Coworking space fail in Chiang Mai - locked out for 4 hours

I was at Punspace in Chiang Mai last Wednesday and the power went out around 2pm. The whole building went dark, no wifi obviously, and I had a client call in 30 minutes. I tried their backup generator but it only ran for like 20 minutes before dying. Ended up walking to a Starbucks a mile away in the heat, paid $4 for a coffee just to use their wifi, and barely made the call. The coworking staff said power would be back in an hour but it took 4. So here's the debate: do you stick it out at a coworking space when things go wrong hoping it gets fixed, or do you have a backup plan like a mobile hotspot every time? What do other nomads do when the wifi or power dies mid-workday?

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willowg881mo ago

Yeah a mobile hotspot saved me in almost the exact same situation last month in Bali!

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max_brown1mo ago

I was just reading an article about how people are using their phones as backup internet more and more, especially in places where the wifi is spotty. The guy who wrote it said the key is to check your data plan first, because some carriers charge extra for hotspot use. Personally, I keep a little portable router in my travel bag now, but your phone works just the same. Always nice to have that option when the hotel wifi decides to take a nap.

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