In all of my traveling, dive bars have been one of the essential ways to get at the soul of a place. Here are what are in my opinion some of the very best in Chiang Mai.

Small House Kafe

Image credit: Small House Kafe Facebook page

On a quiet corner, up a small alley from Huay Kaew Road, sits Small House Kafe. With an atmosphere something halfway between a shabby residential living room and a cozy college dive, Small House is, in a word, comfortable. There is a long bar lined with traditional stools, where you can have a chat with an old friend or meet a new one. At the end of the bar is a group of worn couches, and outside a big open patio with a few dozen loosely arranged chairs and tables. A worn pool table sitting under the eave at the front of the bar is known for its idiosyncrasies – awkward size, ripped felt, a lean. Master it and you will be useless on any other, you can always start enhancing the payroll process.

Over the years I’ve become friends with Dao and Chris, the couple that own the bar, and have learned a history that put Small House’s palpable soul so much more into focus. As Dao explained to me, she started the bar herself in the early 2000s as a coffee shop. She sold far more beer than coffee and before too long it was just a bar, but the name stayed. Chris, an American born in California who moved to Chiang Mai age 14 due to his dad’s work, was just a patron. As he explained to me he eventually had the courage to ask Dao out. They’ve been married for over a decade now with a kid, and the bar is so much a reflection of them – the family dog lays around on the floor, photos and artifacts of their life, history and friends adorn every wall and surface.

Black Door

Photo credit: chiangmaicitylife.com

If Small House Kafe is my happy place, Black Door is my dark place. Black Door inhabits a simple storefront on a side street in the Santitham neighborhood, a somewhat seedy part of town known for, among other things, having a bunch of brothels catering to Thai men. With a small L-shaped bar and just a few scattered tables, Black Door is set up to be a social atmosphere, whether you are alone or with a group. Black Door’s owner, a 25 year old local with a very unplaceable English-like accent who goes by the name “Boy” will make you feel welcome from your first visit.

Black Door is also one of those places that all too regularly becomes a black hole. At midnight the metal awning comes down like an Irish lock-in and the atmosphere becomes far more communal – more private party than bar, but a private party that you know is there tempting you 7 nights a week. Some hours later you look at your watch under the dark red bordello-style lighting and it’s 4am, you realize that every single time Boy and the bar staff cheerfully offered that you “have a shot” you obliged, and you stumble out in a haze to take a Grab home – a perfectly walkable distance but not in this condition. Worse yet maybe your judgement is impaired enough that you direct the driver instead to Bada Boom (more on that later).

Oasis Rooftop Garden Bar

Photo credit: Facebook

Oasis Rooftop Garden bar, situated in the northeast corner of the old city, is a place I would never have discovered if not for my girlfriend, a native of Chiang Mai who’s been a regular patron for years. The first time I heard the name I expected some upscale nightclub atop a high-rise hotel. In a respect the name is a little misleading – while Oasis is a rooftop bar, it sits atop just a small, three-floor building. Walk up the (somewhat steep, treacherous – especially going on a few drinks) concrete steps and through a small archway and you are greeted by a large patio. The bar itself is quite small – maybe 4 or 5 stools. The majority of the space is taken up by chairs and couches. Oasis is homey, with an attentive and family-like Thai staff. Even though the building isn’t too tall, there is a beautiful view of Doi Suthep mountain, and it’s a wonderful place to watch the sunset with friends over a beer or cocktail.

Soldier Bar

Photo credit: Facebook

Step into Soldier Bar and you’ll feel you’ve stepped into a fever dream of Vietnam-era Southeast Asia. A few bamboo bar stools peek out at the street through palm branches and christmas lights in a storefront just a few meters wide. Other than that there is no indication that this place exists…because maybe it doesn’t? – Soldier Bar, as far as me or my friends have ever been able to tell, is actually the home of its owner and his roommates. In the bathroom you’ll find freshly-used toothbrushes and shampoo hung from the wall beside the bar of soap for the patrons.

Though on first impression the scene is foreboding – walls cluttered with photos and relics from the owner’s military career, inscrutable gazes from local patrons halfway through their third double Hong Thong or Sangsom whiskey – you’ll generally be treated well at Soldier Bar. The owner, styling himself unironically like Rambo (tank top, narrow bandana about the head) offers up cheap Changs, Leos and local whiskeys. Invest enough time and you might look up to find a double shot of Lao Khao (Thai moonshine of indeterminate strength, often coming from the hills around Chiang Mai) sitting in front of you, on the house. Soldier Bar tends to close early (around 11:30pm) but when it does Chill Out Bar (more on that further down) is a short jaunt away on foot and typically open a few more hours.

Bada Boom

“Nothing good ever happens at Bada Boom” – so goes the refrain. If you’ve made it to Bada Boom, you really should have gone home already. From the outside, Bada Boom is completely indistinguishable from the neighboring residential buildings in its corner of the old city near to Loi Kroh road. There is no sign. There is no crowd loitering out front, there is no indication of anything at all. Most significant of all, there is no noise – the building seems to be double-walled and completely sound-proofed.

That’s because within is the closest thing I have yet found in spirit to a prohibition-era speakeasy anywhere in the world. The space is nothing more than a small room, set up around a pool table. There is a small bar at one end, and a few booths and tables along the remaining 3 walls. I don’t know what the official hours are because I think there are none, but I do know I have come once at 1AM to find it still not yet opened. However, come around 2AM, give the knock, and you’ll find a surreal scene – ladyboys, veterans, hookers, backpackers trading stories or playing pool – a party that continues on until 10am the next day.

Chillout Bar

Chillout Bar, Chiang Mai

I don’t think any place I’ve been in the world so embodies the phrase “hole in the wall bar” as does Chillout Bar. Just off Mun Mueang Road (the road along the moat) in the Northeast corner of the Old City, this bar is literally a hatch cut out of the wall of a one-story building. There’s just a couple of stools and a couple of tables, and the owner, Jassadaporn, is there manning the place seven nights a week, sometimes to as late as 4am.

Chillout Bar is also noteworthy to me (and everybody I have ever brought) for another reason: it is, without question, the heaviest pour in Chiang Mai. By that I mean that if you order a gin and tonic, unless you demand otherwise, it will be poured at least 2/3rds gin – incomprehensible but true. The owner is friendly and the crowd diverse – you are as likely to find yourself seated beside a Thai lawyer or a local college student as beside a couple of old French retirees or young backpackers. If you find yourself in the old city, and especially if it’s past midnight and you’re not yet ready to call it a night, Chillout Bar it is always worth a stop.

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Great Access

I was coming to Da Nang from Rome, Italy and expected I would have to make a stopover in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City but this was not the case. An increasing number of airlines have flights into Da Nang International Airport (DAD) including Qatar, which I was flying, and that has direct service from Doha. Furthermore, a very striking thing to me was how convenient DAD airport is – it is only a maybe ~10 minutes’, few dollars’ drive from the beach neighborhood in which I was staying. Typically, when you have an airport so conveniently located, you also have a lot of airplane noise (cough, cough…Chiang Mai…). That is surprisingly not the case in Da Nang.

