Reflecting on my journey
๐ข๐ธ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ญ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐ช๐ป๐ธ๐พ๐ท๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ผ ๐ช๐ต๐๐ช๐๐ผ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ท ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐พ๐น ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ ๐ธ๐๐ท โ๐๐ฑ๐โ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ป๐ช๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ต. ๐ ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ท๐ฎ๐ญ in this post that ๐ ๐๐ธ๐พ๐ต๐ญ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป ๐พ๐ท๐ญ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ท๐ฝ ๐๐ช๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ช๐ท๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ๐ฏ๐พ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ป ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ๐น๐ต๐ฎ
https://peakd.com/travel/@macchiata/the-why-of-travel
I defined that four years ago after being fed-up with the way I was moving around but after recognizing why I โtravelโ and willing to swap a comfort with much more stable environment for something unpredictable has become a compass to guide me when I feel a little lost and questioning myself. In the end, through these journey, not only do I understand different ways of living but I am discovering myself in it too. This post isnโt just about a reflection what Iโve been doing working and living from Bangkok for a month but you can also find helpful tips and cool places to check out.
First of all, I want to tell you the way I see traveling. I know, the word traveling itself is associate with luxury but itโs not always the case. For example, a person close to me said that itโs only something this person do with disposable income and itโs not something this person would do constantly. In my defense, living and traveling are two different things. Itโs definitely by choice but for me, traveling is to live like locals as close as possible. Itโs commuting with them, learning their language, eating their food, attending what they call โ entertainmentโ, and many more things that locals do. However, I recognize that there are some hidden costs associated with this life or rather, lifestyle.
Can anyone be like this? sure, as long as you have the willingness and actually want to live this kind of lifestyle. It might not be for everyone though. People have priorities but they always make things happen for something that truly matters to them and for me, this is my life. It what matters to me and I am going to find ways to continue living this way ;)
I talked about comfort level in my previous posts and if youโre okay with living like locals and have the bare necessities to survive, youโre set even in between jobs. I have meet people in between jobs who traveled through SEA. They saved up enough to live there for some years and finally made it came true. But the thing, these days online jobs are everywhere and there are many ways to make money passively and as long as youโre willing to do what it takes to achieve the dream, you can do it. These people inspire me as itโs quite interesting that theyโre saving up first before wandering around and not worry about jobs while wandering.
On the flip side of the coin, people said itโs nice that I can earn while wandering but at the same time, my time is divided between many things and itโs not that easy. While they were not thinking about jobs but rather where to go next, I am thinking how I get things done while keeping everything together and not tempted to go out. It all depends on the environment but when I was in Bangkok, I have to say my productivity has decreased quite a lot. Only once I was back home, I get more work done than when I was there.
For the first few weeks there, I wasnโt working from a quiet place and only at the end of my stay there, I ended up working from the library which boost my productivity. Another problem was, when I was in Bangkok, I felt very uninspired and my creative level was at its lowest. I often experience days where I had nothing to say but during those process, I was untangling problems that bothered me for quite sometime.
Itโs not that I am feeling uncomfortable talking about money. I love money, I mean, who doesnโt? but constantly stressing about it, surrounded by people who stress about money despite them having money, it is what makes it feel uncomfortable. It has affected me quite a while and I felt like I was getting caught up in their scarcity mindset. Sometimes I like to do things for free just because; I believe in the idea of paying it forward and living isnโt always about taking but also giving away something that we can afford to give.
I mean, you do you, right?
After untangling those knots, (love this term by @selfhelp4trolls), I felt rejuvenated and feeling way better. I was once more attuned to who I was and what I believed in. I learned my lesson and when I was in Bangkok, I met people who opened up my eyes about abundance mindset and them facing challenges to survive in this unfair world. Their story was moving, difficult, but also inspiring and I admire these people. Safe to say, I can call them friends now :).
Sorry for the long-winded reflections, I am sure youโd love to hear the golden nuggets on how to live reasonably in Bangkok and how much it would cost to survive a month in Bangkok as a digital nomad.
Dissecting Cost of Living as Digital Nomad in Bangkok
You can customize these costs as your needs but Iโll give you my reasoning why I chose these instead the social-media version of digital nomad life.
Accommodation
If you decide to live in Bangkok, areas that you live in MATTER. It will determine how youโre commuting, the overall vibe of the space, the atmosphere, and also the distance from other attractions, cafe, co-working spaces and things that are happening in the city.
