Another place that does get overlooked because it’s viewed as too touristy is Koh Samui on the Gulf Side.

There is an area of the island called, Mae Nam, which is a nice place to post up for awhile. I’ve lived there on and off for a few weeks to a month here and there and really enjoy it.

The beach isn’t as nice as the one over in the tourist shit show of Chaweng, but - it’s not too much of a shit show. lol

There are direct flights from BKK to Samui.

And you have access to other places across the pond like Koh Phangan, Koh Lanta, etc…

Yeah I have absolutely no idea about Hua Hin (hence my post), but it looked good on the paper… Thanks for those feedbacks. I’m just looking for a place I haven’t been yet. I may reconsider my Hua Hin winter plans then.

Thanks @jonmyers the house looks awesome. I will check out Aonang

This does look nicer than Hua Hin. I was actually surprised to hear this first poster rave about Hua Hin. I didnt wanna be too negative but yeah, I guess its more for retired farangs (whites) who dont wanna swim in the sea.

I gotta check out Krabi, havent been there yet. Been to Phuket. that is very Russian with nice beaches, though.

A few years back I got stuck here for a few weeks.

I was robbed on two separate occasions. Thus, I had a bad experience, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

I was running on backups (credit cards, etc.) and didn’t want to travel about running on backups. So, I posted up in Hua Hin to wait for cards to arrive, etc.,

I actually kind of despised it there.

As others have said, the beach and water is really grubby.

I’m sure there are nicer beaches one can discover there, but I did not find them. They literally crowd lots and lots of hotel development nearly on top of the shore break there.

On the “more” open beach where one can enjoy themselves, you’ll have to wade through a sea of hawkers hassling you constantly. And they do this stupid pony ride (yes real horses) for tourists, with horses charging up and down the beach, which you have to be careful of.

Not very relaxing.

The town and food is kind of meh. Mediocre.

It had a sort of selling the tropical dream to western senior citizens vibe.

I don’t see the point in going there with the other options that are available.

If you’re looking for an ok balance of other nomads, beach and infrastructure in Thailand, I would suggest having a look at the town of Aonang in Krabi province.

The beaches in Aonang are decent, but you’re a long tail boat ride away from really nice beaches. There are decent restaurants in town, and for working during the day, you can ride your motorbike to the next little beach town of Nopparat Thara Beach and work from some places on the other side of the road from the ocean.

I lived in this little house for 6 months there. It was $300usd/ month. Wifi was about 30mbs/ down. About 5 minutes to get into town by motorbike.

<39>jungle-house.jpg3558×2092 1.13 MB

it is a nice small beach town but the sea isnt that great for swimming there, if you were planning on this. The beach is not in the top 10 beaches of Thailand. I am quite surprised the king chose it as his base.
But I overall like it too.

Great info @curtiss. I also need to still go and check out Hua Hin before I leave Thailand for good.

Thx @curtiss this is great news! I have such a good feeling about this place, i can’t wait to be there already. Slow Internet is not such a big deal for me, as a translator most of my work is done locally on my laptop. I just need emails and basic stuff. Can I ask where did you stay and how much was it ?

It’s been a few years since I rented in BKK, but last time, I took an Airbnb for a few nights and negotiated with the owner for longer term. They were happy to give a significant discount to not pay the Airbnb tax and have a stable tenant.

in vietnam if someone makes it then you can get it - not sure if the same in thailand. basically i’m saying the state doesn’t get involved when it comes to prescription meds. it’s simply a market-based economy. if you can reach someone in country they can just wander down to the local shop and see if they can get it. yes doctors in vn prescribe things, but it isn’t like in au/nz/us where a doctor needs to write on a piece of paper to authorise you getting it, you simply need to know what you want so you can then go and actually purchase it.

I went to Koh Lanta last year and it had great wifi even in remote areas. I stayed at the Ozone resort and the internet was stable at around 20mbps for download speed. Also went to Kohub but I really didn’t like it as the place wasn’t clean to me (the toilets were clogged but perhaps they have fixed them now).
One of the big downside on this island to me is the road, there are gaps everywhere and sometimes people drive like crazy, I think the road destruction is due to the 2004 tsunami.

Apart from that the island is awesome, I really liked it there and if you’re the kind of person who’s looking for a peaceful island and great people you’ll enjoy it (nightlife is also very present on the island).

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on both islands and like they both for different reasons.

But Koh Lanta wins currently for digital nomads, we had the Nomad Summit island retreat there after the conference this year.

Ko lanta is alot of tourists

Both islands are nice. They are less mainstream compared to Phuket, Samui etc. but still have pretty good infrastructure. Probably the optimal combination to get things done

Ko Lanta is smaller than Phangan.
Wi-Fi should be good on both (depending on venue), and you can use mobile internet from telecom provider (such as Ais, True etc.)

PS: Usually March-April are the hottest months in this region.

Ah same question here! I know that koh phangan has for sure good WiFi, but I would like to see ko lanta this time.
I’m arriving in Thailand on the 7th what about you?