The Thai Mekong town with a Little Vietnam

Where to stay in Hanoi, tubing in Pai, and a cool map of night trains in Europe.

Greetings from Bangkok. I wasn’t planning to be here this week, but there always something for me to do. The new central railway station is open, so I will be visiting that and updating my rail articles.

I went to the backpacker area of Khao San Road this week as there are two metro lines being built nearby at Democracy Monument. I was in Khao San Road in the months after Thailand reopened, and it was a bit of a ghost town. I am happy to report that life has returned to this travel hub.

The backpacker area also has a new ace up its sleeve now that Thailand has legalised cannabis. It is weird walking around seeing all these smoke shops, like Amsterdan in the tropics.

Latest posts at Nomadic Notes

• Notes on Nakhon Phanom: Down by the river, and hanging out at Uncle Ho’s House

• Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors

Travel reads

• A high-maintenance relationship for 637 years, but Milan’s Duomo is still adored

• Why is New Orleans a city of parades?

• Tubing in Pai

Those familiar with the Banana Pancake Trail would know that Vang Vieng was the tubing capital of Southeast Asia. I went in 2010 and felt old even then! The tubing was shut down after some deaths and the town lost its party crown. I revisited Vang Vieng last year on my Laos train trip, and it appears to be diversifying with more adventure activities (I haven’t blogged about it yet).

I visited Pai in 2019, and now that weed is legal in Thailand I can see Pai becoming an even bigger stop on the trail.

• The Banshees of Inisherin Oscar buzz is driving tourism to remote islands off Ireland’s west coast where it was filmed – even Taylor Swift is intrigued

• Restoring an ancient lake from the rubble of an unfinished airport in Mexico City

• Abandoned train station transformed into spectacular hotel

🚆Train travel

• Night Train Map with all regularly served night train destinations and important stops in Central and Western Europe.

• Zig Zag Railway to reopen in Blue Mountains before winter after decade-long refurbishing effort

• ‘Study trains’ provide haven for passengers of all ages

✈️ Air travel

• Why flying sucks

“Shortsighted decisions that prioritized efficiency and price cuts over quality and comfort have made air travel and airline customer service a total mess.”

• Joby and ANA selected to operate eVTOL flights at Expo 2025 Osaka

When I was at the 2010 Expo I wondered where were our hovercars.

---

The Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter is a weekly newsletter of the best travel reads and interesting travel news from around the web, and random ramblings by the editor.

- James Clark