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In today’s email:

Bangkok Love Affair: It’s more than just boys & great food…

Times, They Are Changing: The easy way to stay sane and on time…

Cash Clarity: Here’s how to play the game to win!

NomadHack: Big air savings for everyone.

UP FRONT:

Your Bangkok Love Affair.

We’ve seen a lot of questions online about Bangkok recently, so let’s do a quick dive into why this incredible city is one of our favorites for the PrideNomad™ lifestyle.

First, let’s talk about the food.

I’ve always said that Thai food is “so good that they named a country after it”.

Bangkok (BKK) is known for its vibrant street-food culture, where you can get just about anything cooked to order on the street. Some novice nomads can be concerned about hygiene, but unless you have an incredibly sensitive stomach, you’ll do just fine.

You’ll be delightfully surprised to have some of the most incredible dishes cooked right in front of you for a fraction of what you’ve paid at a decent restaurant in the States, (and the reverse can be disturbing—when you’re used to getting pad thai for $1.50 in BKK and you find it on your American or Aussie menu for over $15.00!).

The big key is not to be intimidated when you see things you’re not sure of. Simply ask. English is a common second language, and in the 8 years I’ve lived in Bangkok, I only learned about 10 Thai words and got by just fine.

For some great deals, you can use the "Eatigo" app.

A terrific view of the city can be had at the top of the Sofitel in Sukhumvit, and also the rooftop bar of the Banyan Tree hotel.

Where to stay—if you’re going to make Bangkok home, you have plenty of areas to stay. Sathorn and Silom are the typical gay areas, while Sukhumvit, Ari, Thong Lo, and others are attractive and conveniently located along the public transit system (the BTS & MRT). 

Hotels are inexpensive and we usually find good deals on Agoda.com. My strategy was always to book a couple of nights on Agoda, and if I liked the place, I would extend. If not, I’d move. That way I wouldn’t get stuck in a dump. That strategy has served me well over the years.

If you’re going to make Bangkok your center of operation while you’re in SE Asia, then consider a 6-month furnished apartment rental. There are plenty of options with amenities including a pool, gym, tennis, and even squash courts (Sathorn Gardens, for instance).

Internet speeds are good and quite affordable. There are 3 big carriers, DTAC, AIS and True. True and DTAC recently merged, so check for your best deal.

You can get around easily—from the BTS and MRT to the famous TukTuks (they’re cute, but uncomfortable and overpriced). One of my favorites are the motorbike taxis, which are plentiful. Hint: Always agree on the fare BEFORE you get on a bike or TukTuk, and be sure that any taxi you take has the meter ON.

Gyms are plentiful. The best gym in Bangkok is VirginActive, followed by Fitness First.

Boys are plentiful, too (sorry, ladies, I have no experience in the girls department!). Be mindful that many of the young men are money boys (“MB”,) so be sure to clarify things before you play.

Speaking of play…Bangkok is known for it’s happy-ending massages, but if you want a proper massage, one of the most popular places (and my favorite) is The Prime, located on Silom Soi 6. When I was last there, a 90-minute oil massage was about $30 USD. 

Medical care is terrific. If you get sick, you go to the hospital, as there typically aren’t local medical practices. The doctors are found at the hospitals.

Medical care is also very inexpensive. Consider getting your annual physical done there for substantially less than in the USA. You’ll find most procedures are far more affordable, and the doctors have been internationally trained.

One more important thing to consider is prescription drugs. If you’re away from home for any length of time, this is an essential consideration. Rest easy, dear reader! Pharmacies do NOT require prescriptions for most drugs (I’ve found the same in Spain and Portugal as well).

There are more and more decent co-working spaces opening to meet the needs of our community. Coffee shops do provide fast and free wifi, with Starbucks having some of the sexiest shops you’ll ever see.

Culturally, there’s lots to see and do—start with a boat up the Chao Phraya River and stop at some of the famous landmarks, such as the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. Then get settled in and do a little bit at a time.

Check TimeOut for current things to do. Bangkok can be very trendy (omg, the malls are insane!), so you’ll find lots of adventure before you head out to other parts of the country.

