Thailand and Bali, tips, work and experiences

Thailand has become a magnet for digital nomads from all over the world and for many people in my circle. I kept hearing the same names over and over: Thailand, Vietnam, Bali. So I went to try it myself. I wanted to find out whether I would like to live and work in this destination for a longer period. And how it would all work out with 2-3 hours of work a day. So, hypothesis set. Let’s go.

My routine in Thailand and Bali

• Working 2-3 hours a day
• Usually eating out at a restaurant twice a day, breakfast at the hotel (you realise how important local SEO is, as I chose almost everything through Google)
• Pool and swimming 2-3 times every day
• Gym 3 times a week
• In Thailand, lots of sights and exploring; on Bali, lots of beaches and bars
• A new hotel and location every 4 days
• 7 weeks completely without TV or streaming services
• Limited use of social media

This showed clearly how a change of place can instantly create or destroy some habits. I cut out streaming services, YouTube and TV completely overnight. On the other hand, I broke a habit I had kept for more than 4 years: a cold shower in the morning. Quite simply, there is no cold water in Thailand, so after my second attempt I gave up and went to the pool instead.

Around the same time as my visit to Thailand, at least 4 other acquaintances and friends were independently planning to go there. I have to say that in my circle, Thailand and Bali really are mainstream.

Financially, the whole trip was sustainable. Working 2-3 hours a day, I was able to cover the entire trip exactly. That was quite an important and positive finding for me, even though I had more or less expected it.

Accommodation tips

In almost 7 weeks in Thailand and Bali, I stayed in 13 hotels and other places. I usually stayed 4 nights. I booked all my accommodation through Booking, usually about 12 hours in advance. There are plenty of options. Here is a selection of the better places, judged on value for money. In the main areas, Bali is generally more expensive than Thailand. It also makes a difference whether you travel as a couple or alone. Thailand was much cheaper for me, as I travelled there with someone else and prices are lower. The average price per person per night was 480 CZK (about 20 EUR). On Bali, the average price was 950 CZK (about 39 EUR).

Residence of Thonglor, Bangkok: a pricier, quiet hotel with a rooftop pool and gym. We had a lovely clean room with a large bathroom. The location is not ideal, as there is a lot of construction nearby and quite a few Western places like Starbucks. On the other hand, the hotel service was really good.

Zleepinezz Hostel, Ayutthaya: by contrast, a very cheap hostel (about four times cheaper than the hotel in Bangkok). Very friendly staff, a great spot right opposite the temples and everything really clean. The only downside is the shared loos and showers. But comparing it with the whole tour, this was the best accommodation for value for money.

Toms Inn Pecatu, Bali: nice rooms, great location.

Weather

I visited both places in February and March. Although from Europe they might seem close together, Bangkok and Bali are 3,000 kilometres apart, a 4-hour flight on some local tin can where nothing works. At that time of year, I much preferred the weather on Bali, where it was around 30 degrees with the occasional pleasant shower. In Thailand it was often as hot as 37 degrees, and not a single drop of rain fell in a whole month (but plenty of drops fell from my forehead). Heat generally kills my motivation to work, so working in Thailand and Bali was quite limited by it, although air conditioning of course helps a lot.

The s*its

“Don’t eat street food. Don’t drink anything with ice or water from just anywhere.” they said. Well, I didn’t listen. So I was hit by about 6 days of, to put it politely, digestive problems. Activated charcoal didn’t help, even though I ate about 3 blister packs. Imodium worked brilliantly. When I flew from Thailand to Bali, I understood perfectly why all the advertising space on the plane went to remedies for fast shitting.

So I recommend keeping some to hand. Admittedly, in the first few days I went pretty wild and ate absolutely everything. Often twice. And washed it down with a smoothie. After this experience and losing 7 kilos, I was more careful.

Transport

After seeing the traffic in Thailand for the first two days, I immediately looked on Google for statistics on how many people die on the roads there. Honestly, I expected a top position. And I was right. The Thais really excel at this. Per capita, Thailand is even second in this ranking, right after Namibia, according to a University of Michigan study. So I immediately became “more” careful.

My first scooter ride, and the guy made my knee scrape a car twice. Of course, the scooter taxis don’t have helmets to lend. On Bali, by contrast, which is poorer and has a much older fleet of vehicles, all the scooter taxis had helmets.

It is also good to know that in Thailand nobody stops at pedestrian crossings. That is a European luxury. I saw an older German eyeing up a young Thai woman on the other side of the road. He confidently strode onto the crossing, as he was probably used to doing in Munich. The first car honked at him and the second one knocked him down. From then on, I always made eye contact with drivers at crossings and tried to read whether they were willing to slow down.

