I haven’t been inspired to write another blog post for over a month. I’ve been too preoccupied with other more pressing issues such as finding clients for my consulting business, applying for remote jobs online, getting on more podcasts, growing my network on LinkedIn, and partying with my friends in Pattaya.
I’m currently typing this from a coffee shop on the beach on a beautiful island off the coast of Thailand. It’s mostly empty right now and very peaceful. Yesterday, I was the only white foreigner sunbathing on the secluded white sandy Samae Beach. I’m staying here for another few nights and then going back to Pattaya for a yacht party with a few friends from Bangkok. On June 16th, I’m catching another boat from Pattaya to Hua Hin in route to Koh Samui to work with a few luxury hotels who need help with photography and influencer marketing. I didn’t get a chance to visit this famous island in Southern Thailand a few months ago after getting my scuba diving certification in Koh Tao. You can read the full blog post here.
I was renting a beautiful 4-bedroom luxury villa with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and large rooftop for 2 weeks with a few friends I met at a hostel in Bangkok — from Netherlands, New York City, and Philippines. I made this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity happen by contacting a dozen real estate agents via WhatsApp in the Pattaya area and spoke on the phone to a reputable trustworthy guy by the name of Mark; the head honcho of Pattaya Condos and Homes. He informed me about a 440 sq. meter villa property for rent near Jomtien Beach. The owner was looking for tenants to move in immediately due to the dry spell of business during the unfortunate COVID-19 crisis. It’s customary for the majority of property owners to require a minimum year-long contract, but they were willing to waive this particular signing clause due to the extenuating circumstances.
The next day I excitedly rode my motorbike the short distance from our townhouse to tour the sprawling villa located in the Palm Oasis neighborhood. It was an absolutely beautiful property — very clean, spacious, comfortable, with a detached garage, two rooftops, jacuzzi, and infinity pool. I had already picked out my room on the first floor with sliding doors opening to the pool. Perfect for a few laps every day as part of my morning ritual before breakfast, yoga, and getting to work. At this point the beaches were still closed, so having convenient access to a pool was a major highlight. Naturally, I didn’t quite live up to these lofty expectations with so many distractions, but we did throw some raging pool parties with lots of ladies on the weekends.
After some careful reasoning and salesmanship on my part, I was able to convince my budget-conscious roommates to sign the contract. We agreed to pay for 2 weeks up front at a 50% discount (roughly 50,000 Baht with refundable deposit) and then decide whether to extend until the end of the month. This was almost all the money I had at the time until the rest was relinquished from the stock market. However, I was going into the deal with an abundance mindset and confident everything would be alright. It worked out to be roughly the same price we were paying at a small townhouse renting at a weekly discount on Airbnb. It seemed like a total no-brainer. The beaches were still closed at the time and you could get fined 100,000 Baht (about $3,000) simply for setting foot on one. That doesn’t mean I didn’t walk on the beach anyway. You can read the blog post about it here. In the prophetic words of Elon Musk — “Give people back their goddamn freedom!”
It takes about 45 minutes by speedboat from the Pattaya Pier (only 30 Baht one-way) to arrive on the island of Koh Larn. I originally planned to visit the second largest island Koh Chang (“Elephant Island”) located in the Gulf of Thailand near the border of Cambodia. However, the mini-bus station office was closed until further notice, plus I was running short on time since the bus ride was about 4 hours to reach the town of Trat and then another 2 hours by boat to Koh Chang. After asking around a few places I eventually decided to catch a taxi to the Pattaya Pier. Still confident I made the right decision! I’ve been living abroad and working remotely in Thailand for just over 4 months now. You can read my previous blog post about why I decided to remain a US expat rather than return to my home country here.
I’m not coming back to the United States until Trump is no longer President and its brainwashed citizens get their proverbial shit together! Sorry, not sorry. I refuse to live in a country that is quickly becoming a fascist anarchistic police state ruled by a megalomaniac narcissistic pathological liar. I’m an independent who no longer supports either political party and will most likely not be voting this election year. The entire political system is rigged by the electoral college anyway. My vote doesn’t amount to a hill of beans since the nomination will automatically go to the Republican candidate, since Texas is a notoriously Red state that is not going to change it’s backward ways anytime soon.