Bottom line—if you want a terrific Asia starting point, Bangkok is your place!

THE SANE IDEA:

Time for Change. And for Time Sanity.

North America just did its annual Spring time change, which can be quite confusing to those of us who are traveling the world.

It gets even more convoluted when you’re in a place that also changes time, and worse when your local time change doesn’t happen in sync with North America (Australia is a case in point).

How do you keep from missing appointments?

Here’s the simple strategy that I’ve used for years:

Set your calendar to an index time zone and list all appointments in that time zone—regardless of where you currently are in the world.

For me, it’s the Eastern Time Zone. My Apple calendar automatically adjusts how the appointments appear based on where I’m traveling. This system eliminates the need to compute time, and it reduces the chances of missing appointments.

BEWARE, however. When you’re booking appointments using systems like Calendly, there are times when that calendar system gets it wrong (Calendly has been a prime example of that in the past). So be sure to double-check what time zone you’re booking appointments in.

TIPS AND TACTICS

Cash Clarity.

Beware when you’re shopping online in other countries.

There are opportunities to save and there’s the potential to be “disappointed.”

Let’s talk about savings first.

One of the greatest thrills you may have as a PrideNomad™ is to play the currency game.

For example, when it came time to renew my Vimeo Pro plan, I was presented with a price in US Dollars. Then I logged-in with my VPN, connected to an Australian server, and checked my renewal in Aussie dollars.

Guess what? My renewal was less expensive in Aussie dollars.

I’ve found this buying all sorts of things online—sometimes USD is better, but most of the time, I’ve found that buying in another currency will save you money.

NOTE: Just be careful that you don’t purchase with a card that smacks you with conversion fees and international charge fees, or you’ll lose your savings.

Options such as Wise.com can save fees for you, and pseudo banks such as Mercury (see their sponsored ad above) are terrific options for USA-based businesses.

So that’s the good news.

Here’s the big warning…

You need to be mindful of what currency you’re purchasing in. When it comes to dollars, there are several different options—USD, CAD, and AUD for instance.

If the type of currency isn’t denoted, it’s probably USD (especially if the company is US-based). But that’s not always the case.

In Australia, for instance, there is rarely an indication that prices are in AUD, since that’s the default currency. SO—you need to be clear about how you’re being charged.

Case in point. Canva is an Australian company based in Sydney (10 minutes walk from where I’m writing this right now, actually!). I purchased a PrideNomad™ T-shirt on their website which revealed a price of $25 (great deal).

The shirt was shipped to an Australian address and was paid with an Australian debit card.

When the charge was processed, though, it came through for over $38! They had charged me the $25 in USD!

It took a couple of weeks to get it sorted out with them, but lesson learned—ALWAYS get clarity on the currency that you’re paying with to avoid problems.

NOMAD HACK

Big Air Savings!

I just discovered a fun hack that can save you lots of money and give you a free layover.

For example…I have a conference in Atlanta in April. A one-way flight from Sydney to Atlanta would typically cost $1,328 USD. But with this cool tool, I can travel for just $819 USD, saving $509! 

Not bad, eh?

Here’s how you do it.

Go to https://www.flightconnections.com/ and search for the trip you want to take. Their site will show you all the cities you can connect to on the way to your chosen destination.

For instance, in the case of Sydney, you can connect in Honolulu, Santiago, Chili, Capetown, Tokyo, etc. Then start pricing segments to that connecting city, and from that connecting city to your final destination.

I use the Google flight search tool for this (https://www.google.com/travel/flights).

In this case, I found a flight on Jetstar to Honolulu and then another flight on Delta from Honolulu to Atlanta. There’s a connection in Los Angeles, but who cares? 

You’re saving $509 USD, which you can use for your accommodations and more.

Yes, you may miss out on frequent flyer points or status qualification points with your favorite airline, so be mindful of that.

But when it comes to the math, savings is savings, and if you’re not a mileage whore (as I am!), this can be quite attractive.

That’s it for this week. See you next week. Please share this with your friends!