When they became parents, David Ang and Estelle Toh wanted to ensure that their two sons had a bond with nature.

Ang, a 36-year-old Singaporean doctor, always loved the outdoors while Toh, a 41-year-old nurse he met through work, grew up in the picturesque west Johor village of Ulu Choh before going to school in Singapore and starting her career.

They named their sons Zephyr and Aether, now six and eight, respectively.

The young Singapore-based family tasted “van life” when they toured New Zealand in an RV – or recreational vehicle – in 2018, and the experience stuck with them. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, leaving them feeling a little trapped.

Three months after the Causeway reopened in April 2022, the family moved to East Ledang, a Johor neighbourhood near Legoland popular with Singaporeans and other expats, to enrol their sons in an international school nearby. The exchange rate would allow the young family greater latitude while Ang would still work at a Singapore clinic three days a week.

Noticing RVs rolling about west JB, and with their fond RV memories, the couple thought: Why not get a campervan of our own?

A few months later, buoyed by the fact they’re living in a land with broader horizons, they bought a parallel import Toyota Camroad from Japan from a Johor-based dealer.

“We do a lot of road trips around Malaysia and always look forward to the next one,” said the 36-year-old Ang. “We found that besides hotels and resorts, it was easy to get affordable Airbnbs but they weren’t always ideal for us. An RV would be more secure, we wouldn’t be restricted to staying in small towns, and could visit more heritage sites too.”

With RVs not allowed on Singapore roads, Ang and Toh are part of a wave of Singaporeans buying campervans and parking them in Johor. RV love is growing fast among Malaysians, too, with one Facebook group of enthusiasts having 113,000 members as of writing.