3 Epic Road Trips Done By Malaysians Who Literally Went The Extra Mile

Be it a trip from Kangar to Johor Bahru, or one around New Zealand - epic road trips like these are what we sometimes dream of doing. All it takes is some intense planning, servicing your car, get the oil changed, and you can start driving!

Jamalullail Ismail and his family drove a total of 25,500km across more than 20 countries to come home to Malaysia, just in time for Hari Raya. They started their journey in Sunderland, UK, and ended it in Kedah after 155 days.

The family travelled in a motorhome equipped with a toilet, mini kitchen, and beds enough for the six of them. According to Jamalullail, they tried to stop at every 322km to visit museums and information centres so the children could learn more about the local culture and lifestyle. The trip was also meant to be an educational one for his homeschooling children.

Sofinee Harun, Jamalullail's wife, said that they've been dreaming of going on this road trip for years. They decided that 2014 is the best year to do so as it will not affect their children's education plans.

"There are many questions that come from them (the children), of course. Among those questions are "How are we going to be able to travel?" "How are we going to manage financially?" "How long is the journey going to take?" All sorts of questions which even me and my dear husband will not be able to answer fully yet," she wrote on the family's blog.

The drive was not always a smooth one, the family said. They experienced difficulty obtaining permission to enter certain countries, however, the Malaysian embassies there did their best to assist them. Jamalullail said that they were robbed twice in Iran, and almost became kidnap victims.

When asked about her feelings after completing the journey, Sofinee said, "I think it's blur at the moment... We're really overwhelmed with the amount of support we receive from everybody around the world!"

The family are thankful that they managed to complete the trip safe and sound, and are grateful for all the support they received along the way from the locals and netizens back home.

Ahmad Faris, Aman Ruzaini, Munir Muhammad, Shah Azman, Ana Abu, and Firdaus Hashim went on a 12-day road trip, driving from Auckland to Milford Sound. The group, who called themselves Fantaguana, filmed their trip and uploaded it as a 15-episode travel vlog on Tapau.tv.

They rented a campervan that could fit six adults comfortably and took turns driving throughout the trip. According to Aman, they must have driven for more than 3,000km.

Faris mentioned in the videos that travelling in a campervan has always been his dream. He loves the idea of driving with friends and to be able to stop whenever and wherever they want to on the trip. New Zealand, to him, is the perfect place to do so.

He also mentioned that he felt thankful to be able to travel with this group of friends as they share the same interests and mindset. They planned and organised the trip together: each person did their own research on the attractions that they want to visit, the type of campervan to rent, as well as the holiday parks where they can park and spend the night.

The group experienced a 7.8-magnitude earthquake when they were in the South Island of New Zealand. Fortunately, none of them were injured as they were far from Kaikoura town, where the quake hit.

"I think the biggest challenge was dealing with the cracked road, which resulted from the earthquake. We received a stern warning from a local telling us to be very careful when driving on the road," Aman said.

Overall, the team had a lot of fun despite some minor accidents (Firdaus' drone crashed when he was flying it over Lake Pukaki). We're pretty sure the group will be embarking on a new adventure again soon.

It's not exactly a campervan, but Kas and Yng still managed to transform their old van into a beautiful motorhome for their family road trips. Kas and Yng will sometimes take the weekend off, pack their bags, and drive their family to various parts of Malaysia for a short getaway. You can check out the beautiful places they've been to on their Instagram account.

To make it more homely, they had the backseats removed so they can create space for a little bench and mini desk for the kids. There's also enough space for them to fit a small sofa or bean bag, so it looks like a moving living room.

One of the memorable road trips that Kas remembers is when they spent New Year's Eve at Teluk Senangin in Perak. The family spent a peaceful night there, camping in their van, enjoying the sound of waves crashing on the beach.

Sometimes, Kas and Yng also transform their campervan into a mobile café. They run this little side business whenever they can, selling coffee, soft drinks, and snacks from their little holiday home.

Most of us drive to get to work, but there are some who drive because they enjoy doing so. There are people who enjoy the drive up to Genting Highlands because we love the thrill of navigating along the winding roads; and there are those who just love to drive on long road trips as it gives them a sense of freedom.

Shell Helix will be running their #IDriveFor contest from 1 till 31 October 2017, and they are giving out 25 exclusive Ferrari merchandise. All you need to do to win them is:

Terms and Conditions apply.