Lonely Planet and the largest islands in Thailand
[Travel Newsletter: 16 June 2023] Ischia’s moment in the sun, drinking in airports (not me obviously), roadside Americana.
Hello from Chiang Mai! My two months in Thailand is coming to an end, so I hacked through my draft box to post two Thailand articles this week. I had some serious guidebook nostalgia writing about the 50th anniversary of Lonely Planet. I also went into listicle territory, which is something I rarely do. I figure I should make a list if there isn’t already one, and after making this list of Thai islands I understand why it has been left unlisticled.
In Chiang Mai I crossed paths again with fellow newsletterists
. If you are American they have published a way to combine travel and health insurance.Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
• 50 years of Lonely Planet: Revisiting Across Asia on the cheap in Thailand
When I was in Bangkok I discovered that 3 of the 4 hotels listed in the original Lonely Planet are still open. I also compared prices of airfares from 50 years ago compared to today (hint, it was very expensive 50 years ago!)
What are the largest islands in Thailand? This is a harder question to answer than I thought. I asked Google, Wiki, and ChatGPT, and got different answers every time.
Travel reads
• This Is Ischia’s moment in the sun
“The Italian island, long in the shadow of its fashionable neighbor, Capri, is newly chic, but remains deeply authentic, with rocky harbors more likely to dock fishing boats than megayachts.”
“Why do people drink so early at airports?”
• He ran out of countries to visit, so he created his own
• The retro lover’s guide to road-tripping
“Inside one man’s quest to visit the last vestiges of roadside Americana.”
• Thinking small: Japan lures tourists away from big cities
• A peek into Japan's convenience stores
• Backpackers at heart, holidaymakers on paper
• Desperate for dollars, Argentina just gave digital nomads another advantage over locals
• Of course I’ll go skinny-dipping and share a cigarette ... I’m on holiday!
• Fully refurbished double-decker bus is luxury on wheels for touring Australia