Certain friends have criticizing me on Facebook for not returning to the US during violent protests and revolution in the streets. They pose the question, “How am I supposed to make a difference on topics ranging from systemic racism, police brutality, political corruption, environmental issues while living in another part of the world?” The reasoning is: If you truly love America, you will fight to defend it at all costs. I call Bullshit! This is counter-intuitive thinking if you’re a rebellious expat living abroad during the worst world pandemic in modern history. I haven’t gone to the lengths of renouncing my US citizenship and moving to Germany, but it has crossed my mind. Stand for something or fall for anything.
To the naysayers: I’m already inspiring people every single day by setting an example for fearless leadership and encouraging people not to be afraid to resume traveling when this world pandemic is over. They may takes our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom! As I sit here typing this article from outside my room at Chidlom Hotel overlooking the ocean on a beautiful view with a clear view of Pattaya in the distance; the US has over 2 million reported cases of Coronavirus while Thailand has just over 3,000 confirmed cases and 60 deaths. Why is this, you might ask? Many reasons, chief among them is the Thai government and health administration was smart enough to implement early detection methods to control spread of the virus from the very beginning; including temperature scans, wearing face masks, and evening curfews. Mind you, these impressively low numbers are without mandatory restrictive lockdowns issued by “big government” to excessively curb individual civil liberties. The Immigration Bureau also immediately limited foreign tourists from China and other contagious centers from entering Thailand. As an American citizen I can legally remain in Thailand until July 31st due to automatic visa extension measures enacted in May. This means I’m not required to go back to immigration in Bangkok and pay extra fees to extend my visa every month. You can only make one border run per year afaik which I already used up by crossing into Myanmar to get my passport renewal stamp in early May. You can read more about that crazy experience here.
As an entrepreneur, digital nomad, and “adventure capitalist” I’d much rather be living the dream on a paradise island getting a massage on the beach than living in the hood where homeless people camping in tents line the streets like wounded soldiers! That could easily be me were it not for the unconventional decisions I’ve made in the life. You can call it white privilege, dropping out of society, being part of the counterculture, or whatever you want. Labels are for jars. Actions always speak louder than words.
On a side note: I’m grateful to have finally received my unemployment benefits from the workforce commission. Perfect timing! This partially makes up for never getting my $1,200 stimulus check. Over 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment claims in the past 3 months. I qualify for unemployment benefits since I recently lost my job as an independent contractor for Airbnb since they temporarily shut down their referral program due to the travel restrictions and emergency aid.
I’m going to use these funds to continue following my passion by exploring Thailand for another month before going to Vietnam or Philippines! Guess how many reported COVID-19 deaths there are in Vietnam? Zero, zilch, nada, 0. Yes, you read that right. Everyone I talk to says it’s their favorite country in Southeast Asia and also very affordable for budget travelers. It’s a very common practice among foreigners to buy a motorcycle for about $200, ride around the entire country, and then sell it back at the border. I’m very excited to embark on The Ha Giang Loop; widely considered to be one of the most breathtaking motorbike adventures in Southeast Asia. You can read more about this motorbike tour on The Upbeat Path. You may also be interested in reading about my epic adventure along the Mae Hong Son Loop in Northern Thailand. This is an absolute must-do if you find yourself in Chiang Mai and have a free-spirited yearning for an 800+km expedition. I embarked on this journey by myself, but I highly recommend going with a friend or lover if you are looking for companionship.
Without further ado, I’m going to wrap up this lengthy blog post and go relax on a white sandy beach for the next few hours. Let me know if you have any questions about what it takes to be a digital nomad during these challenging times for the travel, hospitality, tourism, and influencer industry. I would be happy to help you! I recently launched my own consulting business helping digital entrepreneurs adapt to the remote work lifestyle. The digital nomad movement was already gaining exponential momentum before the Coronavirus world pandemic caught everyone unawares. Many forward-thinking tech companies are already encouraging their employees to work-from-home during the COVID-19 crisis and I’m confident that the transition to remote working from anywhere in the world will be even more compelling once the travel restrictions are lifted. You can learn more about the vision and schedule a free consultation call on my website at Be Remote Consulting.
I’ll leave you with a visionary quote by the late great Steve Jobs:
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. — Steve Jobs