A Portable Speaker That Rocks

I have tried at least 20 small Bluetooth speakers over the years. The small size usually means major sacrifices. They’ll normally handle electronic dance music and synth pop just fine, but have trouble providing good fidelity for rap and rock. I finally found one I could crank up to 11 with the Fender X ROCKSTER Go 2 by Teufel. Yes Fender the guitar/amp company. It handled everything well, including one of the best riff rock albums ever: Electric by The Cult. The neighbors could hear it and the wife was shouting, “Turn that down!” It’s waterproof, shock-proof, and has a crazy long 28-hour battery life. It weighs a pound and a half (734 grams) and is 8.4 inches wide, so it’s best packed when checking a bag, but you’ll be party ready on the other side.

No Remote Work or Freebies in Bali

You can add something new to the very long list of reasons to avoid Bali. In one of the strangest government decrees we’ve seen yet, Bali is enforcing a policy that any kind of commercial activity done on their island requires a work visa. That means any kind of compensation coming from anywhere in the world, in any form, is prohibited. They’ve been cracking down on “influencers” because those people are the most visible, but they’ve said this will also apply to remote tech workers and people receiving freebies while on site. Does that mean you could be fined if you post a photo of your free cocktail from a hosted event? Or that trade show water bottle you got while attending a convention? Or if you step into a co-working space and open a laptop? The way it reads now, yes.

Thailand Halves the Visa on Arrival Time

Thailand’s government is almost as mercurial as Bali’s, changing their visa policies constantly to reflect their love-hate relationship with digital nomads. After a few bad apples opened physical businesses while on a tourist visa and the extra days didn’t move the needle on tourism arrivals, the government is turning back the calendar. At a date not determined yet, the tourist visa on demand will only be good for 30 days instead of 60. This could change or get pushed back, but for now plan accordingly. If it goes through, you’ll have to visit an immigration office to extend your stay to two months instead of one (and approval is not guaranteed).

The Airbnb Housing Distraction

Often when governments try to solve a problem, the easy solution they reach for is the most ineffective. I wrote before about the utter failure of New York City’s Airbnb ban, which only succeeded in enriching hotel companies, not helping local renters. This great article breaks down why that failed and why similar measures in Spain will too, while Tokyo and Austin have managed to decrease average rent prices by going after a lasting solution instead. The real solution is harder, but has far more impact: making it easier to build new housing.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

06/4/26