Monthly Archives: August 2012

Vayable’s Newsworthy Week

Posted on by under Community

Vayable received some great press this week. The week started off with Business Insider’s article, This Startup Cuts the Time it Takes To Plan A Vacation From 30 Hours To 5 Minutes, which followed up last week’s article The 15 Startups Everyone is Talking About in Silicon Valley Right Now. The articles share that it usually takes 30 hours to plan a trip. Vayable shortens that process to 5 minutes by handling the “nitty gritty details of having a good time while traveling.” A soulful hotel room can be booked in five minutes. Why shouldn’t booking an authentic travel experience by that easy?

Business Insider also shared some lesser known tidbits about Vayable. Did you know we started out as a blog? Jamie used her experience abroad to plan her friend’s trips. She started a blog to share these experiences, which eventually turned into the concept for Vayable. Another interesting fact: the average tour guide makes $130 for a three-hour trip. That’s a decent sum for something you might be doing anyway.

Business Insider also asked Jamie about her experience with Y Combinator. Speaking which, today was Demo Day. This is the culminating day of the three month program. During Demo Day each startup has two minutes to pitch their concept and relevance to a room of investors, press and peers. We are honored to be listed on TechCrunch as The 10 Best Startups From Y Combinator’s S12 Demo Day.

The combination of great press and concluding Y Combinator on a high note make this a week worth celebrating at Vayable. Wait? It’s only Tuesday?

On Authenticity

Posted on by under Community, Explorer Perspectives, Vayable Experiences, Vayable Perspective

Whenever people ask us why they should take Vayable tours, we always talk about the idea of authenticity. Wikipedia defines authenticity as “the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.”

In the modern world “authenticity” can mean almost anything. It can mean identifying with “alternative” lifestyles and tastes; it can mean being effortlessly cool; it can mean being all natural without artificial flavors or packaging. Sometimes things trying hard to be “authentic” actually actually end up becoming laughably inauthentic. Things that mean anything actually end up meaning nothing.

To us, authenticity equates to a sense honesty - the things that people do in their daily lives, that they enjoy, when no one else is looking. Oftentimes, these are the things that are most telling, most beautiful. Take this royal cremation ceremony in Bali that our dear friend Michael was fortunate enough to participate in. From the chaotic ceremony itself to the onlookers quietly watching from the sides, you can see into the soul of the people and the culture.

We love seeing the eyes of professional tour guides light up when we explain the concept of Vayable. “You mean instead of the sights that everyone has in their list, I can show people what I like to do?” someone once said to me during a guide vouching interview. As travelers, we oftentimes don’t know what we want, and some of the best Vayable tours feature guides who do not compromise on what they show travelers because they know their city best.

When we go to a faraway place, we want to eat la comida típica, but much of the time restaurants that serve this type of food have huge placards on storefronts beckoning to tourists with their “authentic” fare. Every single time without fail, the low-key neighborhood haunt that’s been a local destination for generations will be much, much better. Explore the tapas scene in Barcelona with a local chef instead of going to some place with a flashy sign on La Rambla.

The tourism industry as a whole is really bad at figuring out what people want; take the prevalence of double-decker bus tours as evidence. So we challenge you to put your afternoon or day into the hands of someone else and trust them to show you their world. At most, you’ll have the time of your life. At the very least, you’ll gain a better understanding of the world around you.

On Becoming a Bold Biking Babe in Shanghai

Posted on by under Transformative Travel Experiences

Some may jump at the opportunity to weave through Shanghai streets on a bicycle. Prior to the summer of 2005, biking was a deal breaker, for anything, anywhere. I’d signed up for a summer experience in Shanghai. I’d envisioned living near campus, walking to my classes, drinking bubble tea with friends, all by foot or sky train. I was tricked, or just naive. Day one in Shanghai was spent navigating the city by bike, as was day two, three and thirty-three.

There was a time in my life when I liked biking just as much as any other kid in the neighborhood. Then I rode my friend’s mom’s bike down a gravel hill, flipped over the handle bars, hit my face on a rock, got a concussion and sprained my wrist. Any desire to cycle left me that day. I didn’t live in a neighborhood. I lived off of a highway that my mother prohibited us from riding anywhere near. I accepted my future as a bike-less one and never got back on the two-wheeled wonder.

Our first day on bikes we broke up into groups to explore the city and get oriented. I spent this day hoping that my wobbliness on the bike combined with my blurry tear-filled vision wouldn’t send me crashing into a street food cart. Re-learning how to ride a bike in Shanghai felt akin to learning how to drive in Mumbai, without a metal bubble of protection.

Since I was there for six weeks I had to keep hopping back on the bike day after day after day. The first week was terrible. The second week was less so. By the third week I’d forgotten I had a phobia of biking. By the fourth week I was an invincible, zipping, weaving, bell ringing, speed machine.

The day I made a left turn at a very yellow light on a road we’d entitled “The Widowmaker” because of its six lanes, I realized I’m not afraid anymore. As I weaved in and out of the oncoming traffic, I realized I’m more than not scared anymore, I’m bold.

“Hi There Stranger.” A New Mindset Towards New Faces

Posted on by under Columns, Transformative Travel Experiences

My dad is the kind of person who will start a conversation with anyone. He is socially fearless. He doesn’t initiate conversation for a particularly reason or means. He genuinely loves conversation and meeting people. Every person he sits next to on an airplane is a friend come landing. If Dad disappears on a family outing it’s probably because he’s deep in dialogue with someone he found along the way.

I wasn’t born this way. Not even remotely so. When we’d travel as a family, my dad would point out all the kids I could play with. I’d usually give him a look like I’d just smelled old fish and go back to reading my book. I liked to be by myself or with people I knew well. Shooting the breeze with a stranger was on par with going to the dentist or deep cleaning the bathroom.