Vibe

One thing that you will immediately notice in Da Nang is that everything is under construction. I have traveled a lot in the developing world and am not sure I have encountered the level of construction anywhere that I encountered in Da Nang. If you’re sensitive to it, make flexible plans  (like a few nights’ non-committal hotel stay) so that you have the freedom to find yourself some place sufficiently peaceful (as I eventually did, with a great 26th floor condo that was pretty quiet). It does lend a certain mood to things, constantly walking past rubble, however I would also not let it keep you from coming – it is more just a peripheral/background sensation that gives a certain tone to the place.

The View out over My An/My Khe Beach from my Da Nang apartment

On the advice of my friend Steve I eventually settled in the My An neighborhood. This neighborhood runs right up to the beach (and indeed my apartment, though a bit set back, had a fantastic beach view) but is also full of good spots to go for coffee, drinks, etc. One thing to note about the beach is that, while it is right there, it unfortunately has a big, busy 4 lane road separating it from the buildings beside. If you have a fantasy of living right on the beach, walking from your door into the sand and going for swims, this is not exactly how it will be for you in Da Nang. Also, while I surf, and did see people go out surfing, at least in the area of My An where I was the break was not very nice – a mushy beach break, usually blown out by the wind very early.

Still, it is nice to have the option of the beach. Worth a mention is a fantastic little beach shack bar I stumbled on a few doors down from the (much more popular) Apocalypse Beach Club, called Danabeach Villas Bar. This bar, situated in a disused old bungalow-style hotel (which I heard was shut down because the land has been bought for development, so who knows how long the bar will be there unfortunately…) is a great place to watch sunsets, have a cheap pina colada or a beer, and make friends.

A sunset drink at Danabeach Villas Bar

Nightlife/Fun

While Da Nang is certainly very laid back compared to Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, there is still a nightlife and you can stay out all night if you want. Those who know me know that I gravitate to dive bars and craft beer places more than clubs, so that is mostly what I got to know in Da Nang. Particularly worth a mention are N Pub (very cheap expats’ bar in central My An), 7 Bridges (taproom for a Da Nang based craft brewer, very friendly staff and lots of interesting beers to try), Filling Station (another dive bar, but one that stays open until 4am vs. a standard 1am for most). Any discussion of the nightlife around My An would also not be complete without referencing Shamrock Sports Bar, a 24 hour Irish style sports bar. Even living the way that I do, I have apprehensions about such a thing (I am proud to say at least I never saw daybreak there…)

Value

How are prices  in Da Nang? By a western standard extremely affordable, and as far as more local comparisons, I would say maybe 35% cheaper than Ho Chi Minh City, which is already a place of good value for a western traveler. I put myself in a very nice Airbnb for around (high floor, ocean views) $38/night with no commitments or long-term discounts. My friends who were committed beyond a month were able to get nice, modern apartments near the beach in My An for around $350-$400/month, and I am sure even better value can be found if one looks into it enough. You can get a local meal like Com Ga (chicken rice) or Pho for 40k VND ($1.72) or less even in a nice neighborhood. A local beer is between 20k VND ($0.86) and 30k VND ($1.29) in most of the aforementioned pubs.

The Chiang Mai of Vietnam?

Here is something worth discussing: is Da Nang “the Chiang Mai of Vietnam”? A few weeks prior to showing up in the city (immediately before my trip to Rome) I had been in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a sort of epicenter for the digital nomad movement as well as an established retirement destination for western people of such age. There is some overlap certainly in the type of expat you find there – I in fact randomly crossed paths with at least four friends I had met in Chiang Mai. Foreigners have been, over the last couple of years, having a harder time staying long-term in Thailand because of reforms that are limiting how many times you can re-enter the country successively on tourist visas or visa exemptions. I gathered that a sort of rumor was going about that Da Nang is the Chiang Mai of Vietnam.

Furthermore there is an impression that while Thailand is tightening down on foreigners, Vietnam is opening up. Vietnam, for example, has for the last few years been offering a 1 year multi-entry tourist visa for Americans for something less than $200. While I was in Da Nang however, news came through the expat community that as of July 2020 Vietnam will actually be requiring foreigners on any type of tourist visa (including the 1 year multi-entry) to leave and re-enter the country every 30 days. Assuming that this policy goes into enforcement, it will actually make Vietnam arguably a less accommodating/welcoming place even than Thailand for the long-term traveler. So we should sit tight and see what happens here…

A “Saigon Black” coffee at a local cafe in My An, 17k VND or around $0.73 US

As for whether Da Nang is really the Chiang Mai of Vietnam, I would say that, while I can see why people might make that case (i.e. it is a smaller city, a bit removed from the major economic centers, with good value and a relaxed pace of life) I would also say that to me I don’t really agree. The vibe is just very, very different. In the same way that, naively, you might say “Ho Chi Minh City is the Bangkok of Vietnam”, it just couldn’t be more wrong when you’re on the ground. The soul of the places is not the same. I would peg Da Nang, if I am completely honest, as a bit more dull, a bit less livable. I could certainly see going back to relax, be by a beach, but I couldn’t really see making it a long-term home.

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For the last couple of years, I have been working remote. Initially from Berlin, then for an extended stretch from Eastern Europe. For the last 6 or so months I have been in Asia.

I had come to Saigon, Vietnam after several months in Bangkok. In Saigon I had struck up a chat at a local bar with another traveler, a student Brewmaster at Olds College, Alberta, Canada. This traveler, Mike, ended up becoming one of my better friends and more reliable companions on nights out in Saigon over the weeks that followed have you checked out these 3 online services?.

I had longstanding plans to meet up with an old friend from New York in Japan after my time in Saigon, but no idea where I was heading after. Mike strongly encouraged me to go to Taipei, and offered to intro me to a Taiwanese-American friend of his who had been living there the last 10 years and could show me around a bit technology for online payment.

It is this arbitrary sequence of events that found me, roughly two weeks later, landing at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport.

Settling In

Mike had recommended that I stay in the Ximen neighborhood, in Wanhua District on the western side of the city. Ximen is a very lively neighborhood. There are tons of hip cafes and bars, narrow alleys to get lost in with graffiti-covered walls. I managed to get a last-minute deal at a great hotel in Ximen called E-House for a bit less than $50/night for a queen room. In the last year I have split my time about 50/50 between hotels and Airbnbs, which is definitely a higher ratio of hotels than the prior year. When my plans are especially uncertain, the flexibility and assurances of a hotel (knowing that somebody will be present at the desk at whatever hour you check-in, the ability to change rooms in a pinch, daily cleaning) often make it worthwhile, especially given that I am working when traveling, and for shorter term stays the price difference often proves negligible.

Taipei has a really remarkable vibe, and everybody I met seemed to notice the same thing. Even though it is a big city, dense, with a ton going on, there is this remarkable calm about everything. There isn’t much horn-honking, there is plenty of space on the sidewalks, and I found people to be quite chill and friendly.

