Ask HN: Your tips on working getaways across the globe
As the work only requires a laptop and an internet connection, I'm pretty much free to do it from anywhere in the world. My idea is to make trips (1-3 months) to great places with low living costs.
I'm sure other people here have been in a similar situation. Any good experiences or recommendations for global work getaways? Somewhere inexpensive, enjoyable, with fairly reliable internet connections. To me, finding a good place to stay is the hardest part. Hotels and 2-month stays don't really mix.
(My original plan was to go to Guilin in China for two months this fall. I calculated that the savings in living consts would roughly cover the plane ticket during that stay. Unfortunately, the plan got cancelled due to an ill-timed health issue. I still want to go there, but not in January.)
10 comments
[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 33.5 ms ] threadI was at the island of Koh Samui for 9 days in April 2008 working and attending a conference and lived in a bungalow village. Food was cheap and excellent, stable but DSL-slow (0.5Mbit?) wifi, and the very good accomodation was not too expensive. People are friendly, and I never felt worried about my safety. I could definitely see myself returning to Thailand and working there for a while.
One of my sisters has travelled extensively in the region, visiting places in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Kambodja over a time-span of 8 weeks. Her favorite is Vietnam since it is a bit less exploited by tourism, and is also a bit cheaper, while still having very friendly people.
Lombok is a laid-back, easy-going beach paradise right next to Bali. It's pretty much like Bali without tonnes of tourists.
You can get really cheap flights to Bali (since so many people go there). Going from Bali to Lombok takes less than a day by bus/taxi and ferry. I ended up near Senggigi, Lombok by coincidence last summer and ended up staying there for weeks. I halfway plan to do what you're doing once and that's probably where I would go. :-)
You will probably not find super-fast Internet connections outside of cities/tourist destinations, but unless you often need to download gigabytes of data that shouldn't be a problem.
Super-fast connections are not a requirement. I've been perfectly happy with my phone's slow gprs connection before. It's just important to have a connection.
Another thing: It's really easy to pick up some Indonesian phrases since the language is quite simple to pronounce and has a really simple grammar. The language does not have the concept of tones that other south-east Asian languages (Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese...) have, so even if the pronunciation is a bit off, people will understand you. It was really nice being able to use some polite phrases in Indonesian after just a few days – even if using English was no problem. :-)
If that's the same for you, then you could go to cities with great access to nature, like Yogjakarta, Indonesia, Cebu, Philippines, Hanoi, Vietnam...
On the inexpensive side: you cannot get much cheaper than Vietnam. Philippines and Indonesia while still cheap are more expensive.
I would also recommend not to stay in a hotel but to look for an apartment. I found a good apartment in 2 days in Hanoi (there's a good website for expats), it might be harder in smaller cities.
Of course, nothing limits you to Southeast Asia :-)
Remember the expat website's url? A quick googling doesn't bring up any clear winner.
http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/
Your laptop will run smooth here. Internet connection varies from Kbps to Mbps - depends on how much you would spend. Delicious Nepali food (Daal, Bhat), guest loving culture and friendly people. What else would you look for ?