Nomadic Notes: November, 2016
Hi everyone,
if you are wondering why the newsletter is looking a little different, it’s because I am trying out a new email service by getrevue.co. So far it seems like an easy service to use so we’ll see how it goes.
Where I'm At: November, 2016 – Trains on the brain edition
Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to, site news, and where I’m going next.
Where I’ve Been
Greetings from Saigon. Since my last update I’ve spent most of the month working on one project. As I’m not travelling so much these days I’ve been working on projects that have been swirling in my mind for a while. One such project is the Future Southeast Asia map.
The map is a combination of current and proposed railways, so it’s a map that could potentially happen in the future. I’ve been collecting the information for years by bookmarking news articles of any railway announcements. Once I felt ready to make the map I found a designer to bring it to life. It took a month of emails going back and forward to complete it.
You can download it here.
Since it was published I’ve picked up various media coverage, including from Citylab and Saigoneer. I’ve also been guest writing for sites, including a post at The Diplomat.
The map has opened up some opportunities for rail-related travel. I was messaged by a group that is trying to rebuild the train line from Dalat to Thap Cham. Dalat is a city in the Central Highlands of southern Vietnam and a popular getaway for Saigonese. I was invited to tour the abandoned line of the former railway. Sounds like a good day out to me.
I was also alerted to a related photo exhibition in Cambodia. The Plantation In Phnom Penh is holding a photo exhibition by Bruce DV of the old rail depot and locomotives of Cambodia.
If you’re interested in the details of current railways can be found at the complete guide to Southeast Asia Railways.
The exhibition is on till January 4, 2017, so I might get there yet (I don’t need much of an excuse to visit Phnom Penh).
Normally I would have just booked in to visit these places immediately, but I am still travelling slow while recovering from my back injury. I had another MRI and my back has improved since my last MRI. The doctor who compiled my report couldn’t believe my improvement wasn’t from surgery. Luckily I found a good massage therapist.
In site news I’m thinking of opening Nomadic Notes to guest posts. I want to expand the site but I don’t have time to be writing full time. I’ll probably start with people I know in order to filter out guest post requests. I’ve had some requests for specific blog post ideas and I would be looking for articles beyond the “ten things to do in x location” type of posts.
I’m also trying out a new newsletter service, so sign up here if you haven’t already. It’s a monthly newsletter including other good links I’ve found.
So that was my month. I must say I’m a bit trained out by now and am looking forward to being able to fly somewhere. It’s been two months since I’ve been on a plane.
[Surveying the changing face of Saigon from a rooftop bar.]
Latest posts from Nomadic Notes
Future Southeast Asia – A map of proposed railways in Southeast Asia
What would Southeast Asia look like if it had a fully functioning railway network? I have thought about this many times, usually while on a bus ride from hell (Huay Xai to Luang Prabang springs to mind). I envision it to be a cross between China’s high-speed rail network and Europe’s international InterCity services. With […]
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Nomadic News
Travel Reads
Take Nothing, Leave Nothing
How I came to be banned from the world’s most remote island, Tristan da Cunha. By Simon Winchester.
The romantic myth of ‘living like a local’
If you lived like the average local, you’d have to make your bed, have a crappy commute every morning to get to your average- to low-paying job, which you do to pay the bills for your tiny apartment, your meager car and your kids’ school supplies.
The ghost town surrounded by ocean
The most remote of the British Isles is home to northwest Europe’s largest seabird colony, cliffs taller than the Empire State Building – and to one of the world’s eeriest ghost towns.
Postcards from the Past: Asia
Postcards from the Past: Asia - postcards written over twenty years ago on my first independent backpacking trip across South East Asia, China and Pakistan.
Location Independence / Digital Nomadism
Trending Digital Nomad Locations, Cities and Hubs
A curated list of current trending digital nomad cities and hubs around the world.
Other Good Reads
Inside Nat Geo’s Incredible Documentary Mission to Mars
The new series, Mars, mixes documentary and speculation to tell the parallel stories of fictional future explorers and the pioneers of today.
Photography
One photographer's heartbreaking first-person account of WWI's Western Front
After years stranded in Antarctica, Frank Hurley returned to find civilization tearing itself apart.
Daily Overview's New Book Shows What Big Cities Look Like From Outer Space
Daily Overview’s Benjamin Grant wants you to see the world in a whole new way. Here’s an exclusive peek at his mind-bending new book.
Maps
A More Accurate World Map Wins Prestigious Japanese Design Award
World maps are notoriously distorted, but the AuthaGraph minimizes the effect.
Delivering ice, Saigon-style.