Navigating Digital Nomadism

After spending five weeks in Koh Lanta, we were not eager to leave behind our little island life. As someone who has always liked to travel and see new places and have new experiences, as I've gotten older, I really really appreciate slower travel. Our situation is obviously different than for someone who is just traveling long-term since we are also working remotely. 

We adapted quite quickly to waking at the same time every day, having coffee on the balcony, going to the gym after work, cooking dinner, working Monday-Friday, and then relaxing on the weekend, just in a postcard-worthy location! These are all things that aren't necessarily possible when on the move all of the time.

Some mornings consisted of working from the balcony.

Even when going about your routine as a foreigner in any country, it's all still pretty new and exciting anyways. I was surprised to find that the routine itself was the exciting part. My typical daily commute in Lanta was either a short scooter ride or walking along the beach at sunset. We had a couple of local bars and restaurants we liked visiting that the workers began recognizing us at.

We spent the majority of our time there at a very cool co-working space called Kohub that we just loved. I had a favorite desk and break time area, I knew where everything was, and even I reached a point where I had some new friends to stop and have a chat with at the water cooler. It was like the best office setup ever but minus the stress and office politics.

Another great thing about Kohub was that weekly events were organized to make it easy to meet other “kohubbers.”

Sunrise at Kohub

We normally chose to sit inside in the AC. (:

We've both decided that from now on, we'll stay in places for a month at a time at a minimum. Though it's possible to focus and get work done in a ferry terminal, airport, minivan, or train with a reliable wifi connection (or hotspot in most cases), it's just nicer to do it at a desk! As someone who is pretty new to this whole digital nomad thing, I can say that it is quite difficult to strike the right balance between earning an income, growing it, and experiencing the new places you're in. We definitely don't have it all figured out yet, but we are learning a lot along the way!