Want to be a digital nomad in Asia? Here are 5 things you should keep in mind.


    Becoming location independent is easier than ever. Once you are able to work from anywhere as long as you have your computer and a Wi-Fi, why not exploit this situation to travel around the world, explore different cultures, religions, countries and learn more about the wonderful world we live in?

    Would like to give it a shot? Great! Keep these 5 things in mind:

    1. Be self-disciplined when it comes to work. A lot of people simply can’t get themselves to do the required work, when there are so many temptations, such as: diving, partying, going to the beach, island hopping, surfing, hiking and whatever else. However, if you want to be a digital nomad for years and keep making money either freelancing or running your business, you will have to be disciplined. Sometimes you will have to take an important call very early in the morning, while other times you will have to work till 4 AM, so that you could finish all the tasks. But since you are the master of your time, this definitely doesn’t hurt. I have never had any problems due to our time differences with the rest of the team at ChameleonJohn.com even though most of them are based in Europe, not Asia.
    2. Find a hobby to tackle loneliness. If you don’t have a travel partner (I never do), you will spend a lot of time alone – on trains, buses, planes and so on. Some people find it hard to make use of that time and feel quite lonely, so make sure to come up with an interesting hobby to keep you occupied. I spend all that time reading books on my Kindle and learning languages via educational apps on my phone.
    3. Make new friends. You will meet new people absolutely everywhere you go – in all the hostels/hotels, co-working spaces and events/gatherings. However, you will have to make friends, not just acquaintances, in order to have a proper social life. So be out-going, social, friendly and accept most of the invitations that come your way – you can never know what it’ll lead you to.
    4. Be ready for some unpleasant surprises. You will spend all of your time living among people who come from absolutely different surroundings/cultures. There are countries in Asia where people are extremely helpful and it’s very safe for tourists, such as Japan. Unfortunately, in quite a few of them you will end up being cheated from time to time. A few examples – I had a situation in the Philippines, where a taxi driver wanted to charge me 12 times more than we had agreed and wanted to take me to the police station once I disagreed; on my way to the airport in Thailand a taxi driver said he will turn around if I don’t pay more than we had agreed (he knew I was late for my flight); I have had my stuff stolen in bars and clubs. However, dealing with all these situations will make you a much better traveler and, as my friend said, even if you get ripped off in Southeast Asia, it’s still cheap. So don’t worry about that too much and always keep cool.
    5. Get ready for the most wonderful adventure of your life. Once you know what it’s like to be able to go anywhere you wish and do pretty much whatever you like all the time, you won’t be able to stop. Throughout this time you will meet dozens of wonderful like-minded people, learn about many different Asian cultures from around the world, do things you have never done before and, most likely, have the best time of your life. So choose the countries you want to go to, book your tickets, pack one small backpack and get going, there’s no time to waste!

    Hope this article will help you prepare for your digital nomadic journey and you will have a great time. All of your opinions and comments are very welcome in the comment section below.

    Jacob Laukaitis is a location independent entrepreneur, who works on an online coupons website ChameleonJohn.com and spends most of his time on creating great content.