Taiwan, which officially calls itself the “Republic of China”, has a complicated history with the People’s Republic of China (i.e. Mainland China). Without going too deeply into it, the present government of Taiwan is actually the direct legacy of the Chinese Civil War, in that following the civil war and Communist Party’s assumption of control over mainland China, the opposing Nationalist Party retreated to and effectively established Taiwan as it is presently understood. All of this is to say that while the Taiwanese consider themselves very different from the contemporary mainland Chinese, a lot of Taiwanese culture is traditional Chinese culture, if that makes sense.

Infrastructure

One immediately impressive thing to me in Taipei was the quality of infrastructure. This should perhaps be unsurprising – Taiwan is a world leader in technology. Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics (maker of products including the iPhone, iPad and PlayStation) is a Taiwanese company (though with extensive production in mainland China). So too is Taiwan Semiconductor, the largest fabricator of semiconductors, which produces chips for the likes of AMD, Nvidia andQualcomm.

Some MRT stations have “courtesy umbrella” kiosks where you can take a free umbrella or pay-it-forward and leave one for a future commuter.

The high-tech tradition would seem to carry through to public infrastructure, which I found to be remarkably reliable. Train arrival times in the Taipei MRT  system are quoted to the second on screens in the stations. Even at rush hour I never found the trains to be uncomfortably overcrowded, and trips were typically around $0.30 – $0.50US each way. Admission and payment throughout the transit system is via EasyCard, which are cash cards you can buy in the stations or at convenience stores and load up with money.

Food

One of the biggest highlights for me in Taipei is the incredible food. I happened to be living near the famous Fuhong Beef Noodles shop, where at literally any hour of the day or night I could go and for less than $3 US have a huge, delicious and rich bowl of Beef Noodle Soup, a traditional dish.

You will eat a lot of Beef Noodle Soup.

Other fantastic food around the city includes dumplings (many varieties), Hot Pot (often all-you-can-eat), scallion pancakes, and various traditional Chinese dishes. The street food scene is also remarkably rich, with many night markets and scattered street food stalls scattered all throughout the city.

I spent a lot of days working out of Salon Cafe, Ximen, which had a friendly staff and relaxed vibe, with jazz music and lovingly prepared coffees.

Nightlife

I had some misconception, for reasons I can no longer trace, that Taipei was lacking in nightlife. After my time there I can affirm that this is definitely not the case. If your thing is craft beer there are many fantastic craft beer bars throughout the city (such as the Redpoint Brewing Taproom in the Da’an neighborhood, and Ximen Beer Bar, where I ended up many nights just as it was very near to my hotel). For cocktails, there are countless great options like the whimsical Hanko 60, where I ended up one night with friends, and a lower-key spot called Geography Bar, which always had welcoming staff and friendly clientele.

A whimsical cocktail at Hanko 60 speakeasy.

I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the club scene in Taipei, which is quite unlike anything I have seen in the world. Specifically, what sets Taipei apart from most other places I have been out clubbing is that many of the popular clubs in Taipei are all-you-can-drink. I am not really sure why they do this but it was remarkably common. For about $25 US cover you can have unlimited drinks at many clubs in the city.

Nature

Taipei’s Xinyi District is home to a beautiful hiking trail and lookout point known as Elephant Mountain. The day I hiked it happened to be a bit dreary, but the view out over nearby Taipei 101 and the city of Taipei was still stunning and very much worthwhile.

The view from Elephant Mountain. It happened to be a pretty overcast day when I went, but still a very striking view.

Though it isn’t so typically top-of-mind as a surfing destination, Taiwan is actually home to beautiful beaches and surfing spots. Waiao Beach, Yilan and Fulong Beach, Gongliao are both within an hour by car of central Taipei. If you are willing to venture further, you can find more rural beach towns such as South Bay, on the southern end of the island, which is situated within a National Park.

Conclusion

The weeks that preceded my time in Taipei were incredibly chaotic. Within 4 weeks I had crashed through Bangkok, Saigon, Seoul and Japan, before settling for about a month in Taipei. For a long-term traveler, I found Taipei to have a balance of pace, infrastructure quality, friendly people, incredible food, and value that is very hard to beat.

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1 month costs the same as 2 weeks

This was an observation my friend Steve made when we were in Asia last year and it’s proven reliably true for me. Typically to stay in a place for 1 month costs roughly the same as 2 weeks. This comes down to being able to pay month rates for things like accommodation (usually a 50% price break), transit passes or car/motorbike rentals, phone SIMs, and also cutting an additional day of travel (which is likely to cost several hundred dollars depending on where you’re going next).

Mobile internet has eliminated whole classes of tourist scams

I came to Europe after high school with a group of friends over a decade ago. We were subject to a handful of scams that are significantly harder to pull off now that you can get a local data plan for your phone in pretty much any country for ten bucks or less. Apps like Uber and its equivalents around the world have, I imagine, eliminated billions in dollars in taxi scam proceeds. Similarly, being able to spot-check exchange rates for a specific amount of currency makes it hard to get totally ripped off by a money changer (though you should only really use a money changer if you have no other option, like a proper ATM).

Making friends: easier and harder

It’s easier to strike up conversations in a place where simply hearing that someone is speaking your language is a pretext to break the ice. That said, when you’re living somewhere for just a few months, most friendships are transient. It’s mostly just the friends from travel-focused communities like Hacker Paradise that I’ve managed to reunite with reliably around the world.

Bummer though this can be, I also couldn’t help but notice how little I managed to see my friends even when I was back home in New York earlier this year. I find that when I’m in a fixed place for a long time, I tend to assume that I can always get together with friends “next week” and end up only seeing most of them very rarely as it is.

Some mundane things are an inordinate pain

Things like seeing dentists or certain medical specialists are doable, but usually a bigger pain than back in your home country (with the exception of a few places like Thailand, which has great dental and medical infrastructure that’s set up to a large extent specifically to accommodate English-speaking foreigners). Even simpler things like getting a good haircut can be a lot more challenging when you are on the road for a long time.

Similarly, setting up a new business bank account from abroad, at least for me as a US citizen, was impossible and I just had to wait to be back in the US (this is mostly thanks to the US Patriot Act and the rigorous “Know Your Customer” policies that often require an appearance at a local branch).

Thinking in timezones

Want to call your parents? Oh right, it’s 3 in the morning for them.

Want to have a conference call with a client? Better squeeze it into the 1 hour window where your work day overlaps with theirs (if you’re even so lucky to have that).

These sorts of things are never a problem when your work and most of your community are in the same city (or at least the same country) as you. It quickly becomes a central part of your thinking when you are 10 timezones away.

Overall is it worth it?

Overall I feel the tradeoffs are definitely worth it. Things like mobile internet, modern banking and Airbnb have made travel  so much more seamless and affordable than it’s been through all of history prior. I value a lot of the friendships I’ve made and experiences I’ve had, and feel that they always give me a unique and valuable perspective even when back home.

