu photo by @klaus_promberger, give him a follow!

#kyrgyzstan #discoverkyrgyzstan #travelkyrgyzstan #visitkyrgyzstan #overlandtravel
Be scared, and do it anyway. That’s the one thing Be scared, and do it anyway. That’s the one thing the road taught us.

When we decided to drive from the Netherlands to Singapore, we weren’t sure we’d actually make it.

Logistically, financially… plenty of reasons not to.
Same with this.

Moving to Spain. Working remotely. Figuring out a new rhythm. We didn’t know if it would work. But we tried it anyway.

Not because we’re fearless. But because we’ve learned that waiting until something feels completely certain usually means you’ll never do it.

So we make deliberate choices. Not the obvious ones. Not always the comfortable ones. Just the ones that feel like this might make life a bit more interesting. A bit more alive.

Sometimes that means driving across continents.
Sometimes it just means starting a life in a new place.

From the outside it might look like we’ve got it all figured out.
We don’t.

We're just willing to try.

What’s something you want to try this year?

📸 Shots from our stunning new hometown, Frigiliana!

#frigiliana #workingremotely #spaintrip #travelcouplelife
When we decided to drive from the Netherlands to S When we decided to drive from the Netherlands to Singapore, it was never really about the destination. It was always about the journey.

We simply looked at a map and searched for one of the longest overland routes we could possibly drive.

Sure, it would've been easy to get on a plane and fly to Singapore. But where's the fun in that?

One of our favorite quotes by @officiallymcconaughey: 

'I love road trips. I think I've learned more on road trips than I've learned just about anywhere else in life. 

It's like a classroom. It's like an office.

It's a place where my memory catches up with me. It's a place where I can get far away enough from past that I'm not worried about it and something about that makes me not even worry about my damn future.' 🧡

Location: Mirador Fin del Mundo, Sierra Nevada, Spain 🇪🇸

#roadtripadventures #sierranevada #overlandtravel
Mountain roads > everything ⛰️ It feels so good t Mountain roads > everything ⛰️

It feels so good to be out exploring again. Somehow we feel more at home on the road than in our house back in the Netherlands. Like life is supposed to feel like this.

There’s something different this time though.

During our overland expedition we saw a lot of the world, and now the contrast hits differently. We’re driving mountain roads, chasing views, building a life we genuinely love. 

At the same time, friends we met on that journey are hiding in shelters. Simply because they were born somewhere else.

It’s a strange feeling to carry both things at once. Deep gratitude for the life we get to live. And a quiet awareness of how unequal the world can be.

Not sure if this resonates with anyone, but these thoughts have been on our minds. Anyone else recognizes this feeling? 🫶

📍 Fin del Mundo, Sierra Nevada, Spain

- Follow along on our journey of trying out remote life from Spain, while exploring 4x4 tracks on the weekends (we're much better at keeping up with stories than posts anyway)

#sierranevada #spaintrip #overlandtravel #overlandinglife #overlandvehicle
Slowly integrating into Spanish life 🇪🇸 We spent Slowly integrating into Spanish life 🇪🇸

We spent the past two weeks on the Costa Blanca, with Dénia as our base, exploring the Valencia region. Orange trees everywhere, long sunny days, colorful houses. Quite the contrast from the snow in the Pyrenees just days before.
And this is exactly what we love.

Switching to remote work has been even better than we expected. And our expectations were high to begin with. It still feels slightly unreal that this is our life now.

We’ve now moved further south (near Málaga) into a house we rented for three months, close to both the coast and the mountains.

To be honest, we were a bit worried about focus. A lot of people told us it would be difficult to stay productive. But we’ve built a steady rhythm: coworking three days a week, structure during the week, exploring on the (long) weekends. It works surprisingly well.

Also VERY excited to go off-roading in the weekends. Plenty of tracks here.

Have you ever lived abroad for a while or worked remotely? What were the pros and cons for you? Or any questions about our switch? Let us know 🔥🧡

#workingremotely #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #spaintrip #explorespain
This is what working remotely from the Pyrenees lo This is what working remotely from the Pyrenees looks like 😍

Week 2 of remote life and it’s already better than we imagined. 

Working from tiny mountain villages in northern Spain. And navigating some very questionable, narrow streets (see photo 7) 😬

Weekend? Road tripping through a snowy Andorra.

Further south we go. So happy we took the leap 🫶

#workingremotely #overlandtravel #pyreneesmountains #andorra #spaintrip
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