The Beginning

Thanks to the remote work opportunities offered by Yumasoft, I decided to give this lifestyle a try. In May 2022, I purchased a van, an Opel Vivaro. Over the next 8 months, in my spare time, I transformed it into a campervan. The conversion itself was an adventure, requiring a significant amount of work, the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, and patience. The end result brought me great satisfaction and faith in my own abilities. In early January 2023, I set off on my journey.

The Route

I began my journey in Wrocław (Poland) and headed straight for Spain. I wanted to escape the cold and rainy weather as quickly as possible. In less than 4 days, I reached the French-Spanish border, and since then, the sun accompanied me for (almost) the entire six-month journey.

The plan was to travel around the Iberian Peninsula along the coast. And this plan almost succeeded. Almost, because to my surprise, in May, northern Spain was still chilly and rainy. I avoided the interior simply because it was much colder there than on the coast. You can see the route of my journey on the map.

The return journey, from the Spanish-French border to Wrocław, was also without many stops, except for a few days visiting friends in Brussels.

At the beginning of June, after traveling 10,000 kilometers on wheels and (luckily the last) 500 kilometers on a tow truck, I reached Wrocław.

Life in the Campervan

I equipped the campervan to be self-sufficient. That means I have a toilet on board, water tanks, and a solar panel providing electrical power. This allows me to avoid using campgrounds. Out of approximately 150 nights, I spent maybe 15 in campgrounds. This not only saved me a lot of money but, more importantly, allowed me to “live” in beautiful places: on beaches, cliffs, in pine forests, by lakes, rivers, and in the mountains. Although there were times when I slept in a supermarket parking lot or in the city center. I mainly found “wild” spots using the Park4Night app, which is popular among vanlifers, enabling me to meet like-minded people and chat with them around a campfire.

Life in the campervan is simple but not easy. It’s simple in a way, similar to life in the countryside: without haste, distractions, in peace, in contact with nature and its rhythm. It’s not easy because it lacks the conveniences we’re accustomed to: the amount of water in the tank is limited, as is the gas in the bottle, space is limited, and you have to search for a new place to stay almost every day, as well as places to refill clean water, empty dirty water, and the toilet every few days.

The combination of advantages, apparent disadvantages, and remote work provides flexibility and freedom, which is the essence of this lifestyle. You can plan your trips as you see fit, at your own pace, adapting to your work schedule and personal preferences.

Working in the Campervan

Working in the campervan is not simple and not easy! The limited space rules out having a comfortable chair, a large desk, or two additional monitors. It’s definitely less comfortable than at home or in an office. 

Just like working from home, working from a campervan requires self-discipline and good organization. Additionally, the beautiful changing view outside the window doesn’t help. You have to cultivate the mindset that it’s not a vacation; it’s a privilege to be able to work in such places. Despite these challenges, work provides additional satisfaction because it enables us to lead this kind of lifestyle.

Regarding the internet, in each country I purchased a local SIM card with mobile data. Usually, the coverage was good. When it was poor or nonexistent, I had to move a few kilometers or change plans altogether. Fortunately, this happened rarely. An alternative solution would be Starlink, but it’s very expensive.

Reflections

Living on the road allows you to feel the call of adventure, a thrill of excitement, step out of your comfort zone, and get to know yourself better. However, long-term travel like this isn’t for everyone. Therefore, it’s best to rent a campervan for a week first and see if it suits you. I sincerely recommend giving it a try.

Life in a campervan as a digital nomad has far more advantages than disadvantages. Besides work, traveling allows you to discover new cultures, flavors, and traditions. Meeting local residents and fellow travelers from all over Europe becomes a way to broaden your horizons and understand the diversity of the world. It’s a lifestyle that promotes a minimalist approach to material possessions and paying attention to what truly matters.

The post Half a year in a campervan in Spain and Portugal appeared first on Yumasoft.

At Yumasoft, we leverage remote work. It allows people who cooperate with us to freely travel if they’d like to. Everyone can choose to live in a place they feel comfortable. Especially in current times, when pandemic has changed a lot in terms of remote work. Let’s make a good use of it ?

Bali, Indonesia

This is my top of the places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia. Bali was one of the first remote workers spots in the world. It combines Western amenities with magical Balinese culture.

