Blog — Remote Year
As we crossed the half-way mark of our journey, we transitioned from the Thai beaches to the crazy bustle of city life in Hanoi, Vietnam.
We boarded a boat en route to Samui.
Remotes lining up to check in at the Samui airport
Exploring Hanoi has some amazing views and temples.
A local artist hosted us for our welcome party at his creative space. A dance troupe did an interpretive dance called “The Human Tree”
We got started right away in our new workspace with a town hall meeting.
Bloom Microventures came and told us about their amazing project that is pioneering a unique business model which harnesses the power of tourism through microcredit.
Hannah helping Jesse pick out color ways for his new custom blazer. Vietnam is known for its textile manufacturing and has many great places to get custom fit clothing at affordable prices.
We did a walking food tour through the old quarter of Hanoi.
The ladies did their monthly Ladies’ night at a local ice skating rink.
David hosted a Vodka and Latka event to celebrate Hannukah.
A group went on an overnight motorcycle tour across Vietnam.
While others toured the Perfume Pagoda’s
A group of Remotes climbed the tallest mountain in Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand).
This week we had amazing weather and even better sunsets. Most nights we gathered to watch the sun set and have begun researching facts on sunsets and clouds.
We did an overnight ‘camping’ trip on a remote beach that you can only access by boat.
Dave’s camera got hijacked and Chris C. and the other Chris did some male modeling.
We took in some beautiful views from workspaces across the island.
A group played with elephants at a sanctuary for Cassie’s birthday.
We went to a local Muay Thai fight. The competition is fierce and these guys kick hard!
We saw a fire show on the beach.
A group of Remotes went on a weekend trip to Myanmar. They were amazed at its beauty and intrigued by the rapid rate of change going on in the country since opening up.
Exploring Koh Phangan has continued to reveal incredible, hidden gems. We have found pristine beaches, beautiful hikes and some amazing views.
Remotes love going to Karma Kafe, a vegetarian cafe with reliable internet, wholesome menu and incredible island vibes.
Mitch got some work done with a great view of the water.
Muay Thai is really popular in Thailand and our group has gotten really into it. Don’t mess with us.
The clippers came out again on the beach, the results can be shocking.
We headed to Sanctuary for a weekend of hiking, hanging and star gazing.
Chris told some ghost stories, leaving many too afraid to sleep.
Koh Phangan is known for its Full Moon Party that happens once a month during the full moon. In between each full moon there are a series of other festive events on the island. We checked out the Half Moon party.
A small group was in town for our town hall, so instead we did a village hall with an amazing spread of local Thai food.
Martin finally found some good mountains to climb up in the north of Thailand.
A group of Remotes checked out Singapore and caught some interesting new ideas at a TEDx.
As our time in Penang came to a close, we enjoyed a bit more live music and amazing food.
The haze from Indonesia finally subsided so we could see some of the amazing views.
We traveled on Halloween, so we obviously dressed up… As Snakes on a Plane.
We walked into the warm and beautiful embrace of the Thai islands.
We had a welcome party and the owner of our hotel, K Vanee, came and told us about her story growing up in Thailand and about the business ecosystem in Koh Phangan.
Many Remotes enjoyed working by the pool and beach.
We headed up the coast to check out different beaches, including Ko Ma.
In our third week in Penang, our connections really started to develop with the people and culture. We hosted our first ever monthly Remote Year networking event. The goal is to invite the connections each Remote has made in a city so that we can all cross pollinate.
Many Remotes checked out the 9 Gods Festival parade. Rods ceremonially pierced through one cheek is the final night Georgetown parade of the Emperor Gods Festival
Fernanda made a video of it on her Youtube channel. On her channel she shares her findings on trends, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, since the beginning of our journey (mostly in Portuguese with English subtitles). See more here
And continued exploring the city.
A group of Remotes took a weekend diving trip to Sipadan island, which is known to have some of the best diving in the world.
We had another amazing week exploring our new Malaysian home, Penang.
We started the week off with a town hall at the Hin Bus Depot Art Center. A really cool creative space with art installations all over.
Throughout the week, we found more amazing art.
… and temples (Penang’s Burmese temple and Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple)
Ate at the famous laksa joint down in Air Itam (Ayer Itam Assam Laksa)
Reid organized the second official Sushi Destruction. We destroyed a bit too much sushi and then did karaoke.
Ron, our amazing tour guide, told us all about Penang’s history, how people used Pinang, the fruit, to get high, and even gave us some business advice.
More Remotes found out where everyone had been getting lost in the jungle….by also getting lost in the jungle. At some point, Andrew lost his phone there, realized it 30 minutes later, and by some miracle, was able to go and find it.
Remotes went to a fruit farm and got a mountain of amazing fruit for way cheaper than it should have been.
Stacey really connected with a local at Monkey beach.
Went to China House for some lives tunes.
Our first week in the Asian leg of our journey was amazing! We really soaked up the explosion of culture and flavor in our new home Penang. Penang is truly a melting pot of many different cultures and the diversity comes through in amazing food, art, music, architecture and more. George Town, where we live, was classified as a unesco world heritage location for these reasons.
