Riding the world’s first solar-powered train
Where I’m At: December, 2018 – Saigon edition
A weekly newsletter of great travel reads and news by James Clark from Nomadic Notes.
Where I’m At: December, 2018 – Saigon edition
Greetings from Saigon and another edition of Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to and general site news.
Where I’ve Been
Northern Rivers
I started the month in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales. I was staying near Byron Bay, which has become an aspirational destination for Australians who want to move from the city to the coast.
A long time ago it was a sleepy coastal town, but now it has become so popular that property prices have skyrocketed. Chris Hemsworth has a mega-mansion here, and Matt Damon had a place here as well. This is not the place to find a humble beach shack.
As a result of Byron becoming so expensive, many of the small towns in the area have become popular as well, so the region has lots of cool places to visit. everywhere you go though, you here the same story of locals being priced out of the market. Part of the problem is that Australia doesn’t have enough interesting small towns. It’s such a big country with a small populated, yet everyone wants to live in the same few places.
Melbourne
I usually visit Melbourne once a year so it was a bonus to visit for a second time this year. With my trip to the Solomon Islands finishing in Brisbane it was an opportune time to come back to see my family and sort out my accounting and other business. I was only here for a few days so just enough time to do the rounds before heading off again.
Saigon
After a few weeks of being on the road it was back to productive work. I mentioned previously that I haven’t blogged about Saigon in a while, and I still haven’t on this blog much this year. I have been spending my extra time researching urban development issues in the city, so I have been visiting construction sites and canal redevelopment areas. I published an article on ideas to improve Saigon, and I have a few more articles related to this coming out soon.
While these sites aren’t of great interest for the casual visitor, I’ve found that by visiting these sites in far-flung districts I have been able to discover new cafes and places to eat in areas I would never usually visit. I’m using this urban redevelopment subject as a vehicle to discover things to do.
November is the end of the wet season in Saigon, and the weather starts getting ideal at this point. This month however we got a visit from Typhoon Usagi, which dumped enough rain to cause the worst flood in Saigon history. It rained all day non-stop and I knew that some streets were going to flood. My street was one of the streets that flooded, and I had to wade out at one point during the day.
Dan of TMBA Podcast/Dynamite Jobs fame was in town, so there was the obligatory first meal back of pho on top of too much coffee.
Latest posts from Nomadic Notes
Byron Bay Train – The world’s first solar-power train
The Byron Bay Railroad Company operate a solar-power train on a section of the former Murwillumbah railway line in New South Wales, Australia.
Travel Reads
How to walk to LaGuardia Airport in New York City
“As airports are reimagined for a world in which travelers arrive in robot-driven cars and flying Ubers, maybe they should instead be reimagined as urban spaces.”
Four Days Trapped at Sea With Crypto's Nouveau Riche
“Laurie Penny joins a Mediterranean blockchain cruise—and finds that the promised crypto utopia feels very far away indeed.”
The Stories of IRL Eloise: People Who Live in Hotels
“There are real-life Eloises, brought to live in hotels by their parents. Or the travelers billeted overseas, for whom a hotel is the ideal prefab base. Here are the stories of five people who have lived long term in a hotel—each for a different reason.”
Philippine mountaineer on her journey to scale the Seven Summits, highest peaks on all the continents
“One of 14 children from a poor family, Carina Dayondon was not on course to be a world-class climber, but is preparing to become the first female from the Philippines to scale the highest peaks on each continent.”
The nine ghost villages of northern France
“Over 300 days during World War One, these villages were completely wiped out – along with hundreds of thousands of French and German soldiers – during the Battle of Verdun.”
How to Connect Young People to Europe? Let Them See It All by Train
“Much has changed in the 46 years since Interrail pass was introduced, but the essence of what it offers — experiencing new cultures and meeting new people — has remained the same.”
Travel News
Luxembourg to become first country in world to make public transport free
“Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the world to abolish all fares on public transport.”
Live Abroad
New warden wanted for Lihou Island
“The successful applicant will get spectacular sunsets, solitude and a tractor for a company car.”
Japan Is Giving Away Abandoned Houses for Free
“There are more than eight million vacant properties littered throughout Japan—and they’re going dirt cheap.”
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