In Bali, you can easily find nice cafés suitable for working with laptop. The Internet on the island is not the fastest in the world, but usually stable and good enough for video calls. There are also plenty of coworking spaces. One of them is Hubud, probably the most popular cowork and digital nomads community in the world.

Bali offers a great value for money ? For similar amount of money you’d spend in Europe, you can live here on a much higher lever than back home. In the same time, you can find most of the European products in local supermarkets. The same applies for cafés and restaurants – if you are fed up with local food (which is great, by the way!), you can easily find Western dishes.

Another great thing about living in Bali is that you basically live in nature. Independently of a place in Bali you choose to stay in, you will be surrounded with palms, rice fields and waterfalls. From almost every corner in Bali, you can see one of its volcanoes. In an hour drive you can reach seaside or mountains. Bali also has really nice beaches in its south part of Uluwatu.

Last but not least, Bali has a relatively mild tropical climate, as for this part of Asia. While there are crazily hot summers in Thailand or north of Indonesia with 40+ Celsius degrees, you can still find nice, chilly places in Bali. For me, this is very important, as I can’t stand scorching weather for longer periods ?

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is another sentimental place for me. I visited this city in the north of Thailand twice, and I always felt great there.

Similarly to Bali, you can easily find many fancy cafés and coworking spaces in Chiang Mai. Going out to work with laptop is never a problem ?

There’s a quite big digital nomads community in Chiang Mai with many events happening. The Internet is fast (around 30MB/s should be a minimum) and stable.

Modern, condo-style, swimming-pool-equipped apartments are easy to find and affordable.

In terms of location, Chiang Mai is close to mountains. In 1-1.5 hours scooter drive north of CM, you can reach the mountainous parts with chilly weather and nice waterfalls. From Chiang May you can also find cheap flights to Bangkok or the southern part of the country with beautiful islands – more on that below ?

Da Nang, Vietnam

From all places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia, Da Nang was one of the most surprising for me. It’s not as “european” and fancy as Bali or Chiang Mai, but is has something to it.

What distinguished Da Nang from other cities I visited in SE Asia is coffee ? There are plenty of cafés where you can have a really cheap and delicious Vietnamese coffee. I will never forget the taste of coconut coffee ? I would visit Da Nang again just for it! Of course, while drinking it you can comfortably work with your laptop at nice cafés.

Apart from coffee, Da Nang also unites quite a lot of nomads (not like Bali or CM, but still). What’s nice about the city is one of the best city beaches I’ve ever seen and sea access. There’s also a nice promenade along the sea for running, if you’re into sports ?

Islands in the South of Thailand

Thailand somehow always comes back to me ? It must have been mentioned twice in this article!

While I love Chiang Mai and the northern, chilly climate of Thailand, islands in the south are hard to beat. Crystal clear water, awesome beaches, tasty food and nice local people are one of the things I will always appreciate south of Thailand for.

The most popular Thai islands for expatriates and digital nomads are Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Lanta and Ko Chang. There are a looot more, but just check them out in Google and tell me you are still not sure these islands are good places to live?! ?

What’s important is that on the islands I listed, you have easy access to Western products and food. This is important if you don’t want to completely switch to Thai food, which is not the healthiest on the planet in the long run ?

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

If you prefer more of a big city life, Kuala Lumpur should be on your list. The city is an international hub in SE Asia. It really has this international vibe.

There are also many digital nomads living in the capital of Malaysia. You can easily tell that based on the number of coworking spaces available there. What’s interesting, few of them offer a free 1-day trial, so you can check them out before deciding to buy a monthly pass.

Kuala Lumpur is also famous for its food ? You can find restaurants and dishes from all over the world in Malaysian capital. It’s a heaven if you like Indian food – I especially recommend to check Pelita food chain. Oh, I need to get back there one day!

Another nice thing about Kuala Lumpur is that you can find reasonably-priced condo-style apartments, similar to the ones in Thailand.

The location of the Malaysian capital is also great. It allows you to fly cheaply to Malaysian islands or Penang with its great capital of Georgetown. From Kuala Lumpur, you can also easily visit Singapore, which is connected to the south of Malaysia with a bridge. It’s even reachable by bus from Kuala Lumpur.

Summary

That’s it for my top 5 places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia. Would you add something to this list? If you’ve never been to SE Asia, which of those places would you choose? ?

The post Top 5 Places for Digital Nomads in Southeast Asia appeared first on Yumasoft.