KOH LANTA - Happy lunar new year - the year of the tiger is upon us 🐯.

This week I celebrated my 50th birthday on the beach, which is where I tend to spend my birthdays these days. This half-ton milestone (as they say in the cricket) now allows me to apply for a retirement visa in Thailand. On the one hand, I’m offended that I’m now considered at an age of retirement. On the other hand, I’m like, hmm a one year visa you say 🤔. Then I remember that I’m a nomad and when am I ever going to spend a year in a country (apart from the recent year in Vietnam due to the pandemic).

Koh Lanta turned out to be a great choice to see in this milestone, even though I wasn’t planning to be here up until about two weeks ago. I was waiting to see what happens in Laos, but they have just announced their convoluted reopening, so I will wait for another time. Looks like I will be staying in Thailand a while longer.

[Koh Lanta, 50 on 2/2/22 @nomadicnotes]

Assorted travel reads

• A spinal fluid leak derailed my life of travel and food, but taught me to find beauty in the small things

My friend Jodi from Legal Nomads wrote this article for CNN about how a medical procedure gone wrong changed her life in an instant.

• Greenland: how the Arctic destination is becoming an unlikely mecca for extreme sports enthusiasts

• Misery Beach, on Western Australia's south coast, named Tourism Australia Best Beach 2022

• Discovering the unexpected wonder of Mumbai’s coastal wildlife

“Photographer Sarang Naik is reintroducing his hometown to its rich biodiversity, from glowing corals to dazzling sea slugs.”

• A long-overlooked necropolis in Naples reveals the enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

“The Ipogeo dei Cristallini’s well-preserved tombs will open to the public as soon as summer 2022.”

• The discovery of Egypt's lost city

• Gen Y Chinese ride out the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia doing as the hippies once did

“Mass tourism may have ended with the Covid-19 pandemic, but Chinese independent travellers are making the most of Southeast Asia with no thoughts of going home.”

• This man lives in the plane that flew Jackie O to a funeral—and you’re welcome to join him

• You’ve surely heard of Wordle by now (or at least seen images shared on social media). There are other language versions, and now there is Airportle.

• The Great Resignation has morphed into the Great Sabbatical

“Mid-career sabbaticals have tripled over the past four years—and the gap year is losing its stigma.”

• An air stewardess fell 33,000 feet and lived to tell the tale 50 years ago today

• I’m drawn to lighthouses, even if they are meant to keep you away (or ships at least)…

Ethan Mollick @emollick

Here are the lighthouses of Europe. The map is even better than it might seem at first glance: the colors are the real colors, the patterns are the real patterns, and the size of the dots is the distance at which each light is visible. geodienst.github.io/lighthousemap/

4:20 AM ∙ Jan 24, 2022

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• Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang looking great for the Lunar New Year. I’ve spent a few Lunar New Years in Penang (the last being in January 2020), and I miss it.

siva_wwc

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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