Travel Newsletter: 4 November 2022
Where I’m At: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Latest Post: Notes on Mukdahan – Isaan life on the Mekong. Travel Reads: Dark tourism, rewilding Scotland, and the world's longest train, among other things...
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My journey through Isaan continues with a minivan from Khon Kaen to Mukdahan. I came here to see what it looks like before the Ban Phai - Nakhon Phanom Railway arrives. Spoiler alert: people aren’t going to be beating the doors down to get here. Sometimes though it is good to decompress in these untouristy places after bieng in touristy places (as I had been in the islands).
If the train does get built then it may entice visitors into this corner of Thailand that sees few visitors. The eventual plan is that there will be a railway to Savannakhet in Laos on the other side of the river, which has a lot more things to see. The fact that we may one day be able to get a train from Savannakhet to Bangkok is not something I thought would be saying.
Notes on Mukdahan – Isaan life on the Mekong
Travel reads
• Beaches? Cruises? ‘Dark’ tourists prefer the gloomy and macabre
“Travelers who use their off time to visit places like the Chernobyl nuclear plant or current conflict zones say they no longer want a sanitized version of a troubled world.”
• 8 cost-saving tips for travelers in these trying economic times, by Tim Leffel
• ‘Food Affair with Mark Wiens’ set to premiere this November on HBO Go
Great to see that Mark Wiens has landed a six-episode series on HBO Go where he basically eats his way around Singapore. Subscribers from last year may recall that I caught up with Mark at his restaurant in Bangkok in December.
• Scotland could become first ‘rewilded’ nation—what does that mean?
• Greece reborn: reversing the fortunes of a ghostly mountain village
There has been lots of stories across Europe about 1 Euro homes to try and repopulate villages. The Vamvakou Revival project plans to revive this village by enticing remote workers. I would like to do a tour around Europe one day to see how such projects are going.
• ‘Whoever says Syria’s safe is a liar’: country’s tourist drive at odds with human rights record
• Why travel bucket lists aren’t all they’re cracked up to be
• How to be a more ethical traveller
“You are itching to get out there and want to do it with care. How do you avoid traps like voluntourism and greenwashing?”
Maps
• Left off the map, exhibition highlights the many times Tasmania has been forgotten
This is a problem my Kiwi friends can identify with.
🚆Train travel
• 4,550 seats and 7 drivers: Switzerland smashes record for the longest passenger train in the world
• Sleep inside a working train station at this funky Memphis hotel
✈️ Air travel
• Tiny toiletries forever? The future of TSA, from liquids to shoes.
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
I'm happy for Mark! Haven't caught up with him in Bangkok yet but hope to one day.