Intrepid Motion

Why We Need You To Act Now

marvin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:08:28 +0000

“The most drastic–and usually the most effective–remedy for fear is direct action.” –William Burnham

I know it seems like a daunting concept. Fear Less. Live More. Act Now. When you’re in the thick of things with your routine, and there seems to be no real light at the end of the tunnel, it’s easy to put on your cynic hat and move on.

Starting today, see yourself as a leader…a change agent if you will. For as much(or little) as you think you are worth to this world, we are here to tell you that you are priceless.

The title of this post is “Why We Need You To Act Now.” But it’s not us, Marv and Jo, who need you to act. We’re here to help you act if you need it.

Right this moment, even as you read this post, your tribe…the people you hang with, your friends, your family…everyone is watching you. They are evaluating your every move, your words, your actions and measuring them against their own. It is they who need you to act NOW.

You Are A Leader

Were you the first to own an iPhone in your family? Remember how cool it was to be the leader and the first to act? One of you had to be the one who had the courage to hand over some serious change(pun intended) to own new technology. I’ll bet by now your entire family owns one and you’re all face-timing like there’s no tomorrow. Ok, maybe not.

Whether or not you accept it, you are a leader.

Act or do not act. Either way, there is a ripple effect on the people who are watching you.Who better than you to be the ambassador of courage to others in your tribe.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” –John Quincy Adams

Who better than you to blaze a trail for others to follow. It takes just one person to test the waters, and the ripple effect on their tribe is immeasurable.

On Becoming A Change Agent

Our friend Alvin who was a partner in our last business had a saying: “A rising tide raises all ships higher.” Every thought, every word, every action you take can have a positive impact on your whole tribe.

I remember back in 2003 when health and fitness was barely a blip on our radar. We had done a couple of walkathons and some mountain biking, but they were one-offs…not a lifestyle.

It wasn’t until 2008 that we made enormous strides forward in our health. We made drastic changes in our nutrition and started a regular exercise regimen to include running and triathlons that year. In a matter of months, we lost 25 pounds each.

We felt great, but that was not the true legacy. Because of our courage to take a stand against unhealthy habits, others found theirs to do the same.

Mom and Jo at the 2010 Nike Women's Marathon

My mother has done two half-marathons. She’s 61. She never used to exercise. She now does a treadmill workout at least three times a week. She started traveling more, and has convinced many of her colleagues at the hospital to do the same.

Jo and my sister Jackie at the start of the 2011 Nike Women's Marathon

My sister completed a half-marathon this past October…at 7 months of pregnancy. In total, she lost nearly 35 pounds because of her training. She has set an example for her four-year old daughter, who rode her little training-wheeled Barbie bicycle with us for over three miles and not once needed a push.

Julianne the day after her epic dream of completing the Ironman

Our friend Julianne dreamed of completing the Ironman triathlon for nearly a decade. It was our dream to become coaches and help others overcome their fears of achieving their dreams. We spent the past year coaching her, and her dream became reality this past November. A win-win, don’t you think?

Fear Less

Maybe you don’t think you’re a leader. That’s ok. The important thing is that you find the courage to break from the pack and do something that you have always dreamed of. Don’t worry about what people will think. Secretly, you wonder “What if I fail? Everyone will laugh at me.”

Guess what? most of them won’t laugh. Secretly, everyone’s praying…”I hope they succeed, because I want so badly to achieve my own dreams too.”

“Pay no attention to what the critics say; there has never been a statue erected to a critic.” –Jean Sibelius

Don’t get me wrong, there are some who will rain on your parade. Let the naysayers laugh. That’s just a front. It allows them to justify to themselves why they shouldn’t even try. You’re better than that. You don’t fear failure.

Every fall teaches you to pick yourself back up. You learn to do better, and ultimately you succeed.

And when you do, even the naysayers get courageous. How amazing is it that even your own detractors gain the courage to act because of your successes? They’ll never tell it to your face, but that is ok. You’re not doing this for them…you’re doing it because it’s your dream.

Act Now

Mom recently visited us in Bangkok. In all her years of living in and visiting her home of the Philippines, she has never once considered coming to Thailand, a short plane ride away. Our round-the-world trip paved the way for her to finally set foot in a country that was a mystery to her.

We tour the reclining buddha temple at Wat Po, Bangkok, Thailand

It’s time to stop second-guessing yourself. Get your excitement up. Start writing down your dreams, even the ones that you think are too late to make a reality. Pick one and start acting on it.

