The nomad neighbourhood of Nimman

[Travel Newsletter 26 July 2024] dark tourism, grocery store tourism, Norway, Okinawa, and more travel reads.

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

I’m in Danang this week having a beach break and catching up with fellow nomads.

After last week’s Chiang Mai cafes post, this week I continue with another Chiang Mai feature.This is the first in a series of Southeast Asia Hoods. I will be featuring neighbourhoods that have taken off over the last decade or so.

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Latest posts at Nomadic Notes

• Nimman Chiang Mai: the world’s first digital nomad neighbourhood

Travel reads

• Dark tourism: Do we owe it to destinations to understand their troubled past?

• ‘Grocery store tourism’: why a country’s secrets can be found in the snack aisle

• Norway is perfect. Too perfect.

“This Scandinavian country seemed to have some dark and unsettling secret, and I was determined to find out what it was.”

• The world's greatest places of 2024

"100 extraordinary destinations to explore."

I said I was done posting these annual listicles, but then my friend Cindy posted that she wrote about the guided cycling safari in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

• Cycling solo on second-hand bike across 23 countries

• Road trip around Okinawa reveals rich history and culture of island that ‘isn’t real Japan’ (archive)

• British man walks 40km to eat at all 5 Carl's Jr outlets in S'pore in 1 day

💻 Nomad news

• Thailand announces longer visa stays to boost economy

“Visa exemption extended to 60 days for nationals of 93 countries/territories, visa on arrival now available for 31 countries/territories, while newly-launched digital nomad visa offers stays up to 180 days.”

• NDC to issue digital nomad visas

Taiwan will offer a 6-month nomad visa:

“The bill would follow Japan’s example to launch a “global elite visa,” allowing foreign professionals with a minimum annual salary of at least NT$6 million (US$184,021) to be granted permanent residence at least one year after they arrive in Taiwan”.

• ‘Half our villages are dying’: How digital nomad hubs are reinvigorating rural Europe

🚆Train travel

• See inside Denver’s 143-year-old train station

• From Berlin to Paris on the night train: a retro-romantic journey

“Comfort was at times questionable and the food so-so, but for everyone on board, the trip was an experience unto itself.”

• All aboard the Alishan forest railway

“Taiwan’s most famous branch line is open to tourists again after 15 years of repairs.”

✈️ Air travel

• When was the last cigarette smoked on a plane?

I still remember being on a flight as a kid and choking on smoke.

Featured travel sites

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This promo code is valid from July 1 to July 31, or until the inventory is exhausted.

• GetYourGuide: Save up to 30% on Summer Experiences

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James Clark – Da Nang, Vietnam.