Engaging with travelers while backpacking is a standard practice. So many travelers are either alone or with a partner they’re a little sick of and are dying for a fun couple days with new buddies. When I first started hosteling I was a little taken aback by the number of people who invited me on a tour or to dinner. I loved this! I didn’t have to navigate the awkward channels of starting the conversation. Eventually, I even worked my way up to being the inviter.

I didn’t truly believe strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet, until I met Alex. We met on an overnight bus from Krabi to Bangkok, in Thailand. We sat next to each other during the ride and from overhearing him talk to the attendant I’d gathered that he spoke English. I fully intended to ignore him for the 12-or-so hour ride, but the traveler in me kept poking at me and telling me to say “Hi.”

I made one comment about boarding the wrong bus. This turned into hours and hours of conversation. Not the forced, generic conversation I hated, but conversation about our travels, families and interests. Mostly, we laughed at each other’s awkward mishaps on the road. I felt like I was on a bus ride with a good friend - way more fun than 12 hours with my own thoughts.

After the bus ride and a day in Bangkok, Alex and I went our separate ways and have kept in sporadic touch since then. The moment I realized this stranger was a friend changed my perspective on meeting new people completely. I no longer interact with new people out of obligation. I strike up a conversation with a new face because my new friends await.

Experience the National Conventions!

Posted on by under Community, Vayable Experiences

Politicians won’t be the only big, bad cats on the block in Tampa, FL this August. The Big Cat Reserve lets visitors interact with big cats with their Keeper for a Day Tour. Does the high of a political convention make you regret forsaking your ambition to become a secret agent? You know it does. Would flying a fighter jet ease the pain of this regret? You know it would. If talking politics makes you want to rip your clothes off and run away to a nudist colony. You can try that too. Visitors to the Republican National Convention later this month can now book these experiences and many more on Vayable’s new Experience the RNC website and the Experience the DNC site, which curates unique experiences in Charlotte for the 2012 Democratic National Convention on September 3.

This year, Vayable is bringing its unique take on travel experiences to the National Conventions with the launch of ExperiencetheRNC.com and ExperiencetheDNC.com Vayable is working with local communities in Tampa and Charlotte to provide convention-goers with a deeper, richer way to engage in politics and local life.

Political engagement experiences
Charlotte visitors can connect with the environment with a Canopy zip-line tour meet with local leaders helping end homelessness, learn about a healthy lifestyle on the Preventive Obamacare Tour. In Tampa, FL visitors can release some steam on the Ladies Hog Hunting Tourand 2nd Amendment Tour or learn more about LGBTQ culture on the Gay Pride Tour.

Local life and culture experiences
Need an escape from days of political jabber? Tampa and Charlotte are rich with cultural experiences and outdoor adventure. Visitors in Charlotte, NC can expand their gastronomic horizons with one of Kristi’s fantastic food tours. Choose from the Brew and Chew Tour and the Uptown Chic Behind-the-Scenes tour or both! Kick back in gator country with Alligator Bob in Tampa. Explore the quirky, bohemian NoDa neighborhood at their monthly gallery crawl. Tour the layout and history of the Queen City with Paul, a Charlotte native and local government employee. Find inner peace with paddle boarding and yoga in Tampa. Spike adrenaline levels with an All Sport Pass to the US National Whitewater Center.

Facing a Fear of Failure on Annapurna Mountain in Nepal

Posted on by under Columns, Transformative Travel Experiences

Eight years finishing dead last during PE sprints taught me to avoid public displays of speed and agility. A sunrise hike in Lake Tahoe spent panting on the sidelines made me solemnly swear to myself and the rising sun that I would never hike again. I’d rather miss out on an experience than risk exposing my weaknesses.

I dreamed of trekking in the Himalayas long before I set foot in Nepal. Once I was there my heart longed for time spent in the sanctuary of nature. An adventure in the Himalayas meant more to me than any temple, museum or palace. The scars of wounded pride still gnawed at me and my habits of avoidance told me to skip the trek. But I couldn’t. This was the Himalayas. A once in a life time experience.

I hoped the hike would be easy. I hoped I wouldn’t lagged behind. I hoped I wouldn’t feel humiliated by my weakness. I’d spent the last two years exercising regularly and was much stronger than I’d been in Lake Tahoe or eighth grade. I’d tested the waters with hike in Bali the year before. I knew I was physically able to trek the Poon Hill Circuit in Annapurna, but I still feared my weakness.

I trekked slowly, really, really slowly. I climbed a stairway to heaven at the pace of a toddler. I thought the climb was the hardest part, but the descent was so much more challenging. Every joint in my body hurt on impact. I lamented about my aching bones to no end. My group had to stop and wait for me every few steps so that I wasn’t completely in the dust. If slow trekking were an Olympic sport, I’d bring home the gold.

Slow trekking may have hurt my body, but it didn’t hurt my pride. I got over being embarrassed on the first day. I was far more concerned with putting one foot in front of the other than anyone else’s judgements. I was proud of myself for every step I made through the pain. My soul was nourished by the beauty of my surroundings. I had my best friend with me and a great guide to pass the time with conversation and blubbering.

I didn’t dazzle anyone with my athletic prowess, but it didn’t matter. My outlook changed, that matters. I now know a strength in me that I didn’t know existed. I know that it doesn’t matter how slow I go, it’s showing up and doing the work that matters. I know there are so many scenarios in life that I won’t be the shining star or will look flat out stupid. I know avoiding these experiences altogether robs me of the chance to learn, grow and live life to it’s fullest.