Travelling around the world has been a lifelong dream for lots of people, but many were unable to do so due to the high prices of flight tickets and accommodation. However, a Malaysian has gone on to show that you can still do so with your very own car, if you’re determined enough, after he travelled to over 20 countries using only his Perodua Kelisa!
M’sian father and son travel around Eurasia in a Perodua Kelisa
Tampin-born Aimpro Samudra shared on the Facebook page Family Camping Malaysia how he and his son visited countries in Asia and Europe by merely driving in their old limited edition Perodua Kelisa bought in 2004. They have been using this family car “Wheely” for all of their adventures around the continent.
“Where the feet touch the ground, there we shall set up camp,” Samudra wrote.
Speaking to WauPost, Samudra and his son funded their trip by earning money from renovation, electrical and construction work. He also revealed that they only needed to make simple preparation for the trip.
Their journey had even brought them to places where extreme weather could not even allow them to sleep outside in tents, so they would stay overnight in the car. However, they were grateful to witness the beauty of these countries, and it was deemed a luxury to the father-son duo.
The ups and downs in their journey
They started their journey on 4 November 2019, where they drove from Malaysia to countries including Thailand, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece! However, they were forced to park their car back in Turkey and returned to Malaysia when the government announced the implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Resuming the trip on this year’s 15 September, they flew back to Turkey to retrieve their car, nicknamed ‘Wheely’, but they encountered an issue with the car’s gearbox. As the father-son duo were not skilled in making car repairs, they had to seek help from their acquaintances in Turkey and even some mechanics from Malaysia. Thankfully, they were able to fix it and get the car back in running shape via step-by-step instructions from video calls, as well as the assistance of their Turkish friends.
Samudra and his son then drove to Iran, where they experienced telephone and Internet connection disruptions caused by ongoing protests in the country. Later on, the two travellers reached the border of Pakistan but had to be escorted by the police, army and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (KPK) for almost one week until they reach Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.
After passing through the screening process, the duo decided to continue their journey to the borders of China by driving across one of the highest-paved roads in the world, the Karakoram Highway. However, they were not lucky that time when the police at Khunjerab Pass stopped them from going any further due to the road’s bad conditions and incessant snowing.
Because of this, they had a change of plans by parking ‘Wheely’ at Samudra’s friend’s house in Lahore, Pakistan, and returned to Malaysia just in time for the general election.
“Village boys meet world”
Samudra told WauPost that as a traveller, he loves the freedom he experiences on his voyage where he was able to do something different in his life while spending time with his oldest son.
“As humans, we have a lot of commitments we need to attend to so we have to do the same thing every day and work until we die. Therefore in order to fulfil our dreams, we had to be a little ‘crazy’ to pursue that freedom in life,” he said.
He also wishes to spread the message that even though he and his son grew up in a small town, they were able to see the world with their own eyes, proving that anyone could always do better no matter their upbringing.
“Don’t ever give up! Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to do crazy things. Also be kind to the people around you no matter who they are.”
And lastly, he will one day bring his lucky car “Wheely” back to Malaysia to prove to all Malaysians that there is no limit to what we can do, just like how this small Kelisa was able to travel around Europe and Asia.
Tap here to give us a ‘Like’ on Facebook and stay up-to-date on the latest news!
Also read: Despite being partially deaf, this musician travelled to 102 countries alone & set a M’sian record
