Prologue
Let’s start from the beginning. I was in eleventh, maybe twelfth, standard when I discovered thinktravelliftgrow.com. That was when I came across the concept of digital nomadism. I was astonished how Jeremy could travel the world at the age of 18 while working out of a laptop.
All I wanted now was to pursue a similar path but I guess it was too early. I was just 16 and was part of the Indian society which tried its best to make me an engineer. It did succeed and I went on to pursue computer science engineering.
During my second year at university, I got obsessed with a new technology called Flutter. It was so fun, I learnt it almost effortlessly. Luckily, this obsession landed me a job at an American startup at a young age of 19. The job not only paid well, but was also location independent. I could work from anywhere in the world!
Well, this was my chance to walk on Jeremy’s path of digital nomadism. I had an income source, no responsibilities and I was old enough to make my own decisions. There was one problem though — I was scared and lazy!
Travelling alone isn’t a small endeavor. You need to plan a lot, be ready for the uncertain and let go of your comforts. And at that point, I wasn’t ready for such a big leap. So, I didn’t think much about it and moved on.
In 2021, I got a chance to travel to Goa and Dubai. Now even though these were family trips (super comfy), they helped shape my perspective towards travelling. I could now see myself flying to a far-off land and working on a beach. The leap got somewhat smaller.
I fought all the fears, made up my mind, and booked the flight to Bangkok!
The chilled nomad
As much as I love the idea of a nomadic lifestyle, I just cannot adopt it. I cannot live out of a backpack, roaming from place to place. Instead, I like to go to a single city and stay there for a long time. I do things at my own pace and intentionally try to do less.
There’s a good reason behind this too. My idea of nomadism is more about immersing yourself in the new culture and lifestyle rather than just seeing it from a distance. It’s about living like a local and forming a sense of belonging. This immersion takes time and is not possible if we keep moving to new places.
Serendipity also plays a big part to make an immersive experience possible. By planning less and letting things just happen, you can have experiences that you wouldn’t imagine otherwise. Don’t fill up all your days with activities and leave some space for serendipity to kick in and drive your trip.
Nineteen of my twenty days in Bangkok, I woke up without any plans for the day and let my mood decide what to do. This way, I was able to have unique experiences that were not part of the ‘plan’. I celebrated Christmas at a local church, had the most peaceful New Year’s Eve at a Buddhist temple and made some great friends who took me clubbing.
Planning a working holiday
Planning a working holiday is relatively simple. You just need to have the basics figured out:
- A dedicated working space — hotel room / apartment, cafes or co-working spaces
- Access to reliable internet
- Food, groceries and other day-to-day needs
Once these are taken care of, you find yourself spending most of your weekdays working. There’s not much room left for other activities, so you plan accordingly.
Bangkok is one of the best cities to work remotely. You can find condos with world class amenities at dirt cheap prices. There’s a wide network of 7-11’s and you can find one around every other corner. It’s pretty easy to find nice cafes that offer free Wi-Fi as well. Additionally, you can purchase a 5G sim card for internet on the go (Unlimited data for 30 days @ 600 THB). So as far as work is concerned, you cannot go wrong with Bangkok.
I researched some condos on Airbnb and found Ideo O2 complex. It’s one hell of a place with everything you could ask for! The differentiating factor for me was the co-working space. I used it all the time to get some work done.
After the work was sorted, I planned my trip by filling the weekends with full day activities and dedicated weekdays to explore new restaurants, cafes, malls, or anything that could be covered in a few hours. Couldn’t have made a better decision as some of these places were outstanding! You’ll see further in the article.
Here’s the vague itinerary that I created:
Obviously, most of these activities did not go as planned, but that’s all for good. Having this list helped me quickly decide what to do without thinking too much.
Money
Another important aspect of planning a trip is money. I made a loose budget of 150K INR and successfully finished the trip without exceeding it.
I researched a bit to find the best currency conversion rate and bought 20K THB (~50K INR) cash. I had some 300 USD (~24K INR) lying around the house, so took that as a backup. For the rest of the expenses and as my primary mode of transaction, I used the Niyo Global Card.
Niyo is a wonderful card that allows me to store my money in INR and spend in 100+ currencies without any charges. Additionally, I get complimentary lounge access which I used at the Delhi airport.
At the airport
I’m sharing the airport experience because it was special for me. My cousin Tamish and I are very close and he was moving to Canada. I decided to schedule my flight close to his so that we could spend those last few hours together. Cost me a little extra (34K instead of 21K INR) but I was able to book the flight at just an hour’s difference!
We started the journey from Chandigarh in Shatabdi Express. The train ride was light and easy because we traveled with practically zero luggage. All the luggage was sent separately in a car.
At Delhi airport, our families saw us off and we went inside. It wasn’t this simple though — we cried, all of us! Afterall, it would be a long time before we see Tamish again.
Anyways, we went inside and helped each other with the check-in. The queues were annoyingly long and we were dead by the time we completed immigration and security check.
Next step, find food! We found the newly opened Encalm lounge and could finally eat and relax for some time.
It was the final hour. We waited for the flight call. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I do remember the stream of emotions that ran through my body.
I was dejected from the moment I got to know that Tamish was leaving. We had spent our entire childhood together, had went to school together. Even though we lived in different cities now; even though we barely saw each other, barely talked to each other; him taking the decision of moving to Canada alone felt like a betrayal.
