Blog — Remote Year
You know when you wake up from a dream that’s too good to be true and you think, “Nah, that could never happen…”? Well, this particular dream is true and it is happening. Get up now because Remote Year 2 is comin’ thru!
The second Remote Year Battuta program kicked off yesterday and there aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe what this means for us. Not only is this a monumental step for the Remote Year team, who’ve been working their cute butts off moving mountains and working wonders, but also for the 75 people who have embarked on this life-changing year-long adventure with us.
Our first stop: Montevideo, Uruguay. The Remote Year Ops team arrived in Montevideo early and hit the ground running, crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s in preparation for the February 1st launch. From ironing out logistics with the coworking space, to upgrading wifi at hotels, to printing the fine details of welcome packets, there was no rest for the wicked.
Our workspace for the month is the beautiful Sinergia Cowork. Equipped with a basement kitchen, 3 working levels, and a grand outdoor terrace, Sinergia will quickly feel like home for our remotes.
The calm before the storm…
On arrival day, Dave, Heather, and Jason posted up in the Carrasco airport from sun-up to sun-down to pick up our weary travelers descending from all over the globe. Equipped with flashy signage, cold water, and huge smiles, the staff made sure to be a sight for sore eyes.
Dave sneaking in power naps between delayed flights
Welcome to Montevideo! Groups of happy remotes to be shuttled to the hotel.
Each remote received a welcome packet upon arrival, stuffed with goodies to get them started on the right foot: local SIM cards, welcome week schedules, workspace keys, basic Spanish cheat sheets, and a Battuta mate cup.
The official first day of Remote Year Battuta! Despite long travels the day before, our remotes are at Sinergia bright and early and excited to work. Mondays take on a new meaning here!
Dave and Jason kick things off with a South America introduction
All the remotes in the same room for the first time. Look at those beautiful faces!
The lovely Sinergia girls give a workspace introduction and show us how to cure mate cups and prepare mate drinks.
To wrap up a successful first day, Sinergia hosted an After Cowork mixer on the beautiful terrace, complete with cervezas, empanadas y futbolito.
As the dust starts to settle, we reflect on how lucky we are to be on this life-changing journey together. Not only do remotes challenge the status quo and redefine work/life balance, but we are paving the way for a new kind of lifestyle where happiness and success aren’t defined by a corner office, a fancy title or a meaty paycheck.
We have an exciting week in store and an incredible year ahead. To stay up to date with everything Remote Year, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Buckle up…it’s gonna be one hell of a ride!
– RY
Throughout our first week, we have learned so much about the unique Japanese culture. They have lots of traditions, rules and sayings to learn. One that many Remotes have connected with is Wabi-sabi (侘寂?), which represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Some more great Japanese sayings here.
We did a Japanese cooking class at the cooking studio ‘Cooking Sun’. The studio was located in a restored traditional townhouse in central Kyoto. The class began with a shopping tour for ingredients at the famous Nishiki Food Market.
We enjoyed many of the local foods and explored the beautiful city.
The Remote Year team went to see GEAR, a “unique non-verbal performance that stimulates your five senses with a moving story set in the future. Accompanied by impressive stage effects set up using techniques ranging from those used in Kabuki plays to the latest technologies, GEAR is bound to offer you a theatrical experience you will never forget!”
On Saturday we hosted our monthly Junction networking event. We met some amazing people from Kyoto working on lots of interesting things!
Then we jumped on the beautiful subway and headed our to do karaoke.
A group of Remotes did a biking tour of temples around Kyoto.
Greg caught a happy moment of Nate taking a picture of Dave taking a picture of Kim taking a selfie with Steph
We celebrated an amazing holiday season with our new Remote Year family as 2015 came to an end and headed over to Japan right after the start of the new year.
Cameron and Greg U. went to Con Dao, off the south coast off Vietnam. The intention was to do some diving, but the winds were too fierce for too long – 2m+ seas, with very limited visibility. So they rented some scooters and rode around the island a bit.
Geetika ‘Drew’ her New Years Resolutions and Plans of building off of the success she had launching Vawaa. If you haven’t heard of it yet, Vawaa, or Vacation with an artist is a platform for finding and booking studio sessions with curated artists around the world. Check out www.vawaa.com
She also spent a day hanging out and cooking with local Vietnamese artists in a small town called Tam Dao.
Geetika also visited Bat Trang, a traditional porcelain and pottery village with history of seven centuries near Hanoi. It’s handmade ceramics can be found in stores globally, including IKEA and Target.
Joe hosted his famous Joe Matta work-out to get people ready for the holiday feasts.
Everybody brought out their new custom made clothes to celebrate Remote Year Christmas. Some of them looked like secret service agents and others looked more like members of the Kringle family.
We all gathered for an amazing Christmas dinner, an early teaser of a new concept Joe is working on around experiential dining events.
At the end of Christmas dinner, Cassie, Nate, Dave and Sam surprised everybody with a Christmas song performance.
Everybody lounged out for a lazy Christmas day as we hosted a puppy from a local couple.
At our New Year’s party, Remotes busted out tons of crazy custom clothing from the expert Vietnamese tailors.
Throughout the holiday week, many people checked out one of the seven new wonders of the world, Halong Bay.
We boarded a plane and headed into our 8th month of Remote Year in Kyoto, Japan.
Sam was brought good luck by getting his head bit by the traditional Japanese dragon dancers.
There are so many amazing things to do and see in Vietnam and Remotes have been exploring far and wide!
Lots of people at the work space for our community lunch.
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.