Patrick
- Jun 23, 2021
- 6 min read

How I became a Digital Nomad - Move to Thailand! Part 3/5

Updated: Jan 8

My first REAL culture shock

Group picture with my colleagues of my first job in Thailand

The internship in the german IT company in Bangkok was a fantastic experience for me and added a lot of credits to my study account as well. I did some research before I left to source some potential apartments for me before I left to Bangkok and arranged some visits to check them out and luckily found one I like for an affordable costs, only 5 BTS (the metro is called BTS in Bangkok which stands for Bangkok Train Sky) away from where I worked. I still remember my first working day - I left my apartment and took the metro to realize that I was wearing my flip flops instead of proper shoes! Anja, the MD of the company laughed and took it with a big smile when I introduced myself :D Several of my colleagues (people from Thailand, India, Poland, France, UK, Maldives) became good friends. We spent a lot of time together, traveled Thailand and are still in touch nowadays. Our paths crossed several times and when ever I am back in Bangkok I meet up with all of them. The internship was also super helpful for me to understand, what digital marketing really is. It added a new layer of perspective for me, on top of the theoretical part in the University. I strongly believe in the power of doing things in the real world rather than learning theoretical stuff in school or university.

Digital Nomad Life in Bangkok - Office Day

Nevertheless there was a sit back at the beginning of my time in Bangkok. I clearly remember that during the first three months I had some huge difficulties to adapt to my new life - the culture, temperatures and humidity, noise and just the vast size of Bangkok, a huge concrete jungle. I was not used to turn on air-cons all night long, but without them I could not sleep. I faced some serious issues with sleeping which had an effect on my physical constitution. The extremely high noise level of motorbikes, cars, music combined with temperatures between 30 and 45 degrees day by day, masses of people was just too much for me. I just experienced my first culture shock! I surely did not expect this as I thought like every day would be like a holiday. To be honest I really did not like that time very much and questions my decision to move to Bangkok several times - Was it really the right decision? But after those first three months I overcame that difficult and moved to the adjustments and then acceptance stage. What happened? I remember that one day when I took the motor bike from my condo (how apartments are called in Thailand) sitting on the back while the driver meandering through the masses of traffic that I looked into the blue sky, smiled and realized how lucky and blessed I am to live in Thailand to experience this fantastic and exotic culture! From that moment I started to enjoy my life more and more, accepted differences in culture and every day felt like a holiday, a big adventure although I had to work. I traveled within Thailand and also made some trips abroad to Cambodia and Singapore. After 4 months I fully arrived in Thailand and loved it. What was supposed to be a one year internship turned into a 7 year live changing experience!

Key Learnings

Mix your academy studies with practical experiences, do several internships or take smaller jobs in companies to get a better understanding of what is needed to be successful in your professional field
Do your homework before you leave your home country and do some research about potential apartments, transportation system etc.
Don´t question your decisions to early and give yourself time to adjust to new environments, circumstances or cultures
Accept cultural differences and do not try to compare everything to your own culture.

Goodbye Germany

After my internship in Bangkok I returned to Maastricht in the Netherlands to write my final thesis and finish my studies. My time there ended after 4 years with a Bachelors Degree in International Business - my entry ticket to the world wide labor market! What an amazing time the last four years had been, I was hooked and wanted more! I did not even consider applying for jobs in Germany and as I really enjoyed my time in Bangkok I reached out to Anja again to ask her for a job. The marketing position in the company was vacant and I was lucky and got the job! Before I booked my ticket to Bangkok I had a signed working contract in my pocket - YES! I informed my parents and family about my decision to leave Germany and to start my own life far far away, obtained my working Visa in the Thai embassy in Düsseldorf and prepared my departure. There were many good reasons for me to leave Germany and there was no way back anymore but it felt great! I sold all my things like car, furniture and what ever I had. In the end I just owned like 8,000 Euros and a backpack. I could literally store ALL my belongings in my 40 liter backpack. The feeling was indescribable. Nothing was holding me back, no physical thing that was in my mind - I was free, free for the first time! I never would have thought that it would feel so good! To be honest, I never felt like a 100% member of the society and many things in Germany felt strange to me. That might be one of the reasons that I was just super happy to leave, to start a new life in Thailand.

Key Learnings

Aim for international accepted degree programs like Bachelor or Masters to significantly increase your chances to work abroad
Take internships during your studies serious and an opportunity to your your employer what you are capable of, it might become your first job outside your home country and the entry ticket to working and living abroad!
Try to sign a work contract before you leave, it will take off a lot of pressure and will provide some sort of security and stability
Inform yourself about visa procedures of your new home country and ensure you are in possession of the correct visa before leaving
Once you decided to leave stick to your decision, do not live in the past! Learn from it but live in the now and prepare for the future

Back to Bangkok - How I stayed for 7 Years

Once back in Bangkok I moved into my old condo was located in the eastern part of Bangkok in Huaykwang, not far from where I worked. It was not that big, around 30sqm but clean and well equipped. It also had a community pool and gym which was something special for me coming from Germany where this was not possible. This is quite usual in Thailand and just great to have as the temperatures are very high.

Rainy Season in Thailand - Bangkok was flooded

In total I stayed for nearly 2,5 years at the company I started as an intern now working as a Digital Marketing Executive, freshly graduated. Besides learning a lot in digital marketing and how to use it in the real world I made some great friends from Thailand, France, UK, Germany, Maldives. I still remember countless evenings after work we sat together in roof top bars and restaurants, at food markets all together having drinks and enjoying the amazing (but very spicy, be careful) Thai food. We went on weekend trips together to Hua Hin, Pattaya or north into the rain forests. Dream locations like Phuket, Krabi or Samui were just one flight hour away and not expensive. I stopped counting how many times I have been out the weekend to visit another dream island with fantastic beaches, crystal clear water and wonderful weather. It was just a dream life and every day felt like a holiday even you had to work. There were just endless options for trips, restaurant visits, activities.

Read Part 4/5 - Start of a new chapter, company, job

More related parts:

Next Stop?

You can be sure that this was not my last stop, more to come! Make sure you won´t miss any new articles, videos or helpful resources and subscribe to my free newsletter!

What it needs to become a Digital Nomad

I am often asked by family members or friends "What do you think you need to become a Digital Nomad?" A not easy to answer questions but during my 10 years nomad life, I identified a couple of specific characteristics which could be helpful in becoming a Digital Nomad and gathered them in a separate article which you can check out - "8 things good to have to become a Digital Nomad ".