You won’t always succeed at everything you do. But you will fail 100% of the time at the things you never even try.

Start that business you’ve always wanted, even if it’s part time. Run that race. Launch that non-profit. Open that orphanage. Visit that country you’ve been eager to see for years.

Your tribe is watching you. They want to leave the herd and do some amazing things.

Will you be the one to act now and lead them?

Inle Lake: A Bicycle Tour

marvin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:18:12 +0000

Pedestrian bridge to Main Thauk Floating Village, East bank of Inle Lake

Seven days have passed since we arrived in Myanmar(Burma), and our entry point of Yangon is already a distant memory.

A 13-hour overnight bus ride on mostly well-paved roads(are you paying attention Laos?), brought us to Myanmar’s Shan State where we alighted in the small but far from sleepy little town of Nyaung Shwe…better known
as Inle Lake.

The main attraction of Inle is the lake itself. We’ve managed to delay the requisite daylong boat tour on a motorized longboat, in the meantime exploring Inle’s shore-based offerings.

A great way to see things in Inle while keeping some level of fitness is to rent a bicycle. Unlike in urban areas, motor vehicles(aside from motorbikes) tend to be in the minority here. Besides, at 1000Kyat(about $1.25) for the day, the price for this excursion was perfect.

At about 8AM, we set out on our planned journey of 22Km. Knowing the conditions of Inle’s rural roads, we knew this excursion would take the entire day.

Rural Roads Rock

Inle’s perimeter roads are the perfect place for a leisurely bike ride. Whatever you imagine you would see in a rural setting, you are
guaranteed a sighting.

Villagers carrying what looks like a hundred pounds of reeds on their heads.

Monks in pink robes, on their way to one of the many monasteries in the area.

Ox-drawn carts, some of them used in transporting their cargo from the outer villages into the inner town.

And also a pleasant surprise, a winery perched on a little hill, about 6Km outside of Nyaung Shwe.Red Mountain Vineyards has been producing wine in the region for nearly a decade. The grapes are imported from Europe, and they carry everything from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, and even Muscat and Syrah.

Lunch On The Waterfront

We continued onward from the winery, reached our designated lunch stop…the “floating” village of Maing Thauk, one of 17 villages that sit literally on the lake. The buildings actually sit on stilts, and to reach most of them requires a canoe transport. Picture Venice, and you’ve got the idea.

We reached the end of the 500 meter walking bridge, and then had to leave our bikes. It was a short canoe ride the rest of the way to reach the restaurant, which sits 100% on stilts!

On this short ride, we got our first glimpse of the trademark single-leg rowing technique of Inle’s native Intha people.

The technique of standing on the stern while wrapping the foot around the oar is thought to give the arms a break from the long journeys across the lake, while also offering a better vantage point for spotting fish and navigating the tangles of water hyacinth in the area.

Video of this technique in action:

After a hearty lunch of vegetable noodle soup and an avocado salad(there lots of avocadoes here in Myanmar), we were off to finish out our biking adventure.

Whatever Floats Your Boat(And Bike)

Three hours of sunlight remained in our day, and as it has been customary on our ever evolving journey throughout SE Asia, a crossroads presented itself: We could turn around and ride back the 11Km we’ve already covered, or we could join four other restaurant patrons with bikes on a ferry across to the opposite end of the lake.

Jo made the call with her trademark battle cry of “Let’s do this!”

While brief at thirty minutes, the ride across the lake gave us pause. It took a lot of courage to come here to Myanmar. We overcame lots of bias that the media tried to put in our minds over the years

There were lots of hoops to jump through such as spending a day to get a visa, and also managing cash since the country does not have credit card or ATM infrastructure.

The reward for persistence and determination was clear. We were seeing Burma with our own eyes as it was and as it might never be again.

The doors of tourism here are being thrown wide open, and the days of quiet country trips such as this would soon be replaced by a frenzy of tourist buses and the like flooding every nook and cranny of the country.

This pause for reflection, and the realization of how priceless the moment was when juxtaposed with the mundane world of cubicles and power-struggle manager meetings we left behind, further reinforced our conviction in our decision to seize the opportunity to see the world.

We arrived at the West side of the lake without issue. We paid the boatman our 1300Kyat fare each, thanking him “Che zu din bah de!” in our best attempts at Burmese, and were on our way to ride the remaining 11Km back to Nyaung Shwe.

