50. One Month As A Nomad in Thailand What I've Learned

Like, I think traveling solo, you learn, man. I've learned so much about myself and still learning, you know, like, you know, spending time on your own, journaling, meditating, just, like, figuring stuff out. You go through all those emotions and you're forced to, like, confront them, like, in your everyday life. Back in Australia, like, you get distracted. As friends, you listen to your stuff, you're watching movies, you're doing whatever. Like, you don't confront that, but when you're alone. I've learned so much about myself and where I need to get better as a. As a person and an individual and how I can grow.

Welcome Back to episode 50 of the Benneberg show, mate. We've made it halfway to our target. Unbelievable, man. 50 episodes. Can you believe that? I can't believe it. I can't believe it. It's been. It's been a lot of fun, to be honest.

It's been pretty good, man. Especially today. We're at my place, we're in my office.

Yeah.

Got this random hokey setup. Looks amazing. I was like, I was fiddling under the desk trying to get it all sorted. Ben's taking photos of a plus crack.

Is like crawling on all fours underneath, trying to get his cause out. I'm just taking videos. It's great. It's amazing. That's good setup, folks. Today we've got our 50th episode, and what a better way to bring it up to talk about one month as a digital nomad in Thailand and what I've learned. I just go back to Thailand a couple of nights ago. It was wild, it was loose. Made a shitload of mistakes, got some crazy stories, and I've got tall things I want to share today about my lessons. If you're wanting to go travel, being a nomad, you want a backpack, you want to just get amongst it. I've got some tips and lessons learned because it was kind of my first real month away.

You know, in a. In a foreign country that's not like, you know, it's not America. On my own, sort of nomadic. And I'll learn a lot. So I want to share those lessons today. And I've got a few funny stories to mate.

I remember when you were going, you're like, yeah, I'll go to Thailand in a couple of days. You've got no idea where I'm going. You rock up, got no money, atm, eats a car. Not like, oh, mate, you're getting robbed straight away.

Yeah, yeah, I was a little bit under prepared, but hashtag Ben, but One of the, the number one thing that I guess that I wrote down as like one of the lessons alone is I probably wouldn't have pre booked so much so early. So one of the mistakes I made the first week I stayed, it was a resort. I took a bit of a holiday.

Yeah.

First mistake because I actually then decided I was going to go to Contigu. So I'd had this resort and then before I went on Contigu, I booked another place I was going to stay at when I came back. So I ended up having like booking three different places before really knowing what I wanted to do. And by the time I got back from Kentucky, I didn't want to go back to the place I was at because I'd met new people and I want to say a new place.

Yeah.

So I think what I would do if I went back there again, I'd probably book for a couple of nights and then I'd use those couple of days to explore where you're at and go and find a good place you want to stay because you get a feel for things. Yeah. Like I stayed in old Phuket town and I stayed at like Southern Phuket. Didn't realize that Patong was like the place to be. So when I got to Patong, I was like, oh my, this is the place to be. And I hadn't booked there. So I. I stuffed up my booking by booking back in Alpuquet town, which, you know, I couldn't get all the booking back. So if I was to do it again, I'd go for a couple of days, book a couple of nights just at a hotel or whatever, go and explore, find a good place and then book once you're over there because you need to get a feel for the place.

That's really good. I do that when I go to, like, if I travel to Japan, I'll be like, I want to go to this area. So I'll book somewhere and they'll just play it by beer. Where I'll be like, okay, what are the things that I like? I like that I need it. I'm close to that. I want to do that.

Yeah.

And you don't know until you get there. And if you pre book everything and it's shit, you kind of have to go there. You've already paid for it and you're like, but I want to be over there.

Yeah, yeah. It's a bit tougher. Number two is I'd book for longer periods of time. So booking for like, you know, three or Four days or a week here and there can be quite expensive. Like it is cheap in Thailand but like if you're booking at hotels or I stayed at a hot, basically hostels, it wasn't that more. It wasn't that cheap if you're booking for shorter periods of time. If I was going back there for a longer period of time, you can actually get really cheap apartments for like months. Like you need to book a minimum of a month. The place I stayed in, I'll put Kat down. You get for 900 bucks for a month if you stayed or it's a thousand bucks a week. So like it's a, it's a huge discount on the, on the yearly. Sorry on the monthly stay. So if you're going for longer periods of time again, go over, suss it out, find a good place and then try and book for a longer period of time. You get some really cheap accommodation.

What was that place you were staying at that had the pool on the roof? It looked amazing.

