Tried working from a beach in Bali for a week versus a quiet cafe in Chiang Mai

Everyone talks about the dream of working with sand between your toes, but my laptop overheated after two hours on that Bali beach last month. The cafe in Chiang Mai had solid wifi, power outlets at every table, and aircon that actually worked. I got three times as much done in Thailand because I wasn't fighting glare and worrying about my gear. Has anyone else found that the 'perfect' nomad photo spot is often the worst place to actually work?

3 comments

3 Comments

baker.holly2mo ago

Oh totally, I actually brought a little pop-up sun shade thing with me to the beach. It helped a bit with the glare, but the real killer was the sand and the heat. My keyboard felt gritty after like ten minutes, and the laptop fan was going crazy trying to cool down. You're right that the sun is bad, but for me it was more about the environment just eating my gear alive.

margaretramirez2mo ago

Wait, you actually tried to work on the beach? How did you even see your screen in that sun?

rowanhernandez2mo ago

Yeah, the screen glare is a total nightmare... I tried it once and gave up after five minutes. Just squinting at a weird reflection of my own face.