Open your suitcases and your chakras – Koh Pha Ngan has been ranked as the top destination for a workout – an increasingly popular way to sneak into a getaway while still working. The popular tourist island in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand ranks first out of 16 choices compiled and analyzed by William Russell, a prominent health, life and income insurer.

The list was calculated taking into account 4 main factors that are important for someone trying to vacation while working: accommodation costs, internet speed, safety and, of course, fun. . Koh Pha Ngan, known for its spiritualistic and hippy new age northern shores as well as the world famous wild and drunken Full Moon Party in the south of the island, edged out Spain’s Gran Canaria to take the top job spot.

The Spanish island was ranked second while Portugal’s capital Lisbon captured third place on Russell’s list. Austin, Texas, and Sao Paulo, Brazil round out the top 5. The rest of the top 10 can be found at the end of this story. Thailand has often been on the top job lists, with Bangkok ranked No. 1 on a similar list last year.

A government spokesperson celebrated the first ranking as a chance to talk about the government’s work to bring tourism back to Thailand and to boost the southern provinces, commenting that promoting Thailand’s idyllic islands is part of their national strategy than 20 years to attract visitors to the country from all over the world.

“The Island [Koh Pha Ngan] is suitable for long-term stays and thanks to its Full Moon Parties, it is famous among Thai and foreign tourists. PM [Prayut Chan-o-cha] also believes that the promotion of Andaman provinces will attract more tourists to Thailand, which will not only generate local income, but also lead to economic recovery.

Koh Pha Ngan achieved the top job ranking by being highly rated both in terms of safety and fun, as well as having the second cheapest monthly cost of living, calculated at 1051 USD, only Buenos Aires , in Argentina, being considered cheaper. But Pha Ngan’s internet speed, calculated at 24 Mbps (we assume between fairly frequent planned power outages on the island), is 4 times faster than Argentinian speeds and considered sufficient for online work.

The government said it will continue to promote Surat Thani and try to create world-class destinations from the provinces of Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, Satun and Trang on the Andaman Sea.

The top 10 locations for a job and their details are:

THE SOURCE: The nation

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