Travel Newsletter: 25 June 2021
Secret nomads, lake bagging, the grand beauty of Kyrgyzstan’s landscape, and more travel reads.
Hello from Ho Chi Minh City. We are in our fourth week of social distancing here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if another two weeks are added next week. At least vaccination has begun in earnest here, and I am now for the first time seeing local friends and expats who have gotten their first shot. I also have some American friends who have gone back to the US to get a shot, rather than waiting around here. I’m hoping I can join the gallery of photos of people getting vaccinated.
Here is this week’s travel reads. I was not inspired to post on Nomadic Notes this week, so maybe next week!
Travel and COVID-19
Through hoops and quarantine: Travel to Thailand
My mad traveler friend wrote about his quarantine experience in Bangkok.
Couchfish: A chat on the beach
A good read about how the pandemic has destroyed small businesses reliant on tourism. I’ve seen this everywhere I’ve been in my travels around Vietnam over the past year.
You’re vaccinated. What are the ethics of traveling to places where locals aren’t?
“Travelers, tourism professionals and medical experts share their perspectives.”
How powerful is your passport in a post-pandemic world?
In Ubud: not much to eat, lots of prayer, no love
“Once bursting with tourists, Bali's spiritual capital looks like a ghost town.”
Coronavirus vaccines are hard to get in Thailand, so the wealthy are heading on overseas jab tours
Assorted travel reads
Airport railways in Southeast Asia
I made a list of current and proposed airport railways in Southeast Asia, and it turns out that Indonesia has the most airport rail connections.
2,800-year-old castle linked to enigmatic ancient civilization found in Turkey
“The structures dates to the time of Urartu, a kingdom that clashed with the Assyrians in the first millennium B.C.”
‘Lake bagging’ is trending. What is it, and how can you do it safely?
“The version of wild swimming has hikers discovering—and dipping into—scenic lakes and ponds, while avoiding overcrowding on popular peaks.”
Italy moves to halt overtourism before travel restarts
Driving an electric car on Colorado’s Scenic Byways
“Will the battery hold out crossing a 10,666-foot pass? Where is the next charging station? Overcoming ‘range anxiety’ on Colorado’s highest mountains.”
Meet the secret nomads whose bosses don't know they're working abroad
Photographer showcases the grand beauty of Kyrgyzstan’s landscape
This is how your luggage gets loaded onto the airplane
These are the definitive rules for airplane armrest allocation
“There's no need to ever fight over airline seat armrests, because this is a problem that has been solved.”
Silence is an endangered species: How the pandemic has helped our quiet places
50 facts that prove Japan is unlike any other country
If you want to be swimming in toast and bits of bacon, then sure, go ahead and serve me breakfast in the pool…
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The Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter is a weekly newsletter of the best travel reads and interesting travel news from around the web, and random ramblings by the editor.
- James Clark