Nomadic Notes Newsletter (November 2025)
[Chiang Mai Update] Introducing my new rail site, notes on the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Bao Loc and Buon Ma Thuot).
Welcome to the Nomadic Notes Newsletter. This newsletter summarises the latest posts at nomadicnotes.com, site updates, and other unblogged ramblings.
Travel updates
Hello from Chiang Mai! It’s been two months since my last newsletter, and since then, I have been in Malaysia and Vietnam. I was in Vietnam to research a new travel website (see below), which gave me an excuse to get the train to some new destinations.
My trip to Vietnam was timed to attend my friend David’s wedding in Hanoi. I met him in Saigon in 2012, and there were many other friends at the wedding from that era in my life. That was “only” 13 years ago, but there was a lot of nostalgic reminiscing about those days.
[Myself and David before the wedding in Da Nang (@nomadicnotes).]
I’m now back in Chiang Mai, and I will get the train to Bangkok next month with some stops on the way.
On the blog front, I have been working my way through a backlog of trip reports.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
• Rail Vietnam – An independent guide to train travel in Vietnam
Introducing my latest travel website, Rail Vietnam. This guide covers every train line in Vietnam, station information, and how to buy tickets.
• Notes on Bao Loc – Like Da Lat as it once was
Bao Loc is a city in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Bao Loc is the closest highland city to Ho Chi Minh City, and the construction of a new expressway has made it more accessible.
• Notes on Buon Ma Thuot – The coffee hub in the heart of the Central Highlands
Buon Ma Thuot is the capital city of Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. While Da Lat is the best-known city in the Central Highlands, Buon Ma Thuot is the largest city and is closer to the geographical centre of the Central Highlands region.
My other sites
The Travel Wire
Sign up for a weekly newsletter of curated travel reads from around the web at The Travel Wire.
Future Southeast Asia
In addition to writing about travel, I write about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia Newsletter
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James Clark – Chiang Mai, Thailand.