Travel Newsletter: 7 October 2022
Where I’m At: Hanoi, Vietnam. Latest Post: Notes on Ko Ngai Travel Books: The Vagabond’s Way. Travel Reads: Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, the Instagram capital of the world, and more...
I’ve been in Hanoi all week, and this extended time has allowed me to venture beyond my usual stomping grounds in the old quarter. I filed a report about future Hanoi, which took me to some of the new urban areas in the city. I also stayed in the expat area next to Westlake. One of the new areas is opposite the lake (as you can see in this photo)…
One rainy afternoon I was holed up in a cafe reminiscing about drier, sunnier times when I was island hopping in the Andaman Sea.This week’s article is about Ko Ngai.
(For the record, Hanoi is at its best when it is cool and slightly drizzly - ideal cafe writing days.)
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
Notes on Ko Ngai – The Thai paradise island that’s not just for honeymooners
Travel books
I’ve started reading the new travel book by Rolf Potts, The Vagabond’s Way - 366 Meditations on wanderlust, discovery and the art of travel. The book is broken up into days, with a thought about travel for each day. It’s simple to read while being thought-provoking, and it will give you itchy feet. I’m still in February at this point, but it’s already turning out to be one of my favourite books about the art of travel. I will do a review at Nomadic Notes when I have finished. I bought the Kindle version (affiliate link).
Here is a podcast interview with Tim Ferriss: Rolf Potts — The Vagabond’s Way, Tactics for Immersive Travel, Pilgrimages and Psychogeography, Empathy Machines, Full-Throated Love, The Slow Sense of Smell, Lessons from Thích Nhất Hạnh, Falling Upward, and More (#624)
Travel reads
• The eerie, lunar nothingness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast
“The stretch of coastline in southwest Africa is a strange and beautiful reminder that, in the end, we are powerless against nature and time.”
• The Instagram capital of the world is a terrible place to be
• Peru’s most popular attraction isn’t always its best
• Alone at the edge of the world
“Susie Goodall wanted to circumnavigate the globe in her sailboat without stopping. She didn’t bargain for what everyone else wanted.”
• The couple who spent their honeymoon riding an African iron ore train
• I’m cycling from England to Iceland. Next up: the Faroe Islands
• No, you don’t “travel like a local”
• The ancient remains of Great Zimbabwe
• Meet the people collecting airplane barf bags
“One man’s (unused) motion-sickness bag is another’s treasure.”
• Soaring again: how Cathay is bringing its planes back from hibernation
And related…
• Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Line, Japan: New bullet train route is Japan's shortest
• On Track: Hiking the Yunnan-Haiphong Railway
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 always enjoy your travel article roundup. But it's way too early here for me to be reading about airplane barf bags. Okay, it's always too early for that one...