Travel Newsletter: 17 May 2024

When Somerset Maugham cruised through Vietnam, easy travel, walking to Taipei, walking in Japan, and more travel reads.

Welcome to the Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter, where I curate the best travel reads of the week.

Hello from Penang. I'm back in Malaysia after a month of travel in Indonesia. My rail-themed Indonesia trip finished by riding on the first section of the Trans-Sulawesi Railway.

I have a few days in Penang to check the progress of the big land reclamation projects and the proposed light rail.

From Penang, I will go to Thailand via rail (an international rail crossing I haven't travelled before). I will be in Thailand for the next two months so I will be able to catch up on writing. A new international rail service from Udon Thani to Vientiane South (Kamsavath) is being tested, so I will schedule that once the dates are known.

Here is this week's travel reads from around the web.

Travel reads

• When Somerset Maugham cruised through Vietnam and never came back

“At the peak of his literary fame, Somerset Maugham travelled (very swiftly) through Vietnam. Fair to say, he wasn't too impressed. So why would anyone bother to celebrate his presence here at all?”

• Travel has become really, really, *really* easy

“This is a good thing. But it's also bad.”

• Walking to Taipei through a Google Maps glitch

• Speaking of walking, I’m enjoying The Return to Pachinko Road pop-up newsletter by Craig Mod. I’m amazed that he can write a coherent essay every night after walking all day (one day was 44 km!)

• Another newsletter I follow is Campuccino, which covers Cambodian news with personal updates from the published, Darathtey. The most recent newsletter got me thinking about how foreigners (myself included) cover Cambodia. You don’t have to mention the Khmer Rouge every time you write/vlog about Phnom Penh.

• A record of old Kashgar

“The Uyghur city in Xinjiang has been disrupted by outside forces through history — of which Chinese rebuilding is the latest change. A book of images and stories records what it once was.”

• Siquijor: A paradise island with a reputation for witchcraft

• I’ve spent 20 years following Bruce Springsteen around the world – people think I’m crazy (archive)

One of the worst hostels I ever stayed at was a 24-bed dorm room in Venice Beach. I remember the room, and I remember a guy I met there who was following Bruce Springsteen around the world.

• Hike through ancient Roman and biblical history in Turkey’s rugged mountains

• City-centre airport terminals – why are they not more popular?

• A brief history of airline food’s rapid descent

…

[Ferry to Georgetown, @nomadicnotes.]

James Clark – Penang, Malaysia.