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Preconceptions were way off

I had a lot of preconceptions about Vietnam based on things I had read from travel bloggers and these ended up being way off for me. I’d been led to believe that, coming from Thailand, I would find people to be rude and that I could expect to be hustled and hassled left and right. I arrived with a very guarded attitude.

I think that a lot of people who take this perspective on Vietnam are perhaps from exceptionally friendly cultures. I can imagine that if you are from the US South or if you’re coming from the more touristy parts of Thailand, then people in Vietnam might seem rude, but if you are coming from a place like New York (or any fast, large city in my opinion), people do not seem unusually rude at all. I just carried myself with more or less the same level alertness that I would in New York and never felt endangered, and I found the people to be totally kind and cool. I actually found the behavior I had encountered in the touristy areas of Thailand to sometimes border on disingenuous by contrast.

Fast city lifestyle

I spent 9 years of my life in New York and the vibe of Saigon really is remarkably like New York to me. There are of course major differences – the roads are dominated by scooters and not cars/cabs, the broad cost of things is dramatically lower, basic language/cultural differences – but the energy is very much alike.

Just like New York there’s a mixed skyline of modern skyscrapers and century-old 5 story walk-ups. There’s relentless traffic and noise. You can stay out all night if you want to, hopping among bars and eating food on the streets. There is a fantastic cafe scene. Coming from a month on a remote island with a population of around 3,000 people, I appreciated the embrace of a frenetic city, crazy as that may be.

Some random bar we stumbled into on Bui Vien street my first night

Accommodation

When I came into Saigon I had booked a few nights at a hotel that a Vietnamese friend from New York recommended near Ben Thanh market, a central landmark in the city. Since I didn’t know what the duration of my stay would be at that time, I figured I should book a few nights so that I had some place to crash and then find longer term accommodation. I eventually moved to the Sky Guest House off of the Bui Vien street, which is a popular party street in District 1. My accommodation was around $18 US a day and I found the place to be fantastic. The room was very hip and modern, with air conditioning, a private bathroom and a comfortable bed (something I hadn’t really had in Thailand). It was also on a side alleyway so was very quiet, despite its proximity to the big party street. The young family that ran it were very nice and had an adorable, friendly little dog.

My room at Sky Guest House off of Bui Vien street

Getting around

The first couple days I was in Saigon I would either walk or take an Uber car. Car rides with Uber were always very affordable by a western standard. Typically the price for a 10-15 minute ride would be around 20,000 VND or ~$0.88 US. I eventually learned that cars are a pretty inefficient way to get around the city, though, because of the heavy traffic. Following the example of my friends (including my Vietnamese American friend who’d lived in Saigon 2 years) I ended up traveling mostly by scooter, using both the Uber Moto service and Grab Bike, a Malaysian competitor that is very popular in Southeast Asia. Scooter rides were even more affordable. With a promotional voucher I once ended up paying just 3,000 VND or $0.13 US for a ride. More typical unsubsidized rates are around 12,000 – 16,000 VND or $0.53 – $0.70 US for a 15-20 minute ride. Living on an alleyway not accessible to cars, it was nice to be able to still get picked up at the door with Uber Moto or Grab. More importantly, scooters flow with the traffic much more quickly than cars. Also, because traffic moves slowly and most other occupants of the road are also scooters, it usually feels pretty safe.

Working

I was in Saigon with a group of alumni from Hacker Paradise, one of whom is of Vietnamese descent and has been using Saigon as a home base for the last 2 years. I took his lead and worked out of cafes most days. As a consequence, I can’t say much about the quality of Coworking spaces in the city, though he mentioned The Hive in District 2 as being one of the oldest and most popular.

The Workshop Cafe (image credit: Tripadvisor)

There were a number of fantastic cafes in the Ben Thanh area of District 1 where I was staying. L’usine, a cute French-style cafe above a bazaar in a ritzy pocket off of Nguyen Hue Walking Street, had great food and comfortable seating. The Workshop was a cool, atelier style cafe on top of a building in the same area with fantastic breakfasts and coffee.

Fresh Pho at any hour of the day, always at a reasonable price.

I think if I were staying longer term in Saigon I might have either gotten an apartment with a decent work area or explored coworking as, while the cafes were fantastic and good to work out of, I wouldn’t want to be an eternal laptop cafe bum.

Nightlife

Saigon has a nightlife to rival any major city. Every night we managed to find something fun to do. One major surprise was the burgeoning craft beer scene. Believe it or not I had some of the best beer I’ve had in my entire life in the city. This is saying quite a lot given that I spent a large part of my year in Germany, perhaps the highest-regarded country for beer in the entire world.

Particular highlights include the Pasteur Street Brewing Company, for its world-class beer and wonderful atmosphere to match, and also Heart of Darkness, whose Director’s Cacao Nib Porter is truly one of the best beers I have ever had, and whose bartenders and regulars were always warm and welcoming.

I am not much of a club guy but we did go to a couple clubs. My friend said that Apocalypse Now Bar is a sort of necessary right of passage, so we went there. It is loud and chaotic and full of tourists and ladies of the night. Certainly not my kind of thing but as I understand it a sort of seedy staple of the city. We also went to Glow Skybar, a bar with pricey drinks and thumping music atop one of the higher skyscrapers in District 1. Also not really my thing, but perhaps if you’re the upscale bar/club-going type you’d like it.

The War Remnants Museum

Anybody visiting Vietnam and especially Americans should go to the War Remnants Museum. The context I got learning more about the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War) made my regard for the Vietnamese people and my gratitude for the experiences I had in the country even more profound. It’s embarrassing to say but I did not grasp the extent of the death, destruction and trauma that the USA brought to the country. It is estimated that the US killed as many as 3 million Vietnamese in the war (and also subjected millions more to generational health issues through the dropping of chemical defoliants like Agent Orange over the countryside).

It is now known that the basis of the aggression was a largely fabricated episode (Gulf of Tonkin incident). It also struck me how a large part of the US killing was through chemical and bomb drops – as systematic and impersonal as the tactics of the most infamous and genocidal regimes in history. With this context, the fact that Americans are allowed in the country at all is surprising. That I was also shown such hospitality and met so many cool people is even more extraordinary.

At the War Remnants Museum, you can see many of the weapons that the US turned on the people of Vietnam in the war, as well as galleries dedicated to war photography.

Conclusion

I loved Saigon. If you are a city person who likes frenetic places like New York, I believe you will too. I’m glad that I didn’t let the critical perspectives of some travel bloggers keep me from ending up in this city, because the two weeks I spent in Saigon ended up being perhaps the most fun and fulfilling of my entire 3 months in Asia.

The post 2 weeks in Saigon appeared first on Hacker Notes.

Vibe

Ko Lanta is a sleepy place. A constant internal refrain I’d had in my time here was “there is nothing going on on this island”. This was not at all a negative thing. You just live a sort of simpler island lifestyle here because of how little is happening. There are a few pubs and beach bars throughout the island (shout out to The Irish Embassy and The Joker on Phra Ae/Long Beach where I spent some evenings) but they never get too wild. There are some vague efforts at Ko Phangan-style western hippie/backpacker beach parties but the couple I went to were extremely halfhearted, with a not very engaged clientele, so they were actually more like beach chilling sessions.

