Today it’s been a week since I sailed over to the island of Koh Lanta and I’m working from KoHub, a tropical coworking space that has long attracted digital nomads from all over the world. I went to Koh Lanta for it, too.
What is the KoHub?
Tropical coworking, or shared office, on the island of Ko Lanta in the Andaman Sea. A basecamp for digital nomads and other exotics who can do work over the Internet from anywhere. So why not from Thailand?
KoHub was founded by James Abbott, who also brought high-speed internet connections here. I dare say it’s the best connectivity on the island at the moment.
KoHubbers
KoHub has a homely and friendly atmosphere, and compared to Punspace it is more community oriented. It’s not just an “office in the tropics“, but more importantly a community of people who call themselves KoHubbers and spend their free time together as they please. Yesterday, for example, a few new people arrived, so we went for a beer in the evening and exchanged experiences.
I met three other Czechs here, including David, whom I knew only from the Internet, a couple from Barcelona (a translator and an admin who remotely manages Linux servers), another couple from Holland (again an admin and a translator – obviously a popular combination), an American who lived in China for 17 years and translates from Chinese to English, developers, graphic designers, and marketers… just a mixture of professions that can be done via the Internet. There’s about 15 of us right now.
Entertainment
It is not only through work that man lives. 400m from KoHub we have a beach where we go swimming or play freesbie in the waves. The KoHub has movie nights – you can always see on the bulletin board when it’s on and before that they vote on what movie to show.
The day before yesterday there was a local Oktoberfest on Klong Dao beach – a fundraising event to support the local animal rescue station. Party on the beach, live band, fireshow, barbecue and of course beer, beer and beer… There were locals, expats and of course KoHubbers, including James.
How’s it going around here
We are going barefoot here 😉 The KoHub is very structured, with many possibilities of how and where to sit or lie down. Some prefer the air-conditioned room, but most work on the covered outdoor terrace overlooking the garden. Most of the tables and chairs on the terrace are made of bamboo or wood. There are lockable lockers so you don’t have to carry your notebook back and forth all the time.
Some people prefer to work in the morning, others start in the afternoon because of customers from Europe.
Garden
In the garden there are trees and bushes that protect the KoHub from the sun. There are also a couple of gazebos that you can also use. One of them is reserved for Skype calls, another Skype room is inside.
If you’re coming back from the beach and have salt or sand on you, there’s a tree shower, aptly called a “coco shower“. Then there’s a big statue of Buddha sitting under a palm tree.
Monitor lizards
After a few days in Ko Hub, you won’t miss the fact that the garden is occasionally visited by monitor lizards – I filmed them for you here:
Kitchen
Coffee and water are free. Then there is a self-service fridge with other drinks at very reasonable prices. You can also have breakfast or lunch here. They cook right here in the KoHub from morning to 5pm. And they cook really well.
New colleague
I have a new colleague here, his name is Tiger, and he talks to me with his hands, his feet, sometimes his tail. I mean, when he’s not sleeping.
KoHub Membership
If you want to work from KoHub, you just come, pay the membership fee and you can work. You can pay by the day, by the week or by the month. The most convenient is by the month, and that’s what I took advantage of since I’m here for just a month.
And the conclusion?
For me, it’s the best coworking space I’ve found so far. Even Google could envy us this kind of work facilities. Thank you James!