The Home Stretch

As we rode back along the lake, I noticed that it was harder to pedal my bike. Looking down revealed the culprit…a flat rear tire.

We continued for another 2Km and passed through a nearby village where a volleyball game was in progress. Thankfully, one of the spectators was able to direct us to the home of a friend across the street who had a pump.

After filling the tire, we resumed our journey with more vigor, unsure of how long we had before I would lose all the air again.

On the way home, we saw more glimpses of local life:

A man fishing one of the canals, presumably for dinner, while villagers and a monk look on.

Water buffalo resting on one of the levees to wind down before another day chomping at the bit in the morning.

A motorbike gas station, where fuel is sold by the liter bottle, and transferred to the tank by means of the gas can and siphon tube
hanging on the left of the rack.

We were so glad to have made it home before sunset, and celebrated a hard day’s ride with a calorie-replenishing meal of grilled tilapia and two vegetarian noodle bowls at one of the street vendors in the night market. At 2000Kyat(about $2.50) for the dinner, the meal was more than filling for us.

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Myanmar-Burma Visa In One Day

marvin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:48 +0000

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” –Jack Kerouac

We successfully executed our Laos visa run earlier in January, and crossed back into Thailand over land via the Friendship Bridge.

Visa running is a necessary part of long-term travel as your permission to stay in any country is limited by that country’s immigration laws. For a quick reference for each country, the Visa Book is an excellent resource.

As far as visa-on-arrival goes, Thailand has differing limits based on how you enter the country: 30 days(for US Citizens) if entering by air transport, 15 days for all other modes of transport.

So why did we go through the exercise of running to Laos, only to renew our visa for two weeks? Simple. We only planned to stay in Thailand a short time to meet up with my mother who was visiting Bangkok for the first time.

We decided that as soon as our 15 day Thai visa expired, we would move onward and spend three weeks in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Myanmar does not have a provision for visa-on-arrival, so you must apply for a visa at the embassy. At present, the easiest(and least expensive) air routing to Myanmar’s capital city of Yangon is via Bangkok.

And it gets better…Bangkok also happens to be the best place to get your visa for Myanmar. If you are short on time, you can always hire a travel agent to take care of your visa for you.

On the other hand, it’s so simple to do it yourself that you might as well save that agent’s commission for some street food adventures when you get to Myanmar!

The fastest way to get a Myanmar visa in Bangkok:

Where To Go

The Embassy of the Union of Myanmar is walking distance from the Surasak BTS Skytrain station as you can see here:

View Larger Map

When To Go

The Myanmar Embassy visa section is open Mon-Fri. Be early. If you need your visa the same day, be earlier than you think you need to be!

The word on the forums is that the embassy only issues about 45 same day visas each day, and after they are all issued you will have to come back the next day or apply for the standard two business days to get your visa. The office opens at 9AM, but the line starts forming as early as 6:30AM during peak travel season.

What To Bring

Completed visa application form
2 passport photos
1 photocopy of the photo page of your passport
1260 baht for same-day issuance(or 830 baht for standard two-day service)

Not to worry if you didn’t have time to get your photos in order. Look immediately opposite the visa office entrance, and you will see a sign directing you 200 meters down to a service office.

When you see this yellow sign, turn into the driveway.

Enter this office, and you may request your passport photos to be taken and they will also have the visa application ready for you to complete. This way, you’ll have everything done by the time the visa office opens.

Getting Your Visa

Once you’ve got your things in order, simply wait in line until the doors open at 9:00AM. Again, BE EARLY. There were about 15 people ahead of us, but behind us the line was about 100 people by opening time.

When you enter the visa office, you’ll see three counters. Everyone must visit Counter 1, where your application will be spot-checked for any errors. If you’ve done everything right, you’ll be issued a service number.

The digital “now serving” sign has two columns. Look at the left column to see if your number has been called. The right column will indicate which counter(1-3) you will be served at.

When you are called up, have your money, visa application, and passport ready to submit to the visa officer. You read that right. You must leave your passport with them in order to receive a visa.

It’s not a big deal, and being a smart traveler you are already carrying a photocopy of your passport in your pocket anyway…aren’t you?

You’ll be given a receipt for your payment, and sent on your way. DO NOT lose the receipt. You’ll need to have it when you come back to get your passport.

The Final Step

Passport return time is 3:30PM-4:30PM. This is true whether you are coming back the same day, or two days later for standard service.