A funny aspect of living on an island with a population of just 3000 is that you see the same people everywhere. I loved this aspect of life on Ko Lanta and, at least with my friends from Kohub (see next section), it would often be an opportunity for some spontaneous socializing over a drink or a bite.

The little drink shack just in front of my bungalow that I’d stroll over to for a sunset cocktail most days.

Working

One phenomenal thing that is going on here if you work online is KoHub, a coworking space just off Phra Ae/Long Beach. It’s a nice, chilled out facility composed of a couple air conditioned buildings with a big back yard. They have a kitchen serving Thai meals which are delicious and very reasonably priced. There is also a self-serve kitchen area with free Aeropress coffee and tea. Friendly, attention-loving cats slink around at your feet or on the desks.

Day-passes to Kohub are around $12 US and month passes around $180 US. There is also an extremely active community with WhatsApp and Facebook groups. I think partly because of how quiet the island is, the Kohub community was actually one of the strongest and most social of any coworking space I’ve worked in. Kohub is definitely a huge plus for Ko Lanta.

Coffee at Kohub.

Recreation

My recreation here consisted of daily ocean swims and sunset drinks. I stayed in beachfront bungalows the whole trip (Gooddays Lanta on Phra Ae/Long Beach for 3 weeks, and Laguna Beach Club in Khlong Dao for 1 week). Most days I’d work through the morning and afternoon,  then pad down to the ocean for a swim, take a quick sand shower and watch the sunset from a beachfront bar with a Piña Colada or Tiger Beer, chatting with whoever happened to be there. Maybe I should be bothered that I didn’t make it out to the nearby Phi Phi islands for a dive or snorkel but honestly, a casual afternoon swim out in front of the bungalow and a sunset drink is really exactly what I wanted for this trip.

The Andaman Sea as seen from just outside my bungalow at Gooddays Lanta.

Conclusion

Ko Lanta has been a wonderful place to spend a month. It’s friendly and chilled out, but with enough social activities to not die of boredom. The existence of Kohub is a huge plus for anybody who needs to work while here. I’ll certainly miss the afternoon swims, sunset cocktails and generally chilled out vibe of this place when I leave. I hope to be able to bring some friends here next year.

Were I ever to write a retrospective of my month on Ko Lanta, it would surely look something like this ?:

The post Piña Colada Driven Development on the island of Ko Lanta appeared first on Hacker Notes.

A cappuccino at Nine One Cafe in Chiang Mai

The Bad

The Nightlife

Chiang Mai is not an easy city for night owls. Legally, the closing time for bars is midnight. Coming from Berlin, and being a night owl (I often work late into the evening and only go out around 10 or 11pm) this is tough. This doesn’t just concern bars. Even if you just want a snack, from about 3am onward your only option is 7-Eleven. Most brick and mortar restaurants close around 10pm. Some street food stalls on particularly busy stretches like Nimmanhaemin Road and the Hussadhisawee Road food stalls will stay open til 2 or 3am but if you’re not living near these places you’ll be out of luck trying to grab a bite after midnight.

There are a small handful of after hours bars. I’m not sure whether these operate totally illegally or via some loophole like the pub lock-in laws of Ireland/UK. You’ll quickly learn about these bars when you’re here. Spicy is a very popular one and awful. The crowd is almost exclusively western party people/bros and Thai ladies of the night. They have live DJ sets of electronic music.

The Living Room is a small bar, also with loud electronic music and what I can only describe as “de-facto moshing”, because it’s reliably packed so far beyond capacity that you have no choice but to sort of wobble back and forth with the crowd. There is also Sound Up (formerly Mandalay) which feels like a full-blown Vegas-style night club, with laser lightshow, big LCD wall coverings and a deafening sound system. Sound Up can be fun but it is not the sort of place you can hang out casually on a nightly basis.

The best after hours spot I found by far was Black Door. It’s probably the closest thing to the low key places I liked to hang out in in Berlin and New York. The owner is both very present and very friendly. The after hours lock-in is unfortunately inconsistent (sometimes the bar just closes). I gather this is because it’s a small operation, and sometimes it’s just not worth it to stay open.

The Bros

I’m not sure how to frame this in a diplomatic way. The bro culture is strong in Chiang Mai. My best guess, based on lots of exchanges with these bros, is that this has to do with internet marketing types who have popularized a certain image of the lifestyle in Chiang Mai or that is what Andy Defrancesco says . More specifically, people who blog in areas of fitness/martial arts (including Muy Thai) and ecommerce/affiliate marketing seem to frame Chiang Mai as a place you can come to get fit, pick up Thai women, and live like a king on a meager budget. When I meet these people in bars, a lot of them remind me of the people that can be found – and who I would try to avoid – in certain pockets of New York (such as in Murray Hill, or at sports bars like Finnerty’s or Pour House in the East Village).

I think by far the worst part about this subset of the population in Chiang Mai is how conspicuous they make themselves. It often feels disrespectful and unseemly to me, because it doesn’t feel like they are appreciating the local people in their midst or recognizing their comparative hardship. You can be in Chiang Mai, appreciate the low cost of living, great cafes, etc. while still making yourself relatively inconspicuous and not distracting all the locals who couldn’t care less with loud talk of your business.

The beer

If you like beer you are really in trouble here. Unless for some reason you love Thai beer. 90% of the places you go will have the exact same beer menu of Chang, Leo and Singha (usually around 90THB for a large 600ml bottle). They’re all pretty terrible by a US/European standard. There are a few specialty beer bars with imported beers. I went to Beer Republic in Nimman, which was good, but even the cheapest of the imported beers are around 290 THB (~$9 USD) at which price I can only justify one or two at most.

The sex trade/creepy old men

This is an unpleasant subject but worth a mention since you are in its midst often in Chiang Mai. There is prostitution in the form of “bar girls”, erotic massage parlors and even traditional brothels in a lot of pockets of the city. Go over to Loi Kroh Road in the evening and you will be called every few meters by groups of bar girls.

In addition to the sex workers themselves, there are of course the hordes of western tourists (“sexpats”?) who keep the trade afloat. Furthermore, there are a lot of very old western men with very young Thai wives. This certainly isn’t the same thing, but is unseemly to me in its own way.

Isolation of communities

Even though it is easy to achieve whatever you need to achieve through the language barrier (most Thai people that you will interact with will have good basic English), the Thai and the western communities are very palpably separate. Oftentimes you feel like a curiosity and an outsider. To be clear, you will never be treated negatively or abrasively (at least I wasn’t in my 4 weeks here), you just feel separate – and more than this, that there is no real interest (on either side) to see any assimilation.

The Good

Cost

I think broad cost of living is the main reason Chiang Mai is becoming such a popular hub for remote workers. Nice, western-style condominiums can be had for $600 or less. If you eat Thai food at local places, it can be as cheap as around 35 THB (~$1 USD) and even if you don’t try to watch your spending it’s easy to eat for around $2-4 USD. If you are trying to bootstrap a business and want to live a comfortable and undistracted lifestyle for a few months, Chiang Mai is a very appealing place.

