Travel Newsletter: 10 November 2023
Notes on Vang Vieng, dining in a defunct airport control tower, where to stay in HCMC, my guide to the HCMC Metro, and this week's travel reads.
Welcome to the Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter, where I curate the best travel reads of the week.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
Notes on Vang Vieng: Trains and tubing in Laos
I visited Vang Vieng not long after Laos reopened in 2022. This is my trip report, with comparisons to my visit in the tubing heyday of 2010.
Updated posts at Nomadic Notes
• Defunct airports of Southeast Asia
I knew that when I made this list it was probably incomplete, but the good thing about publishing such lists is that readers will help fill it out.
A reader pointed out Neilson Airport, which preceded Manila International Airport. Not only did I miss this, but the original control tower still stands in Makati, and I was in Makati in December and didn’t know about it! The control tower is now a restaurant.
While I was looking for links about development in Vang Vieng, I found an article about the redevelopment of Vang Vieng Airport. Wait, an airport in Vang Vieng?! It turns out it was a CIA airport, and as far as I can tell it was never used for civilian purposes (my list only includes civilian airfields). Here is a little history of the airport. If you switch to satellite view on Google Maps the airstrip is hiding in plain site in the middle of the city. If only they had run the railway down this empty patch.
I’m also told of an old airport in Dak Lak in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. There is a road in the city that is obviously an old runway, but I haven’t been able to find any information about it.
• Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City: the best areas for visitors in Saigon
I updated the Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City guide, so check it out if you are visiting.
New website: Ho Chi Minh City Metro Guide
I have started a new website at hochiminhcitymetro.com. I figure I probably know more about the metro than anyone not working on the metro so it is time to put my knowledge online. The metro doesn’t open until July 2024 (maybe) so there is not much to post about yet. It will be a guide for the stations and other news.
Travel reads
• I just visited a beautiful place—should I geotag it?
I don’t know if this movie was underrated or if I liked it so much because it was set in Southeast Asia. Either way, I was happy to watch a new sci-fi movie that wasn’t a sequel.
• 5 big travel lessons and one ‘mistake’ from 50 years of Lonely Planet
• Indian coffee culture is percolating through Australia
• The rent seekers of travel by
• Why travel can make you exhausted just by sitting still
• You can drink the tap water in these 50 countries — maybe
🛏️ Accommodation
• We’ve used showers for centuries. Why can’t hotels make them easier?
💻 Nomad news
• Digital nomads: rising number of people choose to work remotely
🚆Train travel
• The Train d'Artouste: Europe's highest narrow-gauge train
✈️ Air travel
• Electric planes, once a fantasy, start to take to the skies
• Will dressing up get you first class? Flight attendants debunk old myths.
…
James Clark – Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Such an interesting collection of stories . Thanks for this
I recommend the Hammock Hotel in Ben Thanh (there's also one by the Fine Arts museum but it's not as good). Great location, lovely rooms, free beer and snacks, and a roof terrace with views and hammocks. Each room also comes with a hammock chair, although it's worth springing for the deluxe if you want space to work. I've been back three times now, partly because it's a short hop to two of my favourite banh mi vendors.