Nomadic Notes Newsletter (June 2025)

Bangkok Update: Getting a new passport (and trying to read the fine print), Da Nang and Nha Trang comparison.

Welcome to the Nomadic Notes Newsletter. This newsletter summarises the latest posts at nomadicnotes.com, site updates, and other unblogged ramblings.

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Travel updates

Hello from Bangkok!

I have been in Chiang Mai for most of this month, and I planned my Thailand exit from Bangkok to apply for a new passport at the Australian Embassy. It turns out that the embassy held a passport day in Chiang Mai this month, so I now have a spare day in Bangkok.

I filled out the passport application online, but there were some sections left blank to fill in later. I went to fill in the blank sections when I applied in person, and the text was so small that I couldn’t read it.

I have been getting by without glasses by increasing font sizes on my phone/laptop/kindle. I find myself using my phone to read labels on food packaging. I have now accepted that I need reading glasses.

I’m writing this now without glasses, but when I put the glasses on, I can’t believe how crispy the pixels are (as my friend Jesse said about getting glasses). I also couldn’t believe how filthy my laptop screen was.

This made me think about how little I read on paper now. When I am in Australia, I usually go to cafes and read newspapers made out of actual paper. Here I don’t have that opportunity, so I read online. It’s also been years since I read a book in paper format.

A friend of mine just published a book, but it has no Kindle edition. I visited Kinokuniya in Bangkok and found a copy of his book on the shelf. Having flipped through the book, there was no way I was going to be able to read it, so it was good timing to get glasses.

The book is Falling for Saigon by Connla Stokes. This is a collection of short stories about people and places in Saigon.

A passport application takes about 6 weeks, so I will go to Vietnam for a month, and then come back to Bangkok to pick up my passport.

Latest posts at Nomadic Notes

• Da Nang and Nha Trang: Comparing the two great beach cities of Vietnam

Da Nang and Nha Trang are two of the largest coastal cities of Vietnam. Both cities have municipal beaches, and they have become tourism powerhouses in the country. Here is a comparison of the two cities as of 2025.

What I’ve been working on / My other sites

Future Southeast Asia

Why are there no great coastal cities in Indonesia?

The Travel Wire

I have a weekly newsletter that rounds up the best travel reads from around the web. Subscribe to The Travel Wire.

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James Clark – Bangkok, Thailand.