My suggestions would be choosing a place very close to BTS or MRT. However, Iโd prefer MRT because theyโre cheaper and has direct line to Train Station and also easier way to get to the Airport link. Theyโre better connected to the rest of the city and especially around the interesting sites in Bangkok. My recommendation area would be, upper Sukhumvit, din daeng, ratchada street, Phaya Tai (soi Ai), Saphan Kwai, Phahon Yothin, Lat Phrao.
The monthly rental can fit 2 and they can start from $600/month in a simple condo and it can go until $1000/month in these areas. Thatโs Airbnb price which is often way too expensive even for me. I spent $266/30 days in a shared space, hostel/hotel with free breakfast, daily cleaning, common areas, and TV lounge. The price of private room in that place was the same as condominium with a very spacious room, daily cleaning and same service as the shared space but they have mini fridge inside the room and more amenities than the hostel one.
Even for me, I stay in hostels where itโs not too social and often the people there are also fellow digital nomads. The only difference is that some live on the hostel/shared space and some other lived on the private rooms. The great thing about my space was that I get to socialize and getting to know locals and also foreigners who are interested to learn about Thai culture much less โtouristโ.
Transportation
In Bangkok, transportation is relative. If youโre not going to bother commuting with public transportation, itโs going to be quite expensive. But if youโre willing to use MRT, BTS, it can be a bit cheaper as a solo traveler. Another alternative is Grab but do it at your own risk and know the risks. If you share the car cost with 2 other people, itโs much more reasonable to do it with grab or indriver.
In Bangkok, I would also recommend using Indriver and Bolt as they are cheaper than grab. But for a month, you can budget $50 for transportation of mixed ways of commuting.
Co-working space
Where to work is an important of digital nomad life. I mean you can work anywhere but ideally any comfortable place. For example, I used to work from Library and itโs for free. I use a portable wifi and doesnโt rely on public wifi especially for security reasons as well. Working from cafe is an option and there are many places to do so in Bangkok. I havenโt checked any co-working as I find libraries and cafe way more convenient when I was there.
Internet
Itโs all about preference but I was using True move H instead DTAC. So, I am only familiar with True Move H prices. They have unlimited internet and speed based internet. You can choose 1MBPS to 4 MBPS. They also have 5 G available and what I spent in a month was around $50
Food
This is all too relative as bangkok is another foodie haven. I typically budget 200 Baht/day for a meal. Itโs around $181/month and my coffee expenses is $135/month. But there are days when I eat 400-600 Baht but they are considered as my lifestyle and traveling budget which is something Iโd discuss in another note.
Since weโre talking about local food, you can get by with 200 Baht/day if youโre eating in a humble place and considering one meal is average 50 Baht.
Food and coffee in total would be $308/month.
Lifestyle
Itโs very customized but I only go out once or twice/week. There are many free places in bangkok that you can check out but if youโre going to a bar and full night out, expect to $15/day. That is the same with going around to temple and sight-seeing places. Usually I can spend less than that but my lifestyle and going out budget was only $100/month.
Moving around + Visa Cost
Another thing about being a digital nomad or remote worker is that you probably get in the country with a tourist visa as there arenโt really digital nomad visa just yet. Thailand is a great hub with many flights to Indochina and its neighboring countries. So if your visa expires, you can go to countries around either by land or air. But you can also extend the tourist visa for 1900 Baht around $54-ish at the immigration. Or you can also check out Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur and other neighboring countries. By Land itโs always cheaper but like my DN (digital nomad) friend I met, he preferred flight because he has to work right away. Average flight to neighboring countries are starting from $90 without checked baggage. Then once you reach another country depending on the passport, you might need/might not need visa but all these moving around cost me $150 once a month. It's all included from transportation and immigration/border hassles.
Misc
As usual, there are often extra expenses and unexpected ones. I would recommend to also have 2-3 times emergency money as the cost of flight back home. Travel with insurance as well and little knick-knacks can cost as well. As these add up,it's the reason why I also budget $200/month for these expenses.
Rounding everything up!
A 30-day in bangkok cost around $1174 with food and coffee being the most expensive budget. You can definitely customize these as perhaps you donโt have expensive coffee habits like I do :โD and considering the price for DN in Bangkok is $1405/month, I saved up only $231 haha. Itโs not my best price yet but I am sure once I am back there again, I can do a lot cheaper than that.
There are also important things that you have to note when coming to Bangkok. Itโs about how money and fees work over there.
Remittance Rip-off
Donโt make the same mistake as I do especially when youโre trying to live there long-term. If you have crypto cards, thatโs even better. But never ever try to send money to Thai bank account through remittance service. It costs an arm and leg. The problem with me was that I didnโt travel with any crypto cards, itโs already difficult to find a company that serviced people from my country. So, my best bet was only relying on fiat and debit cards. Another problem with this is that, youโd lose 220 Baht each withdrawal + the fees that your bank is charging you.
