Jul 27 2008
Workspaces So Far
Every once in awhile bloggers like to make little posts about their work spaces. They post photos of their massive monitors (sometimes two), super huge desks crammed with important looking things, and sometimes even a strategically placed snowboard or some other cool type thing in the background.
Sadly, I have no workspace. Happily, I have many! So I thought a post with photos and little blurbs about my workspaces so far might be interesting. Some of my working spots so far have been inspiring, some have been depressing, but the beauty is that I didn’t have to be at any of them from 9 to 5. One thing I have realised though is that working from anywhere isn’t always practical.
Here they are, most recent first:
Airport - Shenzhen, China
China never ceases to amazing me with its free wifi and airports always seem to have a free signal floating around which is great. Too bad I spent most of my time trying to nap away a hangover rather than getting work done. I wish other world airports would get going witht the free wifi thing… come on Heathrow!
Mix - Soho, Hong KongThis place is great. Fresh fruit juices, healthy, tasty food, free wifi, comfy chairs, air-conditioning, friendly staff, and there are loads of other wireless workers here too so I don’t feel like a big nerd sitting by myself and typing away. They even have a guy playing live guitar on Saturdays. If there’s one in Beijing I am going to have to find it.
Garden Hostel - Kowloon, Hong KongIt ain’t pretty but it’s an ok place to stay and there’s a garden area to plunk down and do some work. The patio furniture isn’t exactly comfortable but it beats working on my bed. If you need some distraction then there is a martial arts school on weeknights and they bust out the karaoke machine on Sunday afternoons.
Bingo Hostel - Fenghuang, ChinaMy travel buddy and fellow wifi addict found this place after combing the streets of Fenghuang. I decided to stay an extra five days because of the great working environment. There’s wifi access in the room and space to work and all for 25 yuan per night (under US$4). Their smelly dog wanted to befriend me which was distracting.
Peasant Hotel - Langde, ChinaLocated in a tiny village that is popular with day trippers, there really was seriously nothing to do at night. So I hid away in my room, enjoyed the silence and typed away. Not the most exciting evening, but it’s good to have some peace and quiet now and then. I had the giant spiders to keep me company and the roosters in the (early!) morning.
National Hostel - Chengyang, ChinaThis place had no wifi but the rooms were cheap at 30 yuan per night, the setting beside the river was beautiful, and I managed to rig up a desk by pulling a small table over to my bed. The hostel did have a really fast net connection and the hugest monitor I’ve ever seen so uploading work would have been possible.
Cafe - Dazhai, ChinaThis place served great food and it seemed like I was the only one ever in there so I got plenty of quiet time. No wifi but the view was one of the best views I’ve ever had while working. I was tempted to spend all of my time just staring out at the rice terraces though.
Apartment - Yangshuo, ChinaI volunteered at an English school for a week in Yangshuo and got free accommodation thrown into the mix. The room was equipped with a desk but no wifi. My roommate was an artist and tended to take over the desk most nights but I usually spent my nights at the bars and worked during the day so it was no problem.
Apartment - Beijing, ChinaIt seems like all of the wifi I’ve encountered on my travels is faster than what I have in my apartment in Beijing. I always have problems uploading files with FTP. Things seem to stall a lot. But I’m all set up there with a desk in my room, food in the fridge, air-con pumping and access to books and other resources that help me get things done.
Yes Inn - Hong Kong IslandThis hostel had fre wifi that oozed into the rooms. I made a makeshift desk, sat on the floor and I was in a six bed dorm so had a couple of people around to keep me company. One girl put on some music and it was a great environment to get stuff done, despite my increasingly sore ass from sitting on the floor.
Travellers Friendship Hostel - Kowloon, Hong KongThis place was a hell hole! Terrible staff, scary toilets, prison cell rooms. There was free wifi but you could only access it from the hallway in front of the elevators and there were no tables. I had to plunk onto the floor and use a plastic stool as a desk under the watchful eye of the evil owner. Never stay here!
Matahari Lodge - Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaA brand new hostel, this place was spotless. It had what looked like a nice working environment complete with a balcony but I did most of my work from my room. I’m not sure why because working on a bed is never comfortable and the room, as you can see with the modern look, wasn’t exactly inspiring.
Father’s Guesthouse - Cameron Highlands, MalaysiaA nice hostel with wifi, lots of spaces to work and some very rainy weather all meant that I got plenty done in the Cameron Highlands with a bit of hiking in between. Having lots of choice of where to work is great. The TV in the common room was noisy but there were lots of other nooks and crannies to escape to.
D’Lagoon - Perentian Islands, MalaysiaAh the hammock on a beach shot. It seems to be what people think of when they dream of working from anywhere. Let me be the first to tell you that it doesn’t work. It’s super uncomfortable and attempting to look at the laptop while sitting in the hammock totally killed my neck. But it certainly looks impressive.
