I Had to Battle Anxiety and Outright Hatred to Be a Digital Nomad

Here’s what helped me stick with my plan despite the obstacles

Author enjoying the view of the Chao Phraya river from a scenic vantage point. Source: Author.

After being locked down in Malaysia for two years because of “you know what”, I finally committed to the digital nomad lifestyle in December 2021.

I jumped at the chance when Thailand announced that its quarantine measures would be reduced to a single day under its “Test and Go” programme. I applied for, and was granted, a 60-day tourist visa at the Royal Thai Consulate in Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the relaxation of quarantine requirements, there was a slew of bureaucratic roadblocks to overcome before making the trip a reality.

I’m not going to go into excruciating detail about how I got there. Suffice to say, I spent long hours poring over officialese and e-mailing insurance providers, hotels, and so on.

I ended up printing 500 sheets of paper to bring on my trip with me. Just in case a single missing page ends up costing me hours of explaining myself to immigration. Or, worse, scuppering the entire journey.

With this level of hyper-preparation, you’d think I’d have everything figured out. Nonetheless, I was caught off guard by some factors I had overlooked in my meticulous calculations.