Many types of transport are not connected to Google, so it is definitely not as easy as in Europe.

Grab: something like Bolt. We mainly used it for distances of up to 100 km. For example, the trip from Bangkok to the hostel in Ayutthaya took 1:30 by Grab (cost 640 CZK (about 26 EUR)), whereas by train we would have had to sort out getting to the train, the train itself and getting from the train. It would have cost half as much, but the journey would have taken 3:30. Grab also works brilliantly on Bali. There I used it a lot for trips of 3-4 km. A ride like that costs roughly 18 CZK (about 0.74 EUR).

Scooters: in Bangkok there are guys with scooters everywhere who are happy to give you a ride. It is a bit crazy, but quite an intense experience. As we rode between cars, I scraped the car next to us with my knee about twice, being 190 cm tall. Of course, they won’t give you a helmet. But I have already mentioned that.

Tuk-tuks and local taxis: here it really is all about haggling. The first price is never fair, and if you enjoy haggling, this kind of transport is fairly fine. I preferred Grab.

Public transport: in Bangkok it works brilliantly and I recommend trying it. It is even included in Google Maps.

Work

Airalo: I got my data through this eSIM. After about 10 minutes of setting it up, I managed to get fairly good internet with 20 GB for a month. That is enough to keep working, even if the internet at your accommodation drops out for a while. Unfortunately, that happened to me often. The price is approximately 510 CZK (about 21 EUR). I renewed Airalo on Bali for a similar price, but there the internet was much slower and kept dropping out. I also tried the Revolut eSIM on the very first day it launched. Well, I couldn’t get it to work.

Wi-Fi: the internet was definitely not like in the Czech Republic. It was often very slow, and in at least 3 places I stayed it was completely unusable. It is good to plan for this and get extra data. It is great that your accommodation has beautiful spots where you can work. But it was exactly in those spots that the internet was really slow.

Places to work: even in hotels, I often struggled to find good places to work. Everything is somehow smaller, and I was quite hunched over at some desks. Working by the pool wasn’t quite it either. On Bali, however, there are many great cafés where everyone works, and the vibe draws you in.

How did working go?

Better than I expected. I planned to work 3 hours a day, and I mostly managed it. In the first half, I was even ahead of schedule. I usually worked for an hour before breakfast and then in the morning until 12. Only occasionally did I work in the afternoon or evening. There was no need, and to be honest, no desire in the evening either. I probably couldn’t manage working after running around outside all day in 35 degrees, so respect to everyone who does. And there are quite a few of them on Bali and in Thailand.

In general, I can hardly imagine working 8 hours a day while travelling like this and still taking in what is going on around me. But this routine of around 3 hours a day was absolutely ideal. You look forward to work, and at the same time you look forward to everything else around you. With well-set priorities, I could imagine living like this long term. And I mean that both mentally and financially.

On Bali, I met quite a lot of people and asked them how they worked. I was surprised that nobody said they worked a little. I met either people working the standard 8 hours or people who no longer need to work at all.

On Bali, I also met Czechs who either work remotely or in local businesses (a minority). It really pays to work (for money) at anything in the Czech Republic and live in these places. Even as the least qualified assistant, you will earn more than a hotel manager in these destinations.

What else did I enjoy?

The easy-going feel: the atmosphere is just different. Everything is fine, everyone smiles. Nobody is in much of a hurry. From the Czechs and foreigners I met, that relaxed way of life is exactly what draws so many Europeans here.

Temples: I was fascinated by how tourism works at temples. Most people rush in, take a few photos (read: about 100), buy something and leave quickly. Hardly anyone seems interested in why the temple is there, what it is for or what its history is. I tried to do a bit better here, so I read the signs, googled things and even nearly finished a book on the history of Thailand.

The sea: in most places it was sometimes a disappointment. If you want a sea like in Greece, you have to look harder (in Thailand, ideally on the islands). In Bali you need to search and know what you want from the sea. One thing that disappointed me quite a bit in Bali was that hardly anyone plays beach volleyball there. I only played twice, when I joined some locals.

And there was much more…

Conclusion

As I have probably hinted throughout the article, the hypothesis from the introduction was confirmed. I could imagine working this way for a longer period, and it is financially sustainable. And most importantly, I enjoyed it.

Euro amounts are approximate, converted at the Czech National Bank rate of 24.34 CZK per EUR on 29 October 2026.