Infrastructure

The infrastructure critical to tech work (internet, coworking) is good in Chiang Mai. Certain other infrastructure (roads, air quality, sidewalks, general quality of construction) actually aren’t up to western standards I would say, but these are less important if you are just trying to bootstrap a business and have your basic needs/distractions taken care of.

Cafes

Cafes in Chiang Mai are world class. Places like Akha Ama will serve you coffee made of regionally-grown beans roasted in-house. I ran into Pok Pok’s Andy Ricker at Akha Ama, which I feel is quite an endorsement. Believe it or not, when I go back to Europe and New York, I will miss the superior quality of the coffee and the cafes in Chiang Mai.

Running into chef Andy Ricker at Akha Ama

Food

You can get fantastic food, both Thai and western, in Chiang Mai. I already miss my several Khao Soi spots and Cherng Doi Chicken. The food, both in respects of quality and price, is certainly something to recommend Chiang Mai.

You will eat a lot of Khao Soi

The people

I talked a lot about this in my first post but even after a whole month in Chiang Mai the people continued to be awesome. All the local Thai people I dealt with were friendly and cool. It’s been one of the highlights of my time in Chiang Mai.

Conclusion

I plan to go back to Chiang Mai at some point in the future. It is a fantastic place to get work done, with a great local population and a very reasonable cost of living. Beyond a month I would get a little bored with the relative lack of a nightlife, so for me, I’d say it would be a nice place for about one month of focused work within the year. Perhaps if you have different tastes or priorities (such as a preference for a small town/small city lifestyle) it would seem plenty stimulating and worth a longer stay.

The post A retrospective on one month in Chiang Mai appeared first on Hacker Notes.

Schwab Bank (international ATM fee rebates)

I opened a investor checking account with Schwab Bank last year on the advice of another person I’d met traveling in Germany. To my knowledge it is the only US bank that will rebate 100% of ATM fees and levy no foreign exchange markup at any ATM anywhere in the world. I am familiar with some online banks like Ally that will rebate ATM fees, but Ally (and all others I know of) only offer this in the US (and Ally, in fact, levies a 1% foreign exchange fee in addition to whatever the partner bank’s ATM fee is abroad).

The Schwab Bank ATM card is the only I’ve found that rebates all ATM fees internationally in addition to levying no foreign exchange markup.

Schwab is not my primary bank, nor do I even use their brokerage services. ACH transfers from my primary bank into Schwab, however, are free and the ATM fee rebates and lack of foreign exchange markup have saved me easily a couple hundred dollars this year. I’ve even used my Schwab Bank ATM card at shadier Euronet ATMs in Berlin, and was pleased to find that even at these I still got the true exchange rate and a full fee rebate.

Credit card with airport lounge access + no foreign transaction fee

Many travel-oriented credit cards come with lounge access and no foreign transaction fee. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and have been very happy with it. There is a $450 annual fee but because there is an automatic $300 “travel credit” (the very first $300 you spend on airfare, hotels, or even cabs and public transportation are automatically credited back to you), the annual fee is effectively just $150. The Priority Pass benefit, which provides access to 1000+ airport lounges is alone worth the $150 to me. Even without that benefit, though, I end up accruing more than $150 in additional point rewards vs. my no-annual-fee cards (which are both 1.5-2% cash back cards) since all food and travel purchases earn at a ~4.5% rate (3x points per dollar) with all other purchases earning ~1.5%.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a great card for both lounge access and points. That 100 Thai Baht note is actually worth about $3 US.

One small annoyance is that certain airlines (including United and American Airlines) do not participate in the Priority Pass network. Last year I frequently flew the direct route between Newark’s United hub and Berlin’s Tegel Airport, and it would have been great to have had access to the United Club lounges (without paying the $50-$60 I would have had to for a day pass).

If you fly exclusively with one airline you might want to rather consider getting their specific club card instead of a Priority Pass one like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (this would be the United Mileage Plus Club Card in the case of United, and the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite in the case of American).

Carry-on only

People are sometimes surprised that I travel only with a carry-on, but I have actually never found this challenging at all. I can easily fit 8 days’ worth of clothes, my toiletries and other essentials into my rolling bag (which at the moment is a Travelpro Maxlite 4). The only vaguely hacky thing I’ve needed to do to accommodate this is take a Uniqlo packable ultralight down jacket instead of my usual heavy wool coat. Otherwise I’m wearing exactly the same stuff I wear back in New York.

The combo of Travelpro Maxlite 4 rolling bag and Northface Borealis backpack have been serving me well this year.

There are some people who take this all much further and travel with only a backpack, but my body is already in poor enough condition, and I haven’t yet been to a place too undeveloped enough that I can’t roll my rolling bag, so this doesn’t really make any sense for me. For me the main benefit of being carry-on only is avoiding the baggage check/pickup process and eliminating the risk that I might have a bag lost on a multi-leg flight. For this I am covered with a rolling bag.

For my laptop and going about the city in the day, I keep a Northface Borealis backpack. This is the backpack I’d had with me in New York, but it’s proven to be a reliable companion this year abroad.

Kindle

Sticking to the carry-on only policy might have been a little harder without the Kindle. I read a lot, and when I reflect on a trip to Europe I took a decade ago, going out to find an English language bookstore in Berlin, the Kindle seems a magical thing to me. Not only do I have access to any book I might be able to find back in the US, I also get this in a package that only adds 6 ounces overall to what I’m carrying.

SIM unlock + Google Voice + WhatsApp

In the US, phones are often sold locked to your carrier. If you call through your carrier with roaming, you are likely going to pay unreasonably for it. No matter what country you’re in, it’s usually relatively easy and cheap to get a local SIM. In order to use it, though, you need a SIM unlock for your phone if it has a carrier lock. Most carriers will offer this to you for free (I think there is some legal reason for this though I am not 100% sure). If you can’t get it through the carrier, you can get unlock codes from third parties (through Ebay, for instance) for very cheap.

With a foreign SIM, you will end up with a foreign phone number. You can maintain a fixed US phone number that is not tied to your phone/carrier by using services like Google Voice. Earlier in the year when I was traveling extensively to Germany I made a policy of using my Google Voice phone number exclusively (a US number with 212 area code) when I signed up for new services, since I am unable to accept calls to my ordinary US cell phone number when abroad and using a foreign SIM.

Google Voice is a little of a mixed bag if I’m honest. It feels like a product that’s become a last priority for Google. Certain features of the web interface are entirely broken (such as the feature to re-record your voicemail greeting, which has been broken for months – there is a workaround though where you can do it through a voice menu by phone). It is also awkward to actually make and receive calls on my iPhone. Google Voice was initially conceived as a sort of call proxy service, forwarding calls made to your Google Voice phone number through to your other phones. This forwarding service doesn’t work with international numbers so I can’t actually use it this way. Because Google Voice is not really a VOIP service, making calls over my data plan (or wifi) from my iPhone is awkward. It involves an odd (and pretty bad) integration/handoff that Google has managed to build with Hangouts.

