Koh Samui - Reception only at the Reception
We spent two weeks in a lovely bungalow on the island of Koh Samui, really getting into the working mode. We were prepared to use these weeks for getting our plans for the coming year together, and that we did! Now we have a much better shared idea of our company, where we want to go and how to get there. Plans regarding our travels however we wanted to leave open for now.
Our plan includes the the development of our “mobile office” and all the tools that go with it. The quest for securing a good internet connection anywhere we go is part of that. We need a fast and reliable network connection that enables us to stay online for the whole working day, and for example to have a smooth two-hour video conference to Europe. Well, that turned out to be too much to ask for this time.
The first prepaid sim cards (by True) we got already at the airport. They didn't mention anything about 3G so we went on to get new ones from a local store. The prepaid 3G mobile plan we got (by Dtac) seemed good on paper but wasn't very useful without a 3G network to go with it. The free wifi at the resort on the other hand meant hours spent at the open-air lobby of the resort, fighting for the unstable shared connection with all the other guests while being targeted by mosquitoes. In the end we got yet another pair of prepaid plans (by AIS) after we figured how to use the phone to scan for the available 3G networks. These worked a bit better and we started to actually get some work done. Skype calls were still too much for our connection though. So, our quest continues.
Since we happened to be on Samui around the time of the Full Moon Party we decided to check it out. The party was on the neighboring island of Koh Pha Ngan and drew tens of thousands of people to welcome the almost full moon. Although we might have had a slight prejudice of the happening being a kind of get-yourself-wasted-in-any-way-you-can-and-be-silly-event, it ended up being quite much fun, dancing in the moonlight on the beach with huge sound systems and sampling a couple of those infamous buckets.
In addition to the work and party (well, the one) we took some time to play tourists as well. We rented a scooter and toured local sights for half-a-day and spent another one on a boat trip to the Ang Thong Marine Park. Rest of the days our schedules were somewhat filled with work. We did take an extended lunch break on most of the days to visit the nearby, touristic beach town Chaweng. This schedule seemed to work well for us, working 3-4 hours in the morning, then having a longer break to relax and then working for 4-5 hours more, not forgetting a daily dip in the swimming pool at some point. Routine established.
We are Mirje and Antti, a 30+ digital nomad couple, entrepreneurs with restless feet and passion for experiencing the world. more »