It was called Homer. So H O M A It was in old Phuket town and it was really built for digital nomads and like people like working remotely. So for 900 bucks a month, not that I had this because I wasn't saying that long, but co working space, rooftop pool, restaurant, apartment, you know, it had room service, you could add a mobile app, you could book and have people come and clean your room. They only did washing. Did your washing. Look, the only downside was it was kind of remote, it was very inland and there was a lot of non English speaking people. I didn't speak to many people at all when I was there. It was very like people were just doing their thing. There's a lot of Russian people there. Like not many people were speaking English. So that was the only downside. When I moved to Patong, I stayed in a hostel. It's called Lub D L U B Space D And that was like, that was better. The only downside of that was like it was party scene. It was full on. Everyone was like drinking those people. It was awesome. But I was there to work and I had a, I had a room that was like over. The pool was wicked but it was like you could hear the parties going like all night and it was really tough to get sleep. So if I went there again, I'd book a room that wasn't like in the, in the, like in the pool. It'd be like back, you know, it was quite big. But yeah, that's what I'll probably do. Next one.

And you were saying, like. And it really depends what you want. Homer was like, a boot camp. Would, like, you go there to work. Everything's outsourced. I don't have to cook, I don't have to clean, I don't have to wash. The gym's there, the pool's there.

Yeah.

I can just smash it for, like, 12, 15 hours a day.

Yeah. If you want to really grind, that was a great place. Hostels, I found are mainly partying. There's a lot of people that are backpacking and a lot of people that are just there on holiday for cheap. You know, you can stay in a dorm, like a room of four people for, like, 20 bucks a night. Like, super cheap. And I met so many people doing that. Not really my thing. I want to have my own room. I've got laptop, I've got gear. I want to actually get a good night's sleep. Not only my thing, but if you want to stay cheap, hostels definitely the go. But they're definitely more of, like, a party vibe than like a, you know, a working situation.

You have to be. Want to be around other people.

Hundreds of share stuff, number four. So I took a week off when I was over there to do Contiki. My first ever Contiki. And, oh, my goodness, it was not what I expected. It was wild. I actually like most things. I don't really think about them before I go and do them. Like, I just rocked up.

You don't know the reputation of contiguing.

I did it. I was just like. My mate was like, dude, you got to do Contiki. He came over with me, and it was just wild, man. It was like 20 of us. There was basically from like, 20 years old to 34. We went around the islands of Thailand. I think it was the west coast tour of Thailand. We went to Krabi. We did Phi Phi Islands. We stayed in Batong. And it was wicked, man. Was just like. It was lots of drinking, lots of partying, but we did lots a lot, you know, sightseeing. Had some amazing people. I needed, like, four days to recover afterwards. Like, it was a big week. But honestly, so much fun. And if you're wanting to get out there and just meet people, you could 100% do that solo. Like, there's so many people, like, solo traveling. They just go over there and meet people. Katiki, if you're in your 20s, early 30s, like, I think it's an awesome way to do it.

I've never done Katiki. A lot of My mates have, and when they want to explore a new area, they like, yeah, I'll just go and do this. Because you get shown bits and pieces here and there. It's relatively safe, it's planned for you. You get a little bit of your own time with people, and then you can go back to yourself once you understand how it all works.

That was the. Probably the best. It was all planned for you. You just show up, they have a tour guide, they just show you around. You don't have to organize anything. It's just a really easy way to explore. So definitely, yeah, recommend that if you want to do katiki. If you're trying to live on a bit of a budget when you're traveling, accommodation is the thing that blows it out. Food, you can live cheaply, whatever, but, like, accommodation is the thing that can blow it out. So that's why I think getting over there and, you know, knowing where you want to be and booking those places when you're there, I think is much better than booking a place that you don't know where it's at. You don't know the vibe you get there. It's shit. That's what happened for me. And I, you know, booked the wrong place. That can sort of blow out your budget. Also, traveling solo, like, you know, it can be lonely sometimes. Like, you know, Contiki was amazing, but then after Contigu, it was like it would just went from like 100 to 0. It was like 20B where everyone's like, crazy. And then everyone left. And then I was like, chilling in Thailand alone, and it was like silence, silence, you know, And I'm usually pretty good, like, traveling solid, but after Contiki, I was like, oh, this sucks. Like, I had amazing time where all my. Where's all my gourmet? You were the hub, chilling there, working, so. But it's good. Like, I think traveling solo, you learn. Man, I've learned so much about myself and still learning, you know, like, you know, spending time on your own, journaling, meditating, just, like, figuring stuff out. You go through all those emotions and you're forced to. You're forced to, like, confront them, like, in your everyday life. Back in Australia, like, you get distracted, there's friends, you listen to your stuff, you're watching movies you don't want ever. Like, you don't confront that. But when you're alone, I've learned so much about myself, but where I need to get better as a. As a person and individual and how I can grow and it is tough, like, I've had, you know, there's a few tough times where you're like, fuck, I just want to be home. Like, I fucking learned this shit. Like, this is like, this sucks. Yeah. But then you push through that, you're like, no, I'm on a journey. You sit down, you meditate, whatever, and you like, you come out the other end, you're like, no, this is, this is where I need to be. You know, this, I'm just learning and growing.