Unlike the beginning, the passport issuance process is done on a first-come first-served basis, and no service numbers are issued. Again, if you are in a hurry…show up early!

The visibly(and audibly) upset Canadian woman who got in the wrong line at visa issuance prompted us to make an important note for you: If you did 2-day service, wait in the line at Counter 1. If you did same-day issuance, wait in the line at Counter 2. This should help you finish the process smoothly.

When you get to the head of the line, collect your passport, smile and say thank you very much.

Congratulations…you’ve got a 28-day visa for Myanmar!

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credits: photo

Intriguing And Satisfying Yangon

marvin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:06:25 +0000

We are on the road again after 15 days in Bangkok. The time pressure of visa expirations tends to keep life interesting. It’s like ambling down a river in raft, the current moving you along at a steady clip as you look ahead to navigate around the bends and obstacles in your path.

This post will be short and contain few images, as internet access is quite limited here in Myanmar.

While we’ve only been in Myanmar for two days, our experience so far has delighted us and intrigued us at the same time.

For one, our hotel in Yangon features one of the best breakfast spreads of all the budget accommodations in our 8 months of travel. At the White House Hotel, it is all you can eat, flavorful, and healthy. Aung Poon and his wife cook up an incredibly satisfying meal made from scratch, including fresh fruits, omelettes, vegetable stir-frys, banana fritters, and homemade jams.

Yangon is an eclectic mix of old and new, and a melting pot of Indo-Chinese mixed in with native hill tribes. You’ll find all kinds of food here, from South Indian chapatis and thosays to Chinese traditional dishes and even dim sum.

Street merchants sell their wares, including the requisite designer knock-offs. Something we haven’t seen elsewhere: every corner has at least one vendor who has tapped a nearby telephone pole with some alligator clips to sell phone calls at 50 Kyat/minute (about 6 cents).

Many sidewalks in the downtown area are in decay, as if the city had just been hit by an earthquake. Yet the streets of Yangon bustle every day with people. It reminded of us of Kuala Lumpur. “Same-same…but different!”. The melting pot of Indian, Chinese, and native Bamars and other tribes mimics KL’s mix of Indian, Chinese, and native Malays.

The difference is that there has been much less Western influence here, though that is changing fast. 90% of the people still don traditional dress, particularly the sarong-like longyi. Better make it here fast if you’d like to have a glimpse of one of the few places in SE Asia that have succeeded in preserving much of their fashion heritage.

Speaking of heritage, old habits die hard, and Yangon proves it. Despite a government ban on it, betel nut chewing abounds here, evidenced by the blood red colored spittle that litters many of Yangon’s downtown street corners. Every corner downtown has a merchant selling it, and chewing betel nut is the norm rather than the exception.

Every other car here is a vintage Toyota or Nissan, surplus relics older than I am, imported from Japan. In a country that hasn’t yet figured out what “keeping up with the Joneses” means, reliability trumps aesthetics when it comes to cars.

As the dawn of a new age of tourism opens in Myanmar, look for a mix of ancient, old, and the new here in Yangon. Ancient payas and temples, juxtaposed with colonial shophouses from the times of British occupation, and intertwined with newer construction as an influx of tourism attracts more foreign investment in construction of hotels and apartment buildings.

We’re only getting started, and our first impressions of Myanmar are fantastic. We’re so fortunate to personally experience the welcoming and friendly nature of its people, and we’ve never felt safer in all our travels in Asia. While a lot about this country misunderstood by us in the West, we hope to gain a better understanding of the magnificent and mysterious Mynmar.

As we continue our travels, look out for our next update that describes the simple process we followed last week in obtaining a visa to enter Myanmar.

Vang Vieng, Laos – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

marvin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:23:24 +0000

Center of the town of Vang Vieng, Laos

After our Thai-Laos visa run, we stayed in the capital city of Vientiane for two days to re-energize and plan our next move within Laos. We knew we wanted to visit Luang Prabang in the North, but it was a matter of deciding whether to do it all in one shot…or to break it up by visiting the “pit stop” of Laos…Vang Vieng.

Known in traveling circles as a backpackers playground, we sifted through forums and blogs to encounter stories of adolescent drunken revelry, along with illicit drugs, and bad food.

But for every bad story about Vang Vieng, we heard equally good stories about the place as well. So ultimately, we decided to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.

The town of Vang Vieng lies just over 200Km north of Vientiane. It takes roughly 3-4 hours to reach it by bus…and while that may sound relatively short, you’re actually ready to get off the bus after two hours.