Thankfully, as Thailand is part of Asean, they are working on an integrated payment system. But there are also challenges that comes with is such as not all vendors accept that integrated payment. I only know one place and one cafe in Bangkok that accepts QR code which to be fair, makes payment a whole lot easier and cheaper as well. I wish I had known this place earlier because the cost of coffee would have been the same as back home.
Super rich is your best bet when it comes to exchanging money. HOWEVER, make sure the money is in a good condition, crisps, and itโs not an old crumpled bank notes. If youโre from neighboring countries, they might have Peso, IDR, Ringgit or Singapore Dollar but itโs definitely best to also bring $ as itโs more convenient to exchange money. (but psst, I donโt I was just withdrawing money from ATM) which ended up costing me a lot more.
If you have any questions let me know in the comment section!
Itโs not fair to compare Bangkok with places like Bali but itโs fair to compare them to places like Jakarta, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur, and even Singapore. Compared to the others, Bangkok is really value for money. Itโs a great city to live in if you enjoy fast-paced live, urban living, a melting pot, and also cultural exhibitions that are scattered all around the city. There are many free parks all around where you can enjoy and a lot more varieties and endless entertainment. There are also a lot more varieties and even living cheaply can get you far in this capital of Thailand. Now, I know why people love visiting the city because I can see myself living a few years in suburb of Bangkok with the option to go around once in a while. I had a good and bad experiences there but itโs fair to all of the places I have been to.
I know, perhaps the weather and the air quality might be a concern to some but as someone who likes to stay indoor and enjoys solitude in a comfy room, it wasnโt much of a concern. There are days when it was hot but I signed up for it and enjoyed it. To end this trip, Iโd also like to extend my gratitude to @nathen007, thank you for answering my questions and curiosity :).
Lessons along the way
But usually this kind of post isnโt complete without some of my lessons I learned a long the way. Itโs been such an interesting opportunity for me and a rare one. Looking back, everything felt like a dream and there I was, for the first time ever, enjoyed being myself. I also learn some of these nuggets!
ยท I learned to be less secretive about myself. Perhaps youโve seen some of selfies with my friends around.
ยท Being yourself is less of a chore and a great filter too.
ยท I tend to attract all sorts of people and itโs okay to distance myself a little bit more from those that are potentially toxic.
ยท Stick-on-a-damn-budget.
ยท Not everyone has this kind of chance and life and I am forever grateful for it. I should be saying more gratitude.
ยท Learn to say yes instead a no, What worse could happen?
ยท I am more open to experiences as opposed to before.
ยท Also, for the first time ever, I tried relying on friends and close family. It is always hard to but I eventually say the scary sentences, โ I need helpโ.
ยท Travel with multiple cards, 2 is apparently not enough. Not when your wallet is magically disappearing haha. And the other bank is such a chore to contact.
Cool Places and things to do in Bangkok
https://peakd.com/hive-152524/@macchiata/roaming-for-roasts-sunrise-cafe-review
https://peakd.com/hive-196308/@macchiata/shop-like-local-in-union-mall-lat-phrao-thailand
https://peakd.com/hive-163772/@macchiata/-best-party-street-in-bangkok-soi-sukhumvit-11
https://peakd.com/hive-155530/@macchiata/asiatique-waterfront-wednesday-walk-photography-blog
My first 45 days in Bangkok. This was the first time I was there and I learned my lesson from this and applied it to my recent 30 days in Bangkok. I've come a long way from this to the current me :D
https://peakd.com/hive-196233/@macchiata/a-wandering-tale-rant-forty-five-days-of-thailand
I hope to go back to Bangkok soon.... See you in my next wandering !
 | ๐๐ข๐ค ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง-๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ซ๐ข & ๐ค๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ถ๐ณ . ๐ ๐ต๐บ๐ฑ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ, ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ค๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ! ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ท๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ. ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ-๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ. |
Thank you and youre always welcome.
I think you got it all worked out here much, much faster than I ever did :-)
This is also a fabulous and insightful post and should stand as wonderful resource for anyone visiting Thailand.
You're not going to forget this trip in a hurry and I look forward to you 'coming home'.
You take care and enjoy your holiday ;-)
๐ hehehe I learned so much while I was there but I also want to explore southern and northern parts of Thailand when I come back. I hope it's going to be soon, it's hot season in Indonesia and the beaches are waiting. I'd love to comeback around hot season there and celebrate songkran in Laos again ๐