Every great expedition has a starting point. Before the maps, the plans, and the basecamp, there is a spark. This is the story of that spark—the personal journey that grew into our mission to build the ScoutTed Roadmap, the definitive guide to van life in Southeast Asia. Consider this the prologue to our larger adventure.

For four weeks, Huyen and I traded our normal life for life on the road. We drove a big circle around the Netherlands, from the cozy streets near Amsterdam to the wild northern coastline. This trip was more than a holiday. It was a living experiment, a test run of a simpler life, and where we first truly imagined our future together on wheels.

Our First Rolling Home: The Borrowed Camper

The van itself was a character in our story. It was my sister’s well-loved camper—not brand new, but perfectly equipped and wonderfully comfortable. Stepping inside, it felt like a true home on wheels, showing us that a life of travel doesn’t have to mean roughing it. With its cozy bed, clever kitchenette, and efficient layout, it had everything we needed. Most importantly, it taught us our first great lesson: comfort on the road comes from smart design and reliability, not from sheer size or extravagance. This borrowed van proved that a compact, thoughtfully-built space could contain everything needed for a rich adventure.

Life in Our Borrowed Home on Wheels

Living in that small, borrowed space for a month taught us the essential rhythms of mobile life. For Huyen, it was a crash course in a new set of skills. She mastered the art of finding that perfect, level parking spot for the night—the one with the best view or the most tranquility. She learned the careful ballet of managing our fresh water supply and battery power, making a cup of coffee feel like a small victory. Most importantly, she discovered how to make that tiny, transient space feel genuinely like our home each evening. We drove across famous dikes with the wind rocking our little box on wheels, camped by vast, mirror-still lakes, and woke up to a breathtaking new view almost every day. It was a beautiful, intimate way for me to rediscover my own country, and for Huyen, it was a thrilling and completely new way to travel.

The Best Parts: Unfiltered Nature and Effortless Family

The trip gifted us two profound realizations: the van’s power to connect us deeply with nature and its unique ability to simplify time with loved ones.

With our home hitched to the back, we could go anywhere a small road would lead. We woke up to mist rising off quiet lakes we had entirely to ourselves. We pulled over for lunch in sun-dappled forest clearings, with no schedule to follow. We followed winding, single-lane paths to hidden beaches and viewpoints you could never reach by train or bike. For Huyen, this direct, unfiltered access to nature—the ability to just stop and be immersed in it—was revolutionary. It wasn’t about visiting nature; it was about living within it, even if just for a morning.

At the same time, the van transformed how we visited people. Gone were the complicated logistics of train timetables and hotel bookings. If we wanted to see someone, we could simply drive to them. We met old friends in a charming Frisian village, enjoyed spontaneous coffee visits in the east, and dropped in on family scattered across the country. The most unforgettable moment was pulling into a small campsite and immediately spotting a painfully familiar silhouette—my brother, parked in the very camper van that used to be mine. That evening, sharing a great meal at the restaurant next to the campsite with our two rolling homes as a backdrop, felt like pure magic. It was a powerful lesson: this lifestyle isn’t about isolation; it can be a wonderful tool to bring people together in the most spontaneous ways.

From a Dutch Idea to a Vietnam Dream

Somewhere between the endless horizons of the Wadden Sea and the rhythmic turning of the windmills, our pillow talks shifted. We stopped saying, “What a fun vacation this is,” and started asking the life-changing question: “What if we could live like this?”

For Huyen, the idea solidified from a fantasy into a tangible desire. She had done it. She had lived the life, mastered the routines, and felt the joy. She moved from curious observer to an enthusiastic co-dreamer, captivated by the freedom, the simplicity, and the endless potential for adventure. By the time we reluctantly returned the keys to my sister, we both carried a quiet certainty: this feeling of liberated mobility was something we wanted to build our future around.

The Bridge to Our “Phase Zero” in Da Nang

That humble, borrowed camper van was our most important classroom. It proved, beyond doubt, that happiness and a rich life don’t require vast amounts of space or stuff—just intention, smart design, and the freedom to move. The lessons we learned in that compact Dutch box are now the blueprint for our “Phase Zero” planning in Da Nang.

Every detail we consider for our future Vietnam van—from the efficiency of the layout to the importance of a window with the perfect view for Scout and Ted—is filtered through the experience of those four weeks. We aren’t just dreaming of a van; we are methodically planning to recreate that magic, but tailored for the mountains and coasts of Vietnam and as a forever-home for our two feline co-pilots.

That borrowed van trip was the first chapter. To follow along as we write the next one—from spreadsheets and van models to the first bolt turned in the conversion—join Our Journey.

Continue the Story: This was the spark. Next, meet the furry co-pilots who became the heart of the mission in Meet Scout & Ted (Chapter 1).

✨ This story is part of Our Journey, the archive where we share the real stories behind The ScoutTed Roadmap.