Admit it, we have all thought about getting ourselves a campervan to live in, because the whole idea of living a campervan life seems extremely cool.
Shureena Angie is a woman who is living our dreams. After starting her campervan life back in May 2019, she has spent one and a half years travelling around Sabah.
A 53-year-old woman from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Angie is a Sino-Kadazan and can speak Mandarin, English, and Malay. She’s also fluent in Chinese dialects like Hakka, Cantonese and Hokkien, as well as the Kadazandusun language.
How it all began
Sharing with WOLRD OF BUZZ, Angie actually has a few reasons on why she chose the campervan life. “Before this, I was renting an apartment, and my financial status was quite ok. But as the economy went down, I was not able to afford the rental, so I went to find a cheaper apartment or kampung house.”.
However, Angie still found it hard to afford the rental with her income. After discovering the campervan life in other Western countries from Youtube, she convinced herself to take it up. However, there are many considerations and preparations to do, including taking care of her big rottweiler dog, Doggo.
“I am just like a ship that sails in the middle of the ocean that has nowhere to go and don’t know what to do,” she added. Angie built everything in the campervan by herself. As she considers the campervan a mobile home for her and Doggo, she changes the water and electric power system from time to time.
Angie’s campervan is a seven-seater Avanza. She removed all the seats and built a sleeping area, water storage and a kitchen. Youtube is her helpmate, as she renovates her campervan by “copy[ing] a little bit here and there using my creativity.”
Travelling to visit friends and family
The other reason she chose to live in a campervan is that she loves travelling. She uses her campervan to travel around and visit her relatives and friends. “As we grow older, I don’t want to miss the time. When the time comes, I cannot visit them anymore, so I do it while I can,” Angie said.
“I can now bring my dog along wherever I go or when I visit my friends, which is very convenient for me,” she added. In Sabah, she hasn’t met anyone like her who lives the campervan life.
It is crucial for her to choose where to park carefully, as there are “scary places” which are not very safe. “But I love the campervan life because I don’t like staying in the same place for too long,” she said. At the time of writing, Angie is currently in Kundasang, and both she and her dog love the chilly weather there.
Started her own Youtube channel
Angie has a Youtube channel where she shares her life in a campervan, she plays the piano, bakes chocolate cakes, and she shares how she showers in the campervan.
“Some people think that I am homeless, but I am not, I have my mobile home,” Angie shared.
“I also want people to know that although I am living in a mini campervan, I still love and take care of my dog, Doggo,” she said. Doggo can freely run around in parks and stay safe inside the campervan when it is raining. Doggo is a well-trained rottweiler and will perform tricks and commands wherever they go, which makes a source of income for them. She also urges people to not abandon and abuse their pets.
There are many struggles that Angie faces, but she thinks positively and just faces whatever difficulties come her way. Now that she does not have a steady income, she hopes to do freelance art for people, such as teaching music. “I hope my Youtube channel will be successful so I can earn as well,” Angie added.
Angie hopes to not only share her life in a campervan but also raise awareness on stopping animal abuse.
Are you going to start a campervan life and travel around? We wish Angie all the best for her campervan life.