Trekker Lodge - Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaI really liked this place despite it not looking like anything special. The staff were super friendly and the common area was filled with nice people. It just had a great vibe about it and I was surprised I enjoyed it so much. It had free wifi but I spent more time chatting with people than working.
Some Hotel - Dhaka, BangladeshThis place had no wifi but I had my handy, dandy net connection through my mobile phone so that was ok. They had great food and even a Western toilet but staff liked to come in without knocking. The do that in Bangladesh. I got lots done because I didn’t want to venture outside to the chaos that is Dhaka.
Hands On Headquarters - Rayenda, BangladeshOf all the places I’ve been online, this has to be the most remote. I never would have expected to be able to get online from rural Bangladesh and I was amazed to get a signal from somewhere not even on any maps, not even local ones! The power cut out all the time but I still got lots done.
Greenhouse B&B - Dhaka, BangladeshThis place promised a net connection but I never did get it to work. It didn’t matter though because I was online in no time once I bought a mobile phone. The guesthouse was super nice complete with a Western toilet, meals with the family and a huge room with a giant desk. I felt like I was back at home. Who would have thought?
Enigmata - Camiguin, PhilippinesThis was one of the most unique places I’ve ever stayed. Built into an old tree with loads of character, it had lots of places to escape to do work. It had great food and friendly staff to party with. The place has a really creative vibe and it’s impossible not to be inspired. If it had wifi I might still be there now.
Nuts Huts - Bohol, PhilippinesAnother beautiful, peaceful place with great food and not much else to do besides meet people and get down to some serious work. No wifi here either though but I managed to sort out photos and do some writing. I did most of my work in the cafe which overlooks the forest but I forgot to take a photo of it.
Frendz Resort - Boracay, PhilippinesMy first attempt at working in a beautiful, tropical location went well. This hostel was just far away from the beach not to have in tempt me, and had a good wifi connection, nice working area on the front porch of my room, and a bar nearby serving up tasty beverages. The owner is nice and it was a great place to get stuff done.
Friendly’s Guesthouse - Manila, PhilippinesI loved this place. The guy who runs it, Benji, is so welcoming and friendly. He puts on a free wine and cheese night every Saturday and always parties with the guests who all seemed to be really interesting when I was there. The balcony is a great spot to work and meeting people is easy. I’d go back there in a second.
I wish I had more photos of my laptop poolside or on the beach, but the reality is that working without a desk is really awkward and unproductive for me. Although, that said, I seem to spend an awful lot of time working from my bed which is only good for one thing - easy access to napping.
What’s the most beautiful, craziest or impractical place you’ve ever worked? Is there anywhere you got a net connection you never would have imagined would be possible?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
I’ve also found the wifi in hostels to be surprisingly good. In my apartment in Madrid, it’s a bit shoddy and I can spend twice as long trying to get things to upload.
I will say that having a desk does tend to improve my productivity. I don’t know what it is about sitting on a bed with a laptop, but for some reason I can’t seem to get anything done!
In Madrid, they have wifi on the buses, but I’ve yet to use it. I can’t imagine working for 15 minutes on a bus with twenty people squeezed in around you to be very productive. I’m just waiting for global wifi, when they start shooting it out of the sky to everyone!!
Always a fan of such posts “my workspace here” I’m mucho mucho impressed with your collection over the past 6 months! By far the best read as far as workspaces go…
Thanks for sharing!
I love it! See I’m not savvy enough to think about taking pictures of my travels in advance for just a post like this! Super smart and an awesome post! Gorgeous views too! - PB
These are the best workspaces I have ever seen!
I would love to travel to these places, but so far Europe, North Africa and Delhi in India (Uni trip) is as far as I have managed.
Thanks for sharing these pictures and descriptions.
I’m real jealous now!
That was quite simply one of the most interesting blog posts I have ever read concerning work and travel.
I agree! very interesting post!! You have been in China for a little while, so I wonder how you find the weather/smog? Much has been made in the US Press about the pollution in China considering the upcoming Olympics? Would love to hear some thoughts regarding this? and any other comments about the attitude towards the environment in China?
regards,
-Skip
Glad you all liked the post… I never really intended on making a post like this but I noticed that I had loads of photos of where I’d been working so figured it would be interesting, even for me, to have them all together in a post like this.
Christine maybe it would be easier to hang out at bus stops and do your web work when the buses stop to pick people up?
Skip I’ve been out of Beijing for about a month and only got back recently. It was smoggy yesterday but seems better today. A couple of months ago it was terrible and I would get sore throats the day after spending any long period of time walking around the city.
Wow! Some of these locations are pretty cool.
Yeah, some of them may be basic or whatever but it must be great to keep being able to have a change of scenery.
You’ve just got a new subscriber too as I really like your blog idea.
David
[…] It’s been a while since I did a post about my workspaces on the road and I’ve certainly worked in enough different places since China to justify another post, so here it is. […]