Laos roads are poorly maintained, and the road fatigue gets to you quickly. We’re talking potholes combined with alternating paved and dirt sections the entire way.

Travelers Note: The word on the street is that many of Laos’ roads are impassable during the monsoon season. If your travel schedule has you in Laos during that time(July-November), you might reconsider overland travel. Many travel guides recommend river travel as an alternative, so that’s saying something about the roads conditions(or lack thereof) during these periods.

The Good

The surrounding area of Vang Vieng is what truly puts the town on the map. The limestone karsts and the clear water of the Nam Song river combined with the agricultural landscape and undeveloped country roads provide a stunning backdrop that we totally fell in love with.

This was our backyard view from our bungalow.

We planned to stay here for just two days, and ended up staying for five. It was not a difficult decision. Traveling can be a challenging job, and any chance we get we squeeze in some down time to recharge ourselves.

Our home for five days. Did not need air conditioning, as Vang Vieng is cool in December.

If you enjoy outdoor pursuits, Vang Vieng really can’t be beat. Options abound from kayaking, mountain-biking, hiking, rock-climbing, and there’s even hot air ballooning!

A hot air balloon over Vang Vieng

Self-guided touring really is the best way to experience Vang Vieng. There are plenty of maps available(here’s an excellent one), and you can rent a bicycle or even a motorbike to cover ground faster if necessary.

This pasture was just a five-minute walk from our bungalow

If you’re on a tight schedule, there are plenty of tour operators in the main town who can organize one or more activities throughout your day, including transport.

Longtail boats for hire by the hour

One of many spectacular sunsets we saw during our time in Vang Vieng

One of the best experiences we had was trekking up Pha Ngeun. It’s an hour walking from town to reach the trail entrance(HN-170 on the map), and then another hour to hike to the top.

Marvin finds a great seat atop Pha Ngeun in Vang Vieng, Los

From the top, you can see panoramic views of the valley, including some of the Hmong villages that lie along the road that circles some of the taller limestone karsts in the area.

The Bad

The main town of Vang Vieng doesn’t really have much to offer in the way of culture. What you will find here is a motley crew of combination restaurant/bar/guesthouse establishments that cater to a younger tourist crowd.

The menus will feature some Thai and Laos cuisines for those inclined to have a taste of the local flavor. But the main offering will be pizza, smoothies, burgers, and sandwiches. For what you will pay, the quality leaves something to be desired. And that goes even for the local cuisine!

And it’s true what the guidebooks say…most of the eateries have a widescreen TV playing reruns of Friends and The Family Guy all day long. We’ve seen some patrons sit there all day long from breakfast until dinner just veg’ing out on TV!

The Ugly

If you decide to have your evening meal in the town center after 7:30PM you will tend to see Vang Vieng at its worst.

This is about the time when all the younger folks are just getting back from tubing on the Nam Song river. Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls…but load them up with a few buckets of whiskey and beer, and maybe a shroom or two…well, you know what happens next.

Your dinner conversation will likely be drowned out by half-naked youngsters running up and down the street screaming for no reason other than they’ve temporarily lost their minds.

There was not a single night that Jo and I didn’t see a young woman being “fireman” carried down the street to her room because she could no longer stand up straight.

We even witnessed a couple of girls totally shirk on paying for their meal at a restaurant. They laughed hysterically while kowtowing to the owner pleading that they didn’t have any cash(which they didn’t, as they had clearly spent it all on booze while floating down the river.

Vang Vieng is known for its tubing. What you might not know is that every year at least a few deaths occur in Vang Vieng. The river is very shallow, and Darwin’s law holds true as many an overconfident tuber dives into the river to their death.

No one died during our visit to Vang Vieng, but we really felt bad on seeing an injury almost every day we were there. Needless to say, we passed on the tubing completely, opting instead for more tranquil pursuits.

More images of the tubing can be found on Johnny’s site here. A call to action for visitors to be more responsible during their visit to Vang Vieng was issued by Nomadic Matt as well.

We’ve already left Laos. We planned to stay only a short time as Mom was visiting for the first time in Bangkok and we volunteered to be her tour guide for a few days.

We re-entered Thailand over land, which means we only got a 15-day entry visa. That visa expires this Monday. In our next post, we’ll reveal the next country we’ll be visiting. Stay tuned.

More photos of our visit to Vang Vieng HERE.