Travel Newsletter - 14 August, 2020
Scenic Ninh Binh, the future Ho Chi Minh City metro, fake flights, sleeper trains, the cyberpunk futurism of Singapore, and vanishing Asia,
A weekly newsletter of great travel reads and news by James Clark from Nomadic Notes.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
Scenic Ninh Binh – The Trang An Landscape Complex
Trip report of my visit to Tam Coc and the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
COVID-19 and travel (or lack thereof)
I’m traveling, even though I’m stuck at home
“For the past 30 years, I’ve spent every summer abroad in Europe. Now I’ve realized that traveling isn’t just a pastime—it’s a mindset.” - Rick Steves.
People in Japan are boarding fake planes to cure their closed border blues
Reminisce the joy of overseas travel with a tour of Changi Airport
Travel safety tips from a man who’s flown 33 times already in 2020
Venice locals plan party to celebrate cruises cancelled by coronavirus
Spain's Canary Islands to offer free COVID-19 insurance to tourists
Passports for purchase: How the elite get through a pandemic
Travel news
SpaceX reveals it’s building a luxury spaceport in a small Texas town
The last Blockbuster in the world is on Airbnb for just $4 a night
Outback safari visits eight pubs across Australia by Cessna plane
Assorted travel reads
Ho Chi Minh City Metro 2020 construction update
Progress report of the Ho Chi Minh City metro construction in 2020. Construction of Line 1, preparation for Line 2, and pre-planning for Line 3A and Line 5.
Ganges River flows with history and prophecy for India
“For more than 1,700 miles, from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges flows across the plains like a timeline of India’s past, nourishing an extraordinary wealth of life.”
The fantasy and the cyberpunk futurism of Singapore
“Revisiting William Gibson’s 1993 essay on the city-state took me back to my home, where future is past.”
I got an education cleaning airplanes in the middle of the night
“Working at LAX taught me lessons school could not—including how much I wanted the degree I missed out on.”
Occupy Mezhyhirya: Squatting the mansion of Ukraine’s ex-president
The true cost behind Italy's $1 homes
Friends Lucy Samuel and Lucy Taylor podcasting their outback bush adventure
Step inside the crumbling villa where Queen Elizabeth spent her 20s
“It is the only property outside of Britain that Queen Elizabeth called home.”
Jiankou: China’s remote and dangerous Great Wall
How the return of sleeper trains will keep Europe connected
All aboard! The lost romance of the sleeper train
Kevin Kelly (known for his 1000 true fans essay and being “the world’s most interesting man”) has an underrated Instagram account called @vanishingasia. He has been travelling in Asia for 40 years, and I prefer these photos over the staged and high HDR photos that dominate Instagram.
Pigeon holds onto plane wing during takeoff
@nomadicnotes at Instagram
Follow me at @nomadicnotes for real-time updates.
The Travel Newsletter by Nomadic Notes is a weekly newsletter of the best travel reads and interesting travel news, and random ramblings by the editor.
If you're enjoying the newsletter, please forward it to friends who like reading about travel. The more who know about it, the easier it becomes for me to discover great travel reads.
If someone sent this to you, sign up for future emails at nomadicnotes.substack.com.
- James Clark