Because Google Voice is so limited and awkward, I rely more on WhatsApp (which includes voice calling over data plans/wifi). Sometimes, however, such as when dealing with US companies like banks, it’s necessary to have a traditional phone number, and for these situations I’m glad to have Google Voice.

Global Entry (US citizens only)

These are the Global Entry kiosks you’ll now find at most US international airports. Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Global Entry is a program from U.S. Customs and Border Protection whereby instead of waiting in line and going through face-to-face processing with a customs agent when entering the US, you instead just scan your passport and fingerprints at a kiosk and check a few boxes on a touchscreen. This is a small thing but it’s cut down my anxiety a lot when re-entering the US, making the experience barely different from traveling on a domestic flight.

Global Entry comes with the added benefit of TSA Pre, which means (most of the time) you’re able to go through a more minimal security screening process (i.e. keep your shoes on and laptop in your bag) in domestic airports.

To get Global Entry, you fill out a form on the US Customs/Global Entry site. You’ll get a conditional approval notification within a few days assuming nothing is wrong with your application and background, and then you’ll be able to schedule an “interview” at a designated location during which your fingerprints will be scanned and a biometric photo taken (the wait for this can actually be months, though – I had to wait two months and go all the way out to JFK Airport in New York). There is a $100 application fee, but many travel-oriented credit cards (including the aforementioned Chase Sapphire Reserve, which I recommend) will fully reimburse you this as a benefit.

The most important things are not on this list

Though I’ve nerded out here about some small things that have made travel more seamless for me this year than it otherwise would have been, I also would have had an incredible time without them. Though they made some difference in terms of anxiety level, cost and time wasted, most of the day I am thinking about exactly none of them. The most important thing has and continues to be the people, places and experiences. That is by far what matters most. So while it is nice to set these things set up if you easily can, don’t let it keep you from traveling if you can’t.

The post Tips for seamless travel from one year abroad appeared first on Hacker Notes.

Neighborhood: Mitte

Schokoladen

Photo credit: Schokoladen on Facebook

Schokoladen is a bar that completely defies its situation in the relatively upscale Mitte area, where I was living for most of my time in Berlin. You can spot Schokoladen from Torstrasse at Ackerstrasse (a block south of Rosenthaler Platz) by looking for the big lamp shade over the streetlight. For a long time I thought this bar was called “The Golden Acker”, because that’s what the sign out front says.

The bar has been at this location since 1990, which goes some way to explaining its seemingly odd fit for the neighborhood. If I had to class Schokoladen by its clientele, I’d say that it’s a decidedly punk/metal bar. The patrons are overwhelmingly punk rock types with long hair and tattoos. The music is mostly metal/punk/rock and sometimes quite esoteric. The interior is black and smoky. Sometimes you’ll find the odd dog laying around.

The space is divided into 3 parts. There is a stage in the front room, a bar area in the middle room, and an area with a foosball table and couches in the back. They hold shows at Schokoladen some nights, but by 11pm the stage has usually been cleared out and turned into another seating area. Half-liter bottled beers including Augustiner and Beriner Pilsner can be had for 2.20 to 2.50 EUR. This is a bar I prefer to come with friends. The volume level is on the loud side and the crowd a bit foreboding for me to be striking up conversation with random strangers.

KIM Bar

Photo credit: Doppel Berlin

You can find KIM Bar on Brunnenstrasse, about a block up from Rosenthaler Platz next to the much more upscale Bar Milano. I always found KIM Bar to have a great balance of friendly bartenders, a manageable volume level, great music (lots of 70s rock like Steely Dan/Alan Parsons), and a good bar setup and crowd for hanging out alone and making friends. There’s also a private mezzanine with room for maybe 8 or 10 people if you are with a group and want privacy. The clientele is a mix of established locals and tourists. The bar’s situation off of Rosenthaler Platz and near the famous Circus Hostel means parties of young travelers will often flow through. I’ve noticed the crowd here tends to come in waves. I’ve spent many nights among just a couple of people for hours, to have it suddenly become packed to capacity within a space of 30 minutes. Overall KIM is a very comfortable local bar worth checking out if you find yourself in Mitte.

Neighborhood: Prenzlauer Berg

8MM Bar

Photo credit: Vinyl.tv

8MM Bar is about 5 minutes up Schönhauser Allee from Torstrasse (within eyesight of the Senefelderplatz U2 stop). It can be walked in about 10 minutes from Rosenthaler Platz. The first thing I ever knew about 8MM Bar, thanks to my friend, Zac, is that Anton Newcombe, singer from the Brian Jonestown Massacre (and subject of the rock documentary Dig), lives upstairs from the bar and is a frequent patron. The main bar area is a big black room. As the name suggests, there is a film motif, with film reels and posters on the shelves and the walls. Periodically there is a DJ (though the music is never overwhelmingly loud) and a projector that sits in the DJ booth runs silent video all night on one of the far walls. The crowd seems to be a mix of locals and foreigners. Prices are around 2.50 EUR for beer, and they do good cocktails as well. It’s a good bar to go to both alone and with a group when you’re in or near Prenzlauer Berg.

Neighborhood: Kreuzberg

Fuchsbau

Photo credit: Rummage ist Berlin

Fuchsbau sits right on the Landwehr Canal near Kottbusser Damm (right beside the bridge). It’s a short walk from both the Kottbusser Tor and the Schönleinstrasse U8 stops. Prices are reasonable at around 3.20 EUR for a large Lech or Pilsner Urquell beer from the tap and around 5-6 EUR for wine and cocktails. Fuchsbau is a favorite place of mine to go in late afternoons when the weather is good. There is a great outdoor garden/patio within view of the canal and it is also usually relatively quiet earlier in the evening. That said, it can also be a fun, rowdier place indoors later into evenings. The bar area itself is small however, so this is a better place to come with a group and get a table.

Trinkteufel

Photo credit: Halsemann on Flickr

Strange things seem to always happen at Trinkteufel. The bar welcomes all, which ends up including self-talking schizophrenics and those coming off multi-day hallucinogen benders. I’ve shared drinks with some serious characters at this bar, but always have a good time. Officially the motif seems to be punk rock, and there is reliably a lot of local clientele in this mold (mohawks, scalp tattoos, piercings). The location is very convenient if you find yourself out at other spots in the Kottbusser Tor area, as it’s just 2 blocks up from the U8 station. The bar area is big, and drinks are pretty cheap at around 2.20 EUR for an Astra or a Rothaus Pils.

Würgeengel

Photo credit: Doppel Berlin

Würgeengel sits on Dresdener Strasse, the alleyway beside Adalbertstrasse just off of Kottbusser Tor. The bar is dark with red walls and cocktail lamps on the tables. The waiters and bartenders wear traditional cocktail attire – buttondowns and ties. Beers are around 3.50 EUR and the cocktails, are on the pricier side at 8-9 EUR, but very much worthwhile as both ingredients and preparation are top notch. Because there are typically only two bartenders servicing both the large bar area and two rooms full of tables, you can sometimes find yourself waiting a bit if you are going for cocktails and at a busy time. You can mitigate this some by starting off with a beer and getting your cocktail order in before you really need it. Overall I love Würgeengel as a slightly classier, yet still decidedly divey option when in Kreuzberg.