This is what Reece was talking about when we interviewed him. It's kind of forced personal growth. And even like Tim Ferriss talks about this. He's like, if you're in Japan, like, they don't speak that much English there and just plan a trip, like go out there and, you know, just get lost. Like, leave your phone at home. Plan a trip somewhere and just try to get there and get back.

Yeah.

And like the experiences you have, trying to communicate with people, trying to ask someone where a toilet is, like all these kind of things that we don't have in our normal, comfortable lives and you really understand yourself more. You realize how resilient and capable you are and just the things you like and dislike.

Hundred percent. And using social media as well, I think it actually has a reverse effect. Like, you know, when you're alone. I think again, sometimes we, like, we want to distract ourselves because we don't really want to feel that alone. So we go on our phone or go and say, well, this is what I did on social media. And it actually makes it worse, you know, so what I was doing is I was just like throwing the phone out the windows. I don't like this. Like I'm just going to go explore, do what you said, go for a walk, you know, and just get amongst it. I just feel as though it's just, this is the best thing I've ever done. And I, you know, you're not always going to be 10 out of 10, but like for 90 of the trip I was like 10 out of 10.

Amazing.

Next one is I got sick as.

Sickest I've ever been. Sick sick. Like I copped, I copped influenza.

And I was out cold, man. I went to the hospital. Well, actually wasn't alcohol because I kept working more grinding through it, but like I wasn't getting.

Let me tell you the real story. Okay? So we're working on the business. We've got this new sales strategy. Ben's got a couple of calls booked in. He's stressed to the gills and he starts to get sick. Right. I see in his face and I'm like, mate, you're fucking cruel. And you're like, no, I'm fine, mate. I'm fine. He's got these bags under his eyes. He's literally sitting outside in Thailand where it's like 30 degrees and humid in a jumper. And I'm like, ben, you are stuffed, mate.

Yeah.

He's like, nah, man, I'm fine. I've got the chills and everything. But I was having hot showers doing the, like, no, you're gonna overheat. You can't do this stuff. You have, like, proper, proper influence. Yeah, mate, you were. And freaking Ben, he just starts, like.

He gets on slack and he starts.

Like, barking out orders in this, like, weird delirious haze. They don't even make sense. I don't know what he's talking about. I'm like, ben, what's going.

He's like, can't you just do it?

What are you doing, bro? You need to chew. It's all on the job. Just do the sales calls and then.

Piss off on katiki. But I was, like, hallucinating, trying to work, man. But I was like, over there in Thailand, I was so frustrated, I got sick. I wanted to work. There's so much to do, but, like, I can't sit still.

At one point, you were so funny. I was like, I was having a whinge about, like, what we're working on. My Ben, this is too much. You're like, it's a starter, man.

What do you say?

I've got influenza and I'm still working. I'm like, ben, you're not working. You're creating work that doesn't need that.

So this is the second time. So my US trip, day one got covered. Thailand got influenza. I think it's a. It's a new environment. Our buddy went to Greece recently. Day one got Covid. So just like, remember that when you're traveling, maybe build that into the first place you go. Like, are they just new place, new experiences? You can't get crook.

You're going to get crook. You're either going to get an upset stomach, you're going to get like a cold or something like that, or you're just going to be knackered and you need to acclimatize. So building those couple of days for yourself, give yourself a bit of rest. Doesn't have to be like, I know you're going somewhere far, but it doesn't have to be like the Amazing Race, just, you know, life happens. Just add a Bit more time if you can just enjoy it for sure.

Back to the resort. So the, the first thing that I stayed at was a resort. I wouldn't do that first. If I did again, I'd probably do that last. The result was incredible. I was so happy, so chill. I did a, it was called a wellness resort. So it was like healthy food. There was gym, I was working out. Dude, I did a boot camp day one with this Thai guy at the, at the resort. If you're booking for like you know, a boot camp, I was thinking there's going to be a group class. No, it was just me and he and roasted me. Man, I was so cool. I was like, bro, we nearly dynamic. That's the first like set down to.

Like that's the war.

That was the warm up. And I was like, I was ready to vomit. I was like, what's ridiculous? But like resort was wicked. I was there on my own. It was like everyone's in couples. I'm just there on my own. I read a book like in three days. Never that in my life. But you know, highly recommend if you want, if you need that. If you're like me and not good at taking breaks, getting yourself out of the everyday out of where you live and going to a place where you can literally disconnect. That really helped me. So I highly recommend that Even T.

