{"id":836,"date":"2015-12-01T18:07:33","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T11:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/?p=836"},"modified":"2018-03-19T11:52:56","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T04:52:56","slug":"a-place-to-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/a-place-to-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"a place to focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dubmation-office-interior-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-837\" src=\"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dubmation-office-interior-2-700x201.jpg\" alt=\"Focus\" width=\"700\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dubmation-office-interior-2-700x201.jpg 700w, http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/dubmation-office-interior-2-1024x294.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some eight years ago, I made the break. I left my overpriced, overly complicated and absurdly hectic place of birth with an amped up laptop and my favourite coffee mug. I&#8217;ve not looked back since and have no plans to go back. However, since joining the ranks of the burgeoning global digital nomad community, I&#8217;ve encountered some impracticalities that I&#8217;ve found can put a real downer on living the dream:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Concentrating on anything even slightly complex in a regular cafe or bar, no matter how chilled, is very difficult. It can be done, but both productivity and ingenuity tend to suffer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Using a laptop for any appreciable amount of time whilst sitting on a bed or at a dressing table in a hotel room leads to serious backache and a feeling of isolation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Using almost any hotel \/ resort&#8217;s free WiFi will entail sharing the connection with at least one guy who is intent on downloading movies 24 hours a day, thereby decimating what little bandwidth is available.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It&#8217;s not possible to keep track of interesting developments in the IT industry alone. &#8216;Talking shop&#8217; with colleagues during breaks and social events at past jobs was, in retrospect, an extremely valuable source of information.<\/p>\n<p>These are the impracticalities I&#8217;ve encountered &#8211; if they resonate with you, or have found your own set of downers, then: I&#8217;d very much like to invite you to Focus.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 15px; border-radius: 0px; vertical-align: middle;\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c2\/F_icon.svg\/240px-F_icon.svg.png\" alt=\"FaceBook logo\" \/>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/focusinparadise\/\">Focus on FaceBook<\/a>\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 15px; border-radius: 0px; vertical-align: middle;\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c2\/F_icon.svg\/240px-F_icon.svg.png\" alt=\"FaceBook logo\" \/><\/div>\n<h2>focus &#8211; the mission<\/h2>\n<p>Focus is not intended as a money-maker. The intention is to sustainably provide myself and others sharing my passion for digital creativity with a place to create and collaborate. In tropical paradise.<\/p>\n<h2>facilities<\/h2>\n<p>Focus offers a basic set of essential facilities with a top coat of style:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Fibre optic Internet connection (Up to 20 MB down \/ 10 MB up) with 3G backup<br \/>\n&#8211; Air-conditioning<br \/>\n&#8211; British JIB registered electrician safety tested electrics, earthed power outlets, 2.4 amp USB chargers<br \/>\n&#8211; Various seating options; desk &amp; office chair, stool &amp; sidecounter or a big, comfy sofa<br \/>\n&#8211; Free tea and (instant) coffee. Hot &amp; cold water tower, fridge<br \/>\n&#8211; High standard of d\u00e9cor with a Thai influence<br \/>\n&#8211; Real coffee, pizza, beach, restaurants and bars all within 25 metres<\/p>\n<h2>location<\/h2>\n<p>Focus is centrally located in the sleepy fishing village of Chaloklum on the island of Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. The village is home to a diverse community of local fishermen and business owners, scuba divers, yogis, hippies, holidaymakers and a growing number of digital nomads. Chaloklum is at the north end of the island, which places it as far from the infamous full moon party as possible.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.chaloklumbayphangan.com\/wp-content\/themes\/thesis_18\/custom\/rotator\/KPG_2008-1030715.jpg\" alt=\"Chaloklum Bay\" width=\"700\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chaloklum in a nutshell:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; White sandy bay and turquoise waters completely surrounded by jungle<br \/>\n&#8211; Good selection of coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants and bars. And a busy 7-11<br \/>\n&#8211; Reasonably priced accommodation over a wide range of budget levels<br \/>\n&#8211; Nearby activities include scuba diving, yoga, wakeboarding, gym, kitesurfing, muay Thai, pilates and more<br \/>\n&#8211; Supermarkets, banks, post office and other facilities a short drive away<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.deedeevillas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/chaloklum-fishing-village-deedee-villa-retreat-koh-phangan-thailand-940x500.jpg\" alt=\"Chaloklum Village\" width=\"700\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>access<\/h2>\n<p>Focus is a co-working space for people looking for a longer term, stable place to work from. The minimum booking period is one week. Please feel free to get in contact to make an appointment via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/focusinparadise\/\" target=\"_blank\">FaceBook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Monthly access: 5000 Thai Baht<br \/>\nWeekly access: 1500 Thai Baht<\/p>\n<p>Please note spaces are limited. Longer term arrangements are preferred and so will be prioritised.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>the rules<\/h2>\n<p>I don&#8217;t like rules, but just a few are necessary:<\/p>\n<p>1) Focus is a place to concentrate &#8211; so, as in a library &#8211; take ALL conversations outside<br \/>\n2) No smoking (Thai law for air-conditioned premises)<br \/>\n3) Don&#8217;t piss anyone off<br \/>\n4) Damages must be paid for<br \/>\n5) No illegal activity<br \/>\n6) Services and facilities provided by Focus can be altered or withdrawn at any time and without notice<br \/>\n7) Refunds are at the sole discretion of the proprietor who is also the sole arbiter in any dispute<\/p>\n<h2>get in touch<\/h2>\n<!--\n    \/*\n        This file is part of Davedub's Contact Form plugin for WordPress\n\n        Author: David Wooldridge\n\n        Davedub's Contact Form plugin is free software: you can\n        redistribute it and \/ or modify it under the terms of the\n        GNU General Public License as published by the\n        Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License,\n        or (at your option) any later version.\n\n        Davedub's Contact Form plugin is distributed in the hope\n        that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without\n        even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR\n        A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  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I left my overpriced, overly complicated and absurdly hectic place of birth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,19,2,14,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-developer","category-life","category-projects","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1240,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions\/1240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davedub.co.uk\/davedub\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}