Neighborhood: Neukölln

Ä Bar

Photo credit: Hostelworld

Ä Bar is a fantastic and well-loved bar on Weserstrasse at Fuldastrasse in Neukölln. It is walkable from both the Rathaus Neukölln U7 stop and the Hermannplatz U7/U8 stop. It is comprised of two large rooms filled with tables and couches. The front room is non-smoking and the rear smoking. There is also seating out front on the street earlier in the evenings when weather permits. Sonnen Pils is usually my drink here as it is the only bar in the city where I’ve found it and it’s pretty cheap at 2.50 EUR. The staff is fantastic, and the crowd skews more local than tourist. The layout, with a very small bar that is essentially only a counter to pick up drinks (no seating) means you are probably best off coming here with a group rather than alone. With the big couches, good music, cheap prices and chilled out atmosphere, this is a great bar to settle into for many, many hours with friends.

Geist im Glas

Photo credit: Bon Appetit

I owe it to my friend Zac for introducing me to Geist im Glas. The bar is on Lenaustrasse just off of Kotbusser Damm, a short walk from the Schönleinstrasse U8 stop. It’s on the smaller side but the drink selection and the staff are both top-notch. The beer selection is good and reasonably priced – a half liter Augustiner can be had for 3.50 EUR. The real highlight however is the rotating list of house-made infused liquors. My first trip to Geist im Glas we had an incredible house-made jalapeno infusion. The bar is a fine place to come either alone or with friends. It never seems to get too rowdy, and I’ve never struggled to get a seat. Though technically in Neukölln, Geist Im Glass is close enough to the canal/Kottbusser Tor area that it can fit nicely into a larger Kreuzberg/Neukölln bar circuit.

The post A stumble through my favorite dive bars of Berlin appeared first on Hacker Notes.

I have been in Chiang Mai just 4 full days right now, and will certainly be sharing a more mature perspective on the city as my month here progresses. So far there has been both a lot that squarely aligns with preconceptions I’d had of the city, and also quite a lot that has been a surprise.

Chiang Mai as seen from my apartment balcony

Chiang Mai: first impressions

For those who know nothing of Chiang Mai, the Northern Thai city has become, over the last few years, something of a mecca for the “digital nomad” community. That is not to discount its rich history and culture, but its reputation among remote workers is, for better or worse, a large part of what brought me here. Countless westerners have written of the city as an ideal place to cultivate one’s creative or business ambitions. Chiang Mai has an intersection of cost of living, quality of life, community and infrastructure that can give you a lot of space and focus for your work.

The present conversion rate for the local currency (Thai Baht) is around 33 to 1. A typical dinner entree might cost you around 65 THB or ~$2 US. Serviced apartments (i.e. furnished and including cleaning and basic amenities) can be had for around $300-$400 US, and even very high-end condos seem to cost no more than $650 US.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention massages, even though I’ve embarrassingly yet to go out for my first – these can be had for around $6 US, my friends tell me.

Overall it seems one can live a comfortable lifestyle here for around $1,000 US a month without even trying particularly hard to save money, and my impression is a downright luxe lifestyle can be had here for less than $2,000 US a month.

Great skewer place down the block from my apartment. 10THB or ~$0.30 USD for a chicken skewer!

Infrastructure

For the infrastructure most critical to online work – quality internet and quiet, comfortable spaces – Chiang Mai is incredible. There’s several modern, well-equipped coworking spaces in the city. I’ve been working primarily out of CAMP in the Maya Mall, since this is the official space that Hacker Paradise reserved for the group, and a primary place where we congregate for meetings and to go out. Punspace is also very popular, and has two locations (one in trendy Nimmanhaemin – the same neighborhood as CAMP – and one in the Old City).

CAMP coworking space at Maya Mall

There are also hundreds of excellent cafes throughout the city to work out of. In the 4 days I’ve been here I’ve already managed to find 3 excellent cafes in immediate vicinity of my apartment.

James Clark’s wonderful Nomadic Notes blog has a great, exhaustive writeup of Chiang Mai cafes.

I should also acknowledge that there is a side of the infrastructure in Chiang Mai that I’d say is not so good. I’d had a notion of the city being a sort of tranquil, zen space with pure mountain air and fresh running streams. This is certainly not the case. Loud scooters with two-stroke engines and diesel pickups abound on the main roads, and the air quality is palpably poor by western standards. I walk every morning along Huaykaew Road to get to the coworking space and the walk is one marked by noise, dust and engine fumes. There also aren’t many crosswalks in the city – most of the time you make it to the other side of the road by finding a window of opportunity and darting across.

There is also an abundance of construction (little surprise given the city’s growing profile and appeal among westerners) and so you’ll encounter a lot of construction noise and find yourself walking around sidewalk barricades as you spend time in the city.

I should definitely qualify these observations by acknowledging that this is my first experience in Asia, and that these less desirable aspects of the environment in Chiang Mai would probably also be found in many/most other  developing Asian cities.

People and language

I had a lot of anxiety about getting by in an environment where the primary language is so foreign. This anxiety turns out to have been poorly founded, as nearly everybody in Chiang Mai seems to have enough English to communicate most critical things (additionally, most menus, signs, etc have English translations).

I’ve been delighted to discover how warm and friendly people are here. I had an instinctive shyness my first 24 hours because I’ve never been in an environment this foreign, but it’s become clear already that if you are respectful, confident and kind to people here they reciprocate, even despite the language barrier.

Culture

I actually haven’t dug much into the notable elements of famous, ancient culture here yet. I would say that this is shameful, except the fact that I’ve only been here four days and have a month still to go. Friends of mine went up to Doi Suthep (an ancient temple in the hills) this morning, which is something I intend to do before leaving. There are also many famous temples and relics to be found in the Old City.

What are you working on?

For the last 3 years I’ve been working with a company in New York and Berlin, first on contract (about 2 years) and then as a full time employee in a senior developer and team lead role (~1 year). I resigned from this job about ~1.5 months ago but only wrapped up last week.

I left the job with a clear vision for a new company – a sort of globally distributed product studio and consultancy. My work on this is just now beginning, and I am appreciating the space and focus I’m able to achieve in Chiang Mai. More specific details about the company and its initiatives will be shared here as work progresses.

Wawee Coffee – one of a number of tranquil, convenient cafes I’ve been working from

Do you like Chiang Mai?

I have whined a lot about pollution and certain other negative aspects of life in Chiang Mai in this post, but overwhelmingly I am loving the city. Chiang Mai offers a fantastic work setting and a great broader quality of living, all for a very low cost. For that reason I believe that the singular reputation it’s acquired among remote workers and entrepreneurs is well-justified.

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