A week in the Phuket Sandbox
An ancient trail in Bhutan, Palau, cheap flights in 2022, a bunch of free travel stories, and more travel reads.
PHUKET - I’m back in Thailand, and I have to stay in Phuket for a week before I can travel to the rest of the country. This island quarantine is an alternative to hotel quarantine, so there are no complaints from me. I had imagined that I was going to get some work done this week. Instead, I have been out exploring some parts of the island I have never visited.
I’m going to write about my Sihanoukville experience from earlier this month, but for now, here is an article I wrote this week about construction in Sihanoukville. If you haven’t been to Sihanoukville for a while, prepare to have your jaw dropped.
Here in Phuket Old Town, I am reminded that the Lunar New Year is next week (Chinese New Year in Thailand, and Tet in Vietnam), so I wish you a great year of the tiger!
Assorted travel reads
• The bathtub of Berlin: soaking it up on Germany’s sunniest island
• Why Is Everyone Going to the Dominican Republic?
“The country is a rare pandemic success story, with recent visitor numbers far surpassing those of most other Caribbean destinations. Easy entry rules are a draw, but some residents are uneasy.”
• Why Vietnam’s Phu Quoc is the billionaire’s choice for a big fat Indian wedding overseas
• Ancient Bhutan trail set to open for first time in 60 years
• How travel saved a woman from Covid anxiety
• European cities target digital nomads with these new pitches
• Spain Digital Nomad Visa: The new remote working hotspots
• COVID lockdowns, record heat won't stop German retiree Kuno Penner walking around the world
• Palau: a silly experience in a beautiful place
• The state of cheap flights in 2022
“A deep-dive analysis into the landscape of air travel right now, from pricing trends to trending places to how the ongoing pandemic is affecting travelers’ choices in 2022.”
• Bottles clinking, Turkish party train blazes through night
Read this, and more rail news and stories at Europe Rail News.
Free travel
A bunch of articles were published this week that warrants its own section (though some of these are not editorial advice).
A lot has been written about the demise of Couchsurfing, so this new site is trying to bring back what made this site great while avoiding their mistakes.
• The boys who ran away from home on a 747
“In “Nothing to Declare,” two friends reminisce about stowing away on an international flight when they were just kids, and how parenting has changed since the nineteen-eighties.”
• How to travel around Europe for free by train-hopping
• Sambuca di Sicilia, Italy: Win a year's stay at beautifully renovated house in Sicily with Airbnb
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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
Nice update.
That trail in Bhutan looks fantastic and I'm very intrigued by the Spanish nomad visa...