Finding Freedom in the Digital Age
After three months in Medellin, Colombia, it’s finally time to reflect on my entire stay. Usually, I would’ve split each month into its own post, like with the Mexican Caribbean series, but due to intense procrastination, I’ve decided to just make a superpost for Colombia.
During my stay in Colombia, I visited a colorful town known as Guatape, chilled on the Caribbean sea at the historic coastal city of Cartagena, and discovered what the city of Medellin had to offer.
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For my final post in the Mexico 2020 digital nomad series, I’ll be recounting my last two months in the Mexican Caribbean. It would’ve been nice to explore more of this massive country, but due to COVID-19 I really wanted to minimize my movement. Still, the Caribbean coast had a lot to offer, and I’m satisfied with my time there.
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When the Internet was created near the end of the 20th century it was hard to imagine what it would evolve into. Today we have a global high-speed communications platform that mega-industries have been built on top of.
Two revolutions happening on the Internet now are digital nomad lifestyles and blockchains. And these two have more in common than you’d think.
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It’s been exactly one month since I left the U.S. for the sunny beaches of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Despite the looming threat of COVID-19, I decided that the beginning of October was the best time for me to take the leap and start a life as a digital nomad. You can read more about my decision to become a digital nomad during a pandemic here.
One month in Playa Del Carmen is a great milestone for another blog post. Madison (my girlfriend) and I have had many exciting experiences here already, from hurricanes to a weekend stay in Bacalar. Here’s a recap of events so far, as well as my thoughts on being a digital nomad in Playa Del Carmen.
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At the start of October I fulfilled my dreams of becoming a digital nomad. It was a long time coming, fueled by my experiences backpacking through southeast Asia in 2018, and enabled by a remote job I picked up at the beginning of 2020. I’m now in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico writing this blog post from my Airbnb.
Amid all of this is the elephant in the room: COVID-19. We’re about eight months into the pandemic of a lifetime, yet here I am with plans to sustain an indefinite travel experience. You’d be justified in thinking that I’m crazy, but let me explain.
But before I fight my case for becoming a digital nomad during a pandemic, here’s a brief description of what a digital nomad even is.
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Southeast Asia (SEA) is a hotspot for first-time travelers. It’s one of the least expensive places to travel around, which is one reason why it’s been deemed a backpacker’s paradise.
Southeast Asia is a backpacker’s paradise due to its vibrant culture, beautiful scenery, and all-around low cost. It’s no surprise that the countries comprising Southeast Asia have seen a huge increase in travelers over the last few years. Thanks to smartphones and their associated apps, backpacking foreign countries has become much more accessible. For Southeast Asia specifically, there are a handful of apps that are essential to ensuring you have a safe and efficient trip. Continue reading below to learn five of the most useful smartphone apps for backpacking Southeast Asia.
![Southeast Asia Update #7 [Thai Islands]](https://dijitalzen.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/img_8748.jpg?w=1218&h=548&crop=1)
Previous: Southeast Asia Update #6
With sadness and reluctance, Madison and I began planning for the final two-week leg of our journey through Southeast Asia. From the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, it was time to head south to decompress near the crystal clear waters and limestone cliffs of the Thai Islands. The itinerary consisted of flying to the coastal city of Ao Nang which would act as our home base for a week as we went island hopping each day to a few of the dozens of islands further out to sea. For our final week, we’d then take a speedboat 60km further out to sea to a small island near Malaysia called Koh Lipe, a.k.a. “the Maldives of Thailand”. My goal for this part of the trip was to try to be as present and carefree as possible. I wouldn’t say that the Thai Islands were uneventful, but we were definitely not as active as we were in previous cities. That being said, this post will probably be brief.
![Southeast Asia Update #6 [Northern Thailand]](https://dijitalzen.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/img_8294.jpg?w=1218&h=548&crop=1)
Previous: Southeast Asia Update #5
If you’ve been following this blog series from the beginning you may remember that our initial goal for this two-month trip was to visit four countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. At one point during our time in Vietnam, however, we decided it’d be best to exclude Laos from our itinerary altogether. This is because we felt we wanted to slow our trip down a bit and stay in Vietnam and Thailand longer than originally planned. In my last post, I covered our time in northern Vietnam, but instead of booking a flight into Laos from Hanoi, we went directly to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
![Southeast Asia Update #5 [Northern Vietnam]](https://dijitalzen.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/img_7816.jpg?w=1218&h=548&crop=1)
Previous: Southeast Asia Update #4
The further into Vietnam we traveled, the more enthralled we became. After bumming it at the beaches for a couple of weeks it was now time to head to our first Northern Vietnam destination, Hanoi, the capital of the country. For the next two weeks, we’d find ourselves caught up in the chaos of Hanoi, on a luxury cruise in Ha Long Bay, and at peace in the mountain village of Sa Pa.
Digital Zen 