Forced to work from a Thai beach during a monsoon storm

I was in Koh Lanta last month, set up at a beachfront cafe with my laptop, thinking I'd finally get some peaceful work done. Then the sky just opened up out of nowhere, rain hitting the tin roof so loud I couldn't hear my Zoom call. I grabbed my gear and ran to a covered shack 50 feet away, but my wifi dongle got soaked and died completely. Ended up finishing the day at a 7-Eleven using their hotspot, sitting on a plastic stool next to the chips aisle. Has anyone else had their remote work setup destroyed by weather in a random place?

3 comments

3 Comments

camerona7917d agoMost Upvoted

Grab a bag of rice next time you're in that situation and bury your dongle in it overnight. I killed a USB wifi adapter on a muddy trail in Costa Rica and the rice trick saved it by morning. Always carry a backup hotspot in a ziplock bag, it's worth the extra space in your pack.

harper_gibson217d ago

Oh wow, @camerona79, does the rice trick work on phones too or just dongles?

campbell.logan17d ago

Yeah the ziplock bag thing is key. I had a power bank fry in a downpour in Vietnam and now I keep all my electronics in a dry bag even on sunny days. Monsoon season doesn't care about your plans.