“I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.” — Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Scheduling the flight close to his gave me that moment. It gave me the opportunity to say a proper goodbye. Maybe that’s why, in the final hour, all my complaints vanished. I accepted his decision. I let Tamish go.
We hugged and I boarded my flight.
Thai Airways vs Air India
Time for some flight review! I traveled to Bangkok on Thai Airways and came back to Delhi on Air India. Now that I have experienced both of them, I can compare them side-by-side.
Ambience
Basically, look and feel inside the cabin. Hands down, Thai Airways wins this category! The cabin was clean and well maintained. The moment I entered inside, it felt cozy and comforting.
Air India’s aircraft was similar, but the cabin quality wasn’t that great. Some of the screens were dysfunctional, seats had stains, etc. Though these minor things rarely matter to me, it’s the feel I look for. If something feels nice, it’s a win for me. Sadly, Air India’s cabin wasn’t up to the mark :(
Food
Food on Thai Airways was almost inedible. I got some sort of gravy with rice in the main course, which I couldn’t eat another spoon of. Had to survive on the sides which were decent. I could eat that puff with sunflower butter to some extent; desert was also fine. Fruits were outstanding though!
Air India served Idli-Sambhar with Vermicelli Upma and I got worried (not a fan of South Indian food). But surprisingly, it was so good! Taste and freshness was on point.
To complete the meal, Mango Doi was served as desert. It was one of the most delicious deserts I had ever tasted (not exaggerating). They were generous enough to give me another serving :)
Breakfast on my return flight was a fulfilling meal that energized me for the rest of the day. Win for Air India!
Service
Not a lot to share about the service. It was a four hour long flight, so I couldn’t demand much from the staff. But I did feel the Air India staff to be on the friendlier side. They were polite and helpful. Felt a tinge of arrogance in Thai Airways cabin crew. Nothing specific, it’s just the vibe I got from the little interactions I had with them. Maybe it’s just me. But anyhow, the point goes to Air India!
First day in BKK
“Pehli baar… ek hi baar aata hai” — Amitabh Bachchan, English Vinglish
First day is special. You see everything with fresh eyes. The people, their gestures, the shops and their signboards, the cats, the ambient sounds, the fragrance in the air, everything is different.
I landed in Bangkok early in the morning. I purchased my True-H sim card and setup the Grab app to book taxi. Reached my apartment in about 30 minutes.
After sleeping for a couple of hours, it was time to figure this place out! I unpacked my bags and arranged the stuff in my new home. Then, I went outside to explore the neighborhood.
The first place I went to was Chao Doi cafe which was right across the road.
This became my go-to cafe and I went there on many mornings after a good walk or gym session.
I was still hungry, so I wandered around in search of food. There was this cute Dhaba right next to the cafe but I felt like puking just seeing its menu. It was filled with various animals’ meat.
I figured that there’s McDonald’s and other restaurants in The Coast complex.
I walked there only to get disappointed again. No veg options, and nobody understands English. Took me 10 minutes only to order french fries.
Now I knew this was coming. I knew there’s going to be food and language problem. But experiencing it firsthand made me realize that it’s not as small a problem as it sounds. It makes the most trivial tasks annoyingly hard.
I especially realized this when I went for grocery shopping in the 7-11 that evening. Everything was written in Thai and the staff didn’t know a word of English. They didn’t understand the most basic words like bread, butter and fruits. This was mind bending for me!
I opened the Google Translate camera and hovered over every product. Struggled for 45 minutes, grabbed whatever I could figure out and then I quit. It was so mentally exhausting!
Last chore of the day was to purchase the BTS card (BTS is Bangkok’s metro).
After that, I was free. I relaxed the rest of my evening and explored the complex.
Ended the day by playing Billiards with some guys from Myanmar :) More on this later.
A ride to remember
I booked a cycle tour from Airbnb that promises to show you the less touristy, authentic side of Bangkok. And sure it delivered the promise! It was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip.
Before the ride
The meeting point was around an hour and a half away via public transport (BTS + bus). I kept a two hour margin and went to the BTS station. Found a cute little cafe right below the station, so naturally, I went inside to grab a smoothie.
I took the BTS to Siam Center from where I needed to take the bus for Suksanari School (I still remember all the names XD). Made the classic beginner mistake and took the bus that went in the opposite direction. Realized this only after 10 stations when the conductor asked me for the ticket. Guess I was too busy enjoying the cityscape from the window.
I was on the other end of the city, and had no time left to waste. So I immediately booked a Grab and asked my guide if he could wait for me. He was nice enough to delay the tour by 15 minutes. Still, I would barely reach on time. Just hoped to not find the infamous Bangkok traffic that day.
There was one good thing about all of this though. I saw the entire city, from Terminal 21 to Tsai Eatery, all in one day!
I saw bits of Lumphini Park and the car went through the middle of Chinatown!
The tour would start at 1:15 PM and I reached the destination at 1:08 PM. At least I thought I reached! Somehow that taxi driver dropped me off at 800m from the meeting point. Great, now I had to cover 800m in seven minutes. I opened Google Maps and started running!
It was enjoyable as hell as I navigated my way through the suburbs. Made there just in time, I was panting heavily when I saw my guide and other tourists.