Nomadic Notes Travel Newsletter

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City! This week I did a visa run to Phnom Penh, which I timed to meet my sister who was travelling in Cambodia. I would normally turn a visa run into a proper trip somewhere else for a month, but I have things to do in Vietnam in January. Tokyo subway maps – A guide to finding high-resolution maps of every railway in Tokyo This week I continue to catalogue subway maps of the world. The Tokyo subway system is a mix of metro and heavy rail operated by several companies.

Happy New Year from Ho Chi Minh City! Hope you have some exciting travel plans for the year ahead. I have a visa run and a beach trip booked this month, in addition to entertaining visiting friends. I’m expanding the rail guides on the blog this month. This week’s post is a guide to every rail line in Vietnam.

Greetings from the depths of Dead Week, as it is increasingly becoming known. I thought I could power through it, and it helped by being in a country that doesn’t have Christmas or Boxing Day as a public holiday. I came unstuck yesterday though, restlessly tab-hopping on my computer before realising that I’m better off going on a long walk. Perhaps the 29th is the worst day to try and work in this week.

Happy holidays from Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh City! I was going to spend the holiday period on a beach in the Philippines, then when I started looking at flights I realised that half of the country would be doing the same thing. Sort of like planning to travel during the Lunar New Year in countries that observe that holiday period. I’ll be here for all the holidays (Christmas, New Year, Tet) and the newsletter will be business as usual next week.

Greetings from Manila! This week I moved from the old area of Malate to the new city of Makati. There are 16 cities and 1 municipality that comprise Metro Manila, and Makati is one of those cities. The number of skyscrapers here would be enough for most normal cities, but this is replicated in several other cities within this city. [The City of Pasig, viewed from the city of Makati (via @nomadicnotes..] I’ve met two friends here this week who used to live in Saigon.

Greetings from Manila! It’s my first time here since 2012, and my first time back in the Philippines since a random business trip to Davao in 2013. It’s good to be back. On my first trip here I did an “introduction to the Philippines” trip by island-hopping several islands. The beaches and mountains are calling my name again, but they will have to wait.

Greetings from Bangkok! It’s good to be back in my home away from home (away from home). I was here this time last year when the country was still blowing off the cobwebs after reopening. I went to Khao San Road on that trip to find that many places had closed down. A news article this week says that Khao San Road is still struggling, so I will have another look. This week I am doing a city construction report for Future Southeast Asia.

Bali has been announcing that they want to build a railway for over a decade, and this plan was announced again when I visited in September this year. While I was sitting on the back of a motorbike taxi stuck in traffic, I wondered what Bali would be like with a railway. Using the information from all of the previous announcements, I made a map: Bali Railway Concept Map. Most railway fantasy maps are just fantasy, but this map is made up mostly of previous proposals.

Greetings from Chiang Mai! I’m not doing any travel for the rest of this month while I work on some projects. I have a transit concept map coming out next week, which has been taking me longer than expected (these maps always do). I have a bunch of meetings planned while I eat my way through my favourite food places. I went to the “cowboy hat lady” at the North Gate market, and I Googled to see if there was a name for the stall. It turns out she was featured by Anthony Bordain.

Hello from Chiang Mai! This is my first time back since the before times, and it feels like returning to a second home. I’ve gone back to one of my favourite cafes, and I’ve already run into a friend there, and have meetings lined up for the next week. A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) It’s been a travel week, so I didn’t get around to posting a new article this week. I probably could have got a new article out if I looked away from the dumpster fire that is Twitter.