Penang was rated the #1 food destination by Lonely Planet last year and it is easy to see why the minute you get here. Hawkers (pronounced hock-ahs) line the streets and serve some of the most diverse, amazing cuisines.
Penang is know for their street art including cool wire art depicting aspects of their local culture.
While we spent time exploring, Remotes also began adjusting to the new work schedules that come with Asian hours and our new work space.
We hosted three local experts for a lunch and learn as we explored the history and culture of Georgetown and Penang. The speakers were Jason Sim, Penang Global Tourism, Lee So Cheran, Invest Penang and Andy Koay, Georgetown World Heritage Incorporated.
A group of Remotes rented bikes and spent the day riding all the way around the island.
On Saturday, Scott and Andrew went to Devfest Georgetown. In this session, a group is learning how to do more with Polymer.
Andrew met the guys who make a height-increasing shoe called Schuhster. “When I put these bad boys on, I was 9cm taller!”
Saturday morning, the apartment crew made a killer brunch.
Throughout the week, Remotes checked out the national parks including Monkey Beach and the botanical gardens.
Last week, Cooper, Garcia, and Conley completed an epic hike of Penang Hill. It took 3 hours and they summited two peaks…somehow.
“We toured the Tibetan and Burmese Buddhist temples. Buddha, buddha, buddha, buddha, buddha everywhere:”
Last week we wrapped up our time in Istanbul as our European leg came to a close. Throughout the week we checked the last few things off our bucket lists and said our goodbyes.
A huge thanks to everyone who donated items in Istanbul to go to refugees as well as Chris Scott for connecting us with people that could get the items to the right people. We had nearly 30 Istanbul travel cards donated with credit and Hannah collected many more items from Remotes.
Food For Thought hosted it’s 4th event in Istanbul with Indian food prepared by Geetika and Anuja for a group of local guests. The menu celebrated similarities between Indian and Turkish cultures with items like Spicy Alleppey & Rakı for drinks, Masala Zor Garam for appetizers, Murgh Shahi and Aloo Shahi for mains, Sooji Laddoo & Chai for dessert. Everyone came together to discuss ideas/trends that most excite them right now followed by a music jam session. October event with be in Penang with Afro-Lusitano food prepared by Manuel Nascimento, traveling from Lisbon. For updates, pictures and behind the scenes, check out their site: http://www.foodxthought.co/ or FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/foodxthought
We hosted local entrepreneurs Janelle Berberoglu, Co-Founder, Chikirina and Orhan Yediyildiz / Dilara Dagli, Co-founders of Pickt Up for a mini Remote Year demo day.
Hannah had a gift giving presentation to Sila, our own Turkish Remote, to thank her for being our amazing guide for the month. She was incredible, teaching people about the people and culture and showing everybody fun places to go and see.
We had our farewell party at the 360 Istanbul Restaurant.
On Saturday morning, we embarked on the long journey to Asia.
A quick pitstop for Malaysian food on the drive from Kuala Lumpur to our new home, Penang, Malaysia.
Once we arrived in Penang, we had a welcome party on the rooftop of Chulia Mansion with local artist Daniel C. and local food.
As we round out our last week in Istanbul, we crossed out the last items on our bucket lists and continued our focus on great work.
A big group of Remotes working late in the lobby of our building.
Temporary ‘co-worker’ at a cafe in Ortaköy
Cassie and Paul working at a cafe in Cihangir
Man’s best friend outside a cafe in Ortakoy
Lindsay checking out the Hagia Sophia.
Hannah lead a group on the first Remote Year official overnight trip to Cappadocia.
Remotes continued to soak in the rich Turkish culture by digging deep into some unexpected places for our third week in Istanbul.
We started the week with Remote Year Ideascape, where people bring their half-baked ideas for the group to hash out and discuss. People came with ideas around planning events, personal alarms, airline miles and security (actual ideas confidential)
A group of Remotes joined Jessie and Joe to the final event of the IBM SmartCamp Istanbul pitch competition they were mentoring. Some really interesting ideas were pitched and we met some great people.
Remotes went to an Improv show, and Trish fearlessly volunteered to go on stage to talk about her day at “the compound”
Remote run crew after a quick morning 10k
Nissa working from the Starbucks in Bebek… One of the nicest in the world, four stories high and an amazing view!
Andrew led week two of the Remote Year accelerator, where we went over how to test out ideas in the Lean methodology and then broke out into smaller groups for people to get advice on their specific projects.
Jamie and Cassie with their lovely host for Pop-up Restaurant Istanbul
Nissa met a friend, Sena, who works for one of the major TV stations, Ciner Studyolari, and she took Nissa for a tour on Sunday
Kimmoy and Cassie with the artist at an art exhibit opening.
Some Remotes flew out to Ephesus to check out the ancient city and salt formations.
Another group of Remotes headed to Germany for the opening week of Oktoberfest
Trevor took the ‘Mussel Challenge’ and ate 100 mussels in under an hour. Major life accomplishment as a crowd of around 40 locals surrounded him to watch him complete the feat.