Back in Bangkok
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Back in Bangkok
Notes on Podgorica, the shipyards that built the Titanic, West Cork, airport therapy dogs, and more travel reads.
BANGKOK - Greetings from Thailand! I arrived on the Test & Go visa system, which reduces quarantine time down to 1 day. I also had to spend 3 weeks in the UAE to qualify for entry (which explains my extended stay in Dubai).
December is the best month of the year for weather in Bangkok, and it is usually packed with tourists. Things are still nowhere near back to normal though. I visited the MBK Mall (a tourist favourite) and it was like a ghost town. I will be reporting on what it is like here in these pandemic times, and I will be doing some Bangkok construction and transport updates for Future Southeast Asia. And eating all the Thai food, of course.
Where I’ve been
It’s been a month of exploring two cities as I hop my way back to my homeland.
Istanbul
Revisiting Istanbul is never a bad idea, which is where I found myself at the start of the month. Before I went I was having some doubts regarding surging Covid-19 numbers, and I was wondering if I should cancel my trip. It had gotten into my mind to go back to Southeast Asia and Australia via Istanbul. I figured I just keep making my way east from the Western Balkans. Things change quickly in these pandemic times, and all of a sudden Eastern Europe was seeing a spike in Covid numbers, while some countries in Southeast Asia started reopening. Thailand reopened with only a 1-day quarantine requirement, as long as you were travelling from a small selection of countries. Turkey and Albania (where I had previously been) were not on the list, while Greece was on the list. Urgh. I should have just kept going overland from Albania into Greece.
I worked out that if I cancelled my bookings and went to Greece I would have been just as much out of pocket, so I kept my Istanbul itinerary. I’m glad I did because I had forgotten how great Istanbul is. It had been nine years since I was last here, and I’m pretty sure I said I would come back more often when I was last here.
After spending two months in the Balkans, it was a shock to the system to see how crowded and busy Istanbul was. I felt like I could walk around cities like Zagreb and Tirana without ever bumping into anyone in a crowd (a great place to be in these pandemic times). I am usually in my element in these bustling megacities, but this time I was a bit edgy in big crowds. At least everyone was wearing masks everywhere, which was not happening in Europe. Turkey felt more culturally in line with Asia in the mask-wearing department.
Originally I wanted to visit some neighbourhoods along a metro line that had opened since I was last here, but I decided to not use the metro or visit crowded spaces while here this time. After seeing the crowd entering the Hagia Sophia it felt like the right thing to do.
There is so much to see here that I had more than enough to do by walking everywhere.
Dubai
I’ve been to Dubai twice before on brief (and sweaty) stopovers. Those trips were not long enough to get a feel for the city, and I said on my last visit that I should spend a month here. My travel plans finally aligned so that I could spend some time here. I stayed here for three weeks, which was close enough to a month. And being here during November was perfect timing for the weather.
I spent three weeks here because the UAE was one of the countries of origin where you could visit Thailand with only a 1-day quarantine. The only catch is that you had to be in one of those approved countries for a minimum of 21 days. I couldn’t just fly to Dubai from Istanbul, and then fly to Thailand. I had to launder my travel history for three weeks, so here was my opportunity to stay in Dubai for a while.
Dubai is currently hosting the expo, so they have been taking the pandemic seriously. You have to download a health app, and a covid test is done at the airport upon arrival. Everyone is wearing masks here as well, inside and out.
I visited the expo, and with this extended visit I have been able to visit different places at leisure instead of rushing around in one day. I will post a full trip report and where to stay in Dubai guide.
Bangkok
I’ve now arrived in Bangkok where I will do a 1-day quarantine, and if I get the all-clear then I will be free to go. So far I’ve only seen Bangkok from the back of a taxi as I was whisked to my quarantine hotel, but that was enough to put a spring in my step. Good to be back in Thailand.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
Where I’m At: December 2021 – Bangkok (quarantine edition)
Notes on Podgorica – From provincial outpost to nation’s capital
Assorted travel reads
• Buddhist ceremony held to mark Laos-China railway inauguration
The Laos-China railway opens today, so expect to see more reports from bloggers based in Laos over the next few weeks. I will post more news about this on the Future Southeast Asia Newsletter.
• Why the shipyards that built the Titanic still influence Belfast
“Successful, troubled, revived, this former industrial hub remains the pride of Northern Ireland’s capital.”
• Coffee or chai? At 2 Kolkata cafes, ‘adda’ is what’s really on the menu
“A beautiful trip down south to County Kerry, West Cork to be precise, to say it is beautiful would be an injustice.”
• Please look at these 7 airport therapy dogs (and a therapy cat) right now
• Is it okay to travel to homophobic countries?
“We've been criticized for visiting places that are intolerant of LGBTQ folks. We have some thoughts on the topic.”
• They set out to hike three of America’s longest trails in less than a year. What could go wrong?
• What I learned eating at 8,000 Chinese restaurants
• Taxi! To the airport — by air, please.
“Several companies are betting they can bring electric urban air travel to the masses — perhaps within the next few years.”
Meanwhile, in the UAE: What it's like to ride in the UAE's first autonomous taxi
• 'Earth sandwich' made by two men 20,000km apart
• I would have a cat if I wasn’t such a nomad…
• Guzeiji Temple’s 300-year old ginkgo tree…
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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
Back in Bangkok
The earth sandwich made me smile...