My laptop charger blew up in a Chiang Mai cafe and I had to work from a phone for two days

I was finishing a client report at a coffee shop here when my charger made a loud pop sound and smoke started coming out. The cafe owner ran over with a fire extinguisher, which was way more drama than I wanted. I had to use my phone hotspot and a borrowed tablet from my hostel to finish the work, typing everything with my thumbs. Has anyone else had their main gear fail in a weird way while traveling?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_park1mo ago

Oh man, that sounds awful... but a fire extinguisher seems like overkill for a smoking charger. Usually they just fizzle out and smell terrible. Maybe the cafe had a bad experience before?

jennifer_mitchell531mo ago

Wait, they actually brought out a fire extinguisher? That's not just a small electrical pop, that's a full-on safety hazard. I'd be checking what brand that charger was so I never buy one.

taylorhunt1mo ago

Oh man, that charger blowing up sounds like a nightmare. I had something kinda similar happen when my phone just died completely in the middle of a long layover in Bangkok. What worked for me was hitting up a local electronics shop for a cheap backup charger and using any public computer I could find at the airport or hotel lobbies. Typing on a phone for two days sounds brutal, but at least you got it done. Having a small backup battery pack has saved me ever since.