Was saying recently like if as executives when we need kind of time off or space, he said even just like hire a hotel in like your local city. Doesn't have to be a fancy one but to be in a different space, a different area, get that different headspace step.

Totally amazing. Next one. I met well, I knew Harry already. He was one of my mates from EO that came over from, from Melbourne and we have come become really good mates. We real were like the exact same person. And you know, not that this is really a takeaway for traveling but I think just putting yourself in situations where you can spend more time with people that you know that are sort of on a similar level. And I hadn't spent a lot of time with him before. There's very few, very few people that I actually like hanging out with like, but like try to find more people that bring you up, you know. Harry's a year older than me and he's crushing it. Like his business is like booming. He's one of the biggest SEO agencies in the country. Yeah, he's got 60 full time employees. Wow. 25. He's crushing it, bro. And like just hanging out with people that like, bring you up is like a game changer. So highly recommend if you're wanting to, like, really level up who you are and who you hang out like, and who you hang out with can really help.

Yeah, absolutely, man. It's that five monkey theory where it's like. Or five chimps, where the five people you hang around most is who you're.

Going to be like, yes, yeah, yeah. Doing that and. And yet just positioning yourself, speaking with people that bring you up as. It just makes so much difference, you know, 100%. And last one is, you know, exploring and traveling. I really found that that is something I really love doing. It stimulates me, it allows me to, like, explore new places and it's something I want to do more of. Going to new countries, try new foods, meeting new people. I absolutely love it. And if you're thinking about traveling, like, I just. If you can. I'm very grateful to be in a position where like, you know, we're in our business, it allows me to go do it, you know. So, you know, coming from a bit of a privileged position, but if you can save up, you can move towards trying to be a nomad or, you know, just saving up and doing backpacking or just doing something traveling. Like, speaking from experience of just starting to travel, it is amazing. Like, just get out there, get a Monkstead, book a trip, go for it.

Amazing. And it's interesting that you say a position of privilege, but think about the years you've had to work, how hard you've had to work in the business, all the things you've had to go through in order to create this lifestyle. And even just in November, all the execs talked about what we want out of the business. And a lot of it was around, you know, I wanted this money, I want this, I want that. You went to Thailand and not only have you learned a lot about yourself, you know, getting sick of communication people, but you came back and last night you were saying, I just want to travel like that. I fuck the money, I don't care. I want this lifestyle where I'm able to travel, go to different places in the world and experience it. That's the thing that I want.

Yeah, man, that's.

And.

And I don't think I would have realized that until actually doing it, you know? And like, yeah, it's that whole learning more about yourself is something I've been really passionate about wanting to do more of. And I feel as though, like getting yourself out there, going to. Being scared, being nervous, being lonely, being anxious all that sort of stuff is the. Is the when is me look really uncomfortable is the exact time you got to learn about yourself, you know, like you're not going to learn about yourself sitting in your bedroom being comfortable.

You know, you learn about yourself under pressure. That's where you growth happens. Pressure makes dollars, mate.

Spot on, dude. That was my week. That was my month in Thailand. I'd love to go back. I only. So I did Phuket, Thailand. I wish I went to Chiang Mai. I've heard Chiang Mai is amazing. I'll hopefully get back there soon. But yeah, Phuket's an amazing place if you want to get amongst it. I don't know exactly how much I spent but it is pretty cheap. Like you can. You can go really low budget or you can go really high budget. It's probably one of the cheapest places to travel, I think.

Much cheaper than living in Melbourne, right?

Yeah, it's so much cheaper. Awesome. Hopefully that's helped you. If you have any questions, you can tweet at us at Bensipsonau or at Babybackburg. Hope you love that episode or enjoyed it. If you want to get out there and travel, highly recommend. Thailand's a great place to get a month on a budget.

Absolutely. And if you're thinking of doing the same, hit Ben up, hit him up on Twitter. Ask him those questions. Ask him the hard questions. Yeah, ask him about how much bloody funny had. We need to do an up late episode, mate.

Like after hours, after hours. Kentucky. Yeah, Kentucky episode. Yeah.

Good on you for and it was a really. It is like always a difficult time in a startup but for you to be able to do that while things are difficult, still thrive as well. The things we've been able to achieve even while you're away has been phenomenal. The world in burned out. It was great. You've actually I think achieved more than if you stayed in Australia.

Yeah, I totally agree man. Totally agree. Hopefully you enjoyed that episode. Team, if you like these episodes, please leave us a review or share it with a friend. If there's a buddy of yours that's heading to Thailand or you want to head to Thailand, share it with a friend, get a buddy on the road, get out there, get amongst it and we'll see you in the next episode.

Get amongst the champions. See you later.

See you guys.