Rant: A guy in Chiang Mai told me my 'work setup' was just a fancy vacation

I was at a cafe on Nimman Road last month, and this guy, Mark, saw my laptop and portable monitor and just laughed. He said, 'You're not working, you're just paying to be on vacation with extra steps.' It stuck with me because it felt like he was calling out the whole 'laptop lifestyle' as a scam. Has anyone else had a local or another traveler just not get it at all?

3 comments

3 Comments

max_martinez2mo ago

I was in a hostel in Lisbon three years ago and a guy from Germany asked what I did all day. When I said I was a freelance writer, he just shook his head and said it sounded like a long-term excuse to avoid a real job. The look on his face was pure pity, like I was a kid pretending. It's a weird feeling when someone frames your whole life as a kind of trick.

max8082mo ago

I mean, what does he think a real job looks like? It sounds like Mark just has a very old idea of work, like it only counts if you're miserable in an office. Did you ask him what he does, or was he just there to give out free opinions?

jakerivera1mo ago

That look of pity is the worst part... like you're a stray cat they're thinking of feeding. Funny how the "real job" people never seem to be the ones who are actually happy with their own work.