As a retiree, I’m adopting this new lifestyle (starting last year where I posted a series of “Travel Logs” from my travel to Thailand #1, Bangkok Thailand #2, Angkor Wat and Siem Reap in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Phuket, Thailand, KL in Malaysia and two posts from Nepal: Pictures from Kathmandu and Pokhara and one on the culture of Nepal)
Here’s a very done video by a so-called digital nomad named Joose. He specializes in informative videos of his stays as a working digital nomad. Here’s one that is extremely well done; beautiful, colorful, exciting, informative and interesting. It’s worth a look at just 12 minutes:
Soon I will be traveling back to SE Asia for up to about 6 months. My plan is to go to Vietnam now that they offer a 3 month tourist visa and hang out in Da Nang, Hanoi, Dalat and maybe visit and stay at Nha Trang — featured in another post from Joose (just 10 minutes):
Stay tuned, you don’t know where Doug will go next!
Have fun in your Digital-Nomad travels. Back in my 20's, 30's and 40's I visited, along with many more countries/sites, all the places you mention in South East Asia. I was able to travel for 6-months at a time due to seasonal construction work in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteVietnam was probably the worse place I visited in the entirety of S.E. Asia - Money. money, money was all those people thought about. Here's a tip: find out the price of everything BEFORE you order/comsume it. I always did, but I saw many tourists getting ripped off during my six-week south-to-north visit to Vietnam back in 2004.
I've been traveling to SE Asia since 1997 and I've never been to Vietnam. It was sort of off my list. Over the years, I've encountered Vietnamese in Thailand and often had a negative experience. Only rarely do I have any negative interaction with Thai people. I've never met an arrogant Thai in my life. I've never been to the Philippines either. I'm not surprised about your comment that it's all about money to Vietnamese. It's that way in China too, but I stay away from there too. Money is their God.
DeleteSo, I'm going to give Vietnam a try. You can see from the video that it's pretty attractive physically with very economical prices. Yes, I am well aware of negotiating price ahead of time.
I'm seriously thinking of spending more time in Cambodia and possibly getting an annual visa for retirement. I'm feeling pretty sure to be able to get that. Then my conundrum is whether to sell my condo and car in Texas and disconnect from the US. But not yet. Stay tuned! Talk later!
I'd hold on to that condo until you are absolutely sure you want to cut your US ties for good. I'd even hold on to the car if you can store it in a friend or family member's garage for free. If you have to pay to store it I'd sell it.
ReplyDeleteI give this advice as an American who has lived the last 13 years in Europe. I didn't have a condo like you, but I paid to store a car for eight years until finally selling it. It was worth having for my yearly six-week American Southwest road trips until it wasn't.
My first trip to Asia was to Thailand in 1988. It was fantastic, my favourite country. Almost immediately upon arrival I got a job as an extra in a Hollywood Vietnam War movie. The job was fun and the pay was $50/day plus room & board, but back then I lived well in Thailand on $7/day.
I went back to Thailand in 1992 and again in 2003-2004. Each time the people were noticeably less friendly and the costs were noticeably higher. Still, I was glad to be there.
I liked Laos a lot, mostly for the people. By being landlocked - no beach - Laos had managed to remain Buddhist mellow - far less tourists had arrived to change it. But that was 20 years ago, I don't know what it is like today.
I was in southern China in 2004, in the Kunming area. The people I dealt with there were much better to be around than the Vietnamese: once, a woman ran down the street to give me back some money because I had accidentally overpaid for a meal. Another time at the end of a meal at a crowded restaurant, and not being certain of what I owed, I open my wallet for the waiter to take the right amount. The Chinese customers sitting next to my girlfriend and I watched and laughed as the waiter took the proper amount. This is something I would never do in Vietnam.
Happy travels.
P.S. I type this from Portugal. Another nice, friendly, affordable, place to retire to if you ever get sick of Asia.
Thanks for the great comment. Portugal sounds good. Yeah, I'll keep the condo and car. I think I'll end up traveling part-year and come to Texas for our cool holiday season and relatively mild winter in SE TX. I've worked abroad a number of times for up to 2 years and it’s easy just to lockup my unit, put lights on a timer, and lower the blinds. My car is in concrete garage, so it just gets dusty. It's a 2005 Camry, so keeping it makes sense. I pause my internet svc and my car insurance collision coverage.
DeleteIf Trump is cheated again or assassinated with civil unrest, I may change my mind about duration of travel. Until then, about 6 months abroad per year is probably realistic for me. Some time in Mexico might be part of my travel mix (in their low season.) Merida might be a peaceful stay for a couple of months.
If international war or nuclear threat develops into a crisis and/or some hot head comes to power in Russia, I might escape to Mexico. I can drive to the MX border in 6 hours and with one tank of gas. That's my bug out plan. Or I can get a flight easily to MX. There are plenty.
I've visited Laos also and it was a quiet place, like most of Cambodia. But I hear Chinese are coming there and also Cambodia. I'll be posting "Travel Logs" occasionally. Stay tuned and I wish you the best of luck in your journeys!
Over a three-year period (2008-2011) I spent, in 6 to 8-month increments , one year in Mexico. I speak decent Spanish and had a great time traveling all over the country.
ReplyDeleteMerida is better than average, but there isn't a beach, and the closest one, Progresso, has brown water. Over the years I spent several weeks in Merida but I never understood it's great appeal. Gorgeous beaches full of pretty young women in bikinis were so near, why stay in Merida? My go-to places were Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
Playa del Carmen, on the Caribbean, is built up and popular but it's still a much better place than Merida to hang for a few months. It is no longer the sleepy little fishing village that I remember from 1986 but, like Thailand and everywhere else that is nice, once it is "discovered" the tourist hoards arrive in droves. It's has changed a lot but it's still very enjoyable.
Even better than Playa del Carmen is Tulum. It's the town where I stayed longest while in Mexico. The beaches were powder-sugar white, the water was gorgeous blue, and there were Mayan ruins. There were also lots of attractive, friendly, European women to meet. It was fun and affordable, I made a lot of friends there. Also, back then, it was safe. Believe it or not, but only 14 years ago Quintana Roo state, had a murder rate, per capita, lower than Canada's.
Whatever you do DON"T live in Cancun.
After visiting Cancun once, I avoided the place like the plague; I only used the Cancun airport and took direct buses from there to Tulum or Playa del Carmen.
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I see that you worked in oil and gas.
Way back in 1979 I had my 19th birthday working on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. It's where I made my runnin' money to start my adult life.
Take care.
Point taken about Tulum and Playa Del Carmen. Like you, I've heard about the popularity of Merida. My idea about staying in Merida might only be in the winter season when it's not as hot and humid. I grew up near the swamps in Fort Lauderdale and I don't really care to sweat my b*lls off and get mosquito bit, and I would think Merida would be swampy-hot, but not in our winter months. And I don't think it's be overtouristed in winter like the coast. I'd give it a try at some point to test my theory. In the early 80's I was training as a drilling engineer offshore as part of a prolonged training program with Unocal. Within several months they put me and another young dude as drilling foreman on a rig in Mississipi where we worked 7 on, 7 off for about 6 months. It was challenging, but everyone agreed that me and the other guy did a great job. My next stop was as a gas plant engineer in Mobile, AL. Another good assignment. I learned a lot.
DeleteTake care of yourself. My email is above if you ever care to write. Take care of yourself. Let me know what you think of what I posted today.