Take The Path Less Ordinary

There’s a saying that goes - When life gives you lemon, make one helluva lemonade.


And we did.


In Dec 21, 2007, Ashoka Changemaker emailed us to inform that OO has been nominated for the 2008 Geotourism Challenge, and it’s…A-ma-zing. The recognition hits the spot: We’re beginning to feel human again and the world indeed has a heart.


One of our past guests Karen Ackland, wrote this in her support for our nomination:


“We were in a wooden boat heading out to ocean to see an aqua-farm. My husband and I were sitting under a canopy with a woven plastic tarp over our legs. Because of the slanting rain, neither the canopy nor tarp was keeping us dry. When we got to the aqua-farm and I saw that I had to walk out across a series of bobbing planks, my vision of myself as a good traveler took a soggy nose dive. I’d contacted Casey Ng, founder of Outskirt Outreach, a month earlier when the opportunity for a trip to Malaysia came up. Based on our interests—orchids, hiking, good food, and tribal villages—Casey helped us put together a trip that got us into the countryside. We found him to be an exceptional guide. His enthusiasm and knowledge about local flora, rural communities, and Malaysian history provided a glimpse into a country we’d known little about. I did walk out on the aqua-farm, tightly gripping Casey’s hand. We waited until it got dark and then motored slowly back up the river and watched the fireflies along the banks. It was exactly what I’d wanted.”

As the euphoria now coursing deliciously through our veins, we reminded ourselves that OO is pitted against mammoth organizations that deal with multi-million dollar annual budgets. We are not going to dream about tweaking their ankles, much less rubbing shoulders with them, but our little presence goes a long way in telling the world one need not be big to make a difference.

Small timers like OO have fans too.

It’s nice to know there are caring organizations like Ashoka Changemakers (even the name sounds nice) to help the tourism industry to evolve into something that has some moral fibre, and most importantly backbone. It’s about time people realise that travelling means more than postcard scenes and sipping Pina Colada under a palm tree.

It’s also about touching lives.

Read OO’s nomination entry.