Travel Newsletter - 29 January 2021
Da Lat – the cool mountain city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, digital nomad visa in Croatia, the China-Myanmar railway, and more travel news and reads.
Greetings fom Ho Chi Minh City. After over 50 days without a local case, yesterday Vietnam recorded 100 domestic coronavirus cases in a single day 😱. Sure, a drop in the bucket compared to US and Europe numbers, but it came as a shock here.
Lockdowns have been swift in locations with reported cases, and field hospitals have been ordered to be be set up. It’s the lunar new year holiday next week as well, adding another complication to the matter.
I wrote two blog posts this week(!), and if travel is restricted next month I might get through the backlog of writing I have.
Latest posts at Nomadic Notes
Notes on Da Lat – The cool mountain city in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
“Da Lat is the capital of Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. The city is a popular tourist destination in Vietnam, famous for its cool climate and mountain scenery.”
Da Lat – Trai Mat Railway – A restored heritage railway in Vietnam
“The Da Lat - Trai Mat Railway is a restored section of the former Da Lat–Thap Cham railway. The original railway connected Da Lat to the main North-South railway of Vietnam.”
COVID-19 and travel (or lack thereof)
Will vaccination package holidays be a thing in 2021?
Sad sight: Google Earth shows Qantas A380s sitting idle in the desert
Backpacking is a rite of passage for many travelers. Covid could end it forever
This cruise-ship comedian is used to tough crowds. He misses them. [Paywall]
“Adapting to life at sea wasn’t easy for L.A. comic Mike Siegel, then Covid sunk the cruise industry.”
Travel news
This Italian village could pay you €25k to help you renovate a €1 home
These 1 Euro homes keep making the news, but this would at least defray the cost of the required renovations.
Meet Croatia's first official 'digital nomad' as country opens its doors with special visa
If you want to live in Europe, a cheaper option would be to work out how to work remotely so you qualify for a digital nomad visa in Croatia.
A hotel in Aruba is offering workstations on the beach for digital nomads — see the setup
And if you are considering becoming a digital nomad, this is not how you digital nomad.
Blimp travel might be making a comeback soon. Seriously.
Concorde successor AS2 takes leap forward with vast new Florida HQ
Riverside hotel slated for 2025
I’ve always thought this building in Bangkok would make a great hotel, so it’s good to see it might be happening.
Siemens Mobility signs MoU to build Egypt’s first high-speed rail system
Assorted travel reads
Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu Railway
Here is a profile I put together for the planned Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railway project. If this ever gets built it would connect Kunming to Kyaukphyu in the Bay of Bengal.
The kindness of dangers, the companionship of strangers
“Can the act of travel actually make us see our lives and the world differently?”
A curious journey through the story of the passport
Escape from corporate America: 15 years of vagabonding
New travel writer of the year 2021: longlisted entries
“The first round of judging is over and here are the eighteen entries that have made it on to this year’s longlist for you to enjoy.”
Here is a selected story from The Vagabond Imperative, which is “an online travel magazine determined to reset the way we look at travel and how we do it.”
Tourism boards doing it right
A playful Ghibli-esque ad for Travel Oregon
'Seen all this before': Tourism NZ says ditch influencer shots for something new
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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.
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- James Clark