Travel Newsletter: 15 December 2023
North Sumatra train trip, Bangkok transit maps, walk and talk, Timor-Leste, fastest growing remote work hubs, and more travel reads.
Welcome to the Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter, where I curate the best travel reads of the week.
I often post news about nomad visas, mainly out of curiosity should I decide to stay longer somewhere. For now, I am happy to stay somewhere for 1-3 months at a time. This week I had to extend my visa in Thailand, which I rarely do. I have never extended it in Chiang Mai, and I won’t again after spending 5 hours at the immigration office, plus another morning.
I’m winding up my time in Chiang Mai for this season, and I will be in Bangkok next. I already have a list of articles to write there, including new transit lines.
This week’s articles include a train report from my Sumatra trip, and I updated the maps for Bangkok’s transit system.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
• Medan to Rantau Prapat by train (North Sumatra)
The train from Medan to Rantau Prapat is the longest railway journey in North Sumatra (266 km). It’s not a route that is useful from a tourism perspective, but if you are curious to take a trip then here is what to expect.
• Bangkok Mass Transit System – A guide to the BTS / MRT / ARL / SRT urban railways (updated)
The MRT Pink Line has been added to the Bangkok transit system, so there are now 10 urban rail lines in Bangkok. Most of the main maps have been updated to reflect this so I have added them to the list.
Travel reads
• walk and talk by Derek Sivers
“One of my favorite authors invited me to walk 100 kilometers (62 miles) through northern Thailand for seven days, ending in Chiang Mai. Walking with us were ten other smart interesting people, including five other authors whose work I’ve loved for years. It’s a “Walk and Talk”.”
• Fewer than 10 tourists a day: Welcome to Timor-Leste
• The case for slow travel and slow reading in a fast-paced society by
• This Mexican city sits on top of a dense labyrinth of pedestrian tunnels
• Paradise cost: the Pacific islands changing the future of tourism
• The most Istanbul thing to do in Istanbul
This logic also applies to the Manly Ferry in Sydney and the Star Ferry in Hong Kong.
• Travel planning with AI: I tested It for a city I know inside and out
• Most Canadians live south of Seattle and other map surprises
💻 Nomad news
• Fastest growing remote work hubs of 2023
Top 10 nomad lists are usually meaningless, but NomadList has the best data to make any kind of list about nomadism. I’m not surprised that Tokyo and Danang have topped the list.
🚆Train travel
• The West Highland Line: One of the world's most scenic train lines
• Europe’s geography ‘kind of reshaped’ as Paris-Berlin night train returns
✈️ Air travel
• What happens to airlines’ unclaimed baggage?
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James Clark – Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Honored to be featured on your travel reads. Greatly appreciate the share. Cheers!