A weekly newsletter of great travel reads and news by James Clark from Nomadic Notes.
Where I’m At: September, 2019 – Saigon edition
Greetings from Saigon and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and site news.
Where I’ve Been
This is a brief summary of where I’ve been, and I usually blog about visited places a month or so later. At my current rate of blogging I’m about six weeks behind. The only thing I do that’s instant is on Instagram.
Saigon
The featured photo above is one of the many new cafes I’ve been to this month, and most of the month feels like it’s been spent inside of cafes (which is not a bad thing). August turned out to be the first month this year where I didn’t travel to another country. I began the month in Saigon, and apart from a short domestic trip I’ve been here getting work done. I have international trips planned for the rest of the year, so I tried to make the most of this time in one place.
While I’m in Vietnam I’ve been putting together guides and reports on transport and infrastructure in the country. I put together a fact sheet for a new bridge in Ho Chi Minh City, which I figured would be more useful for people searching for this information rather than the casual reader (unless you are a pontist).
There are currently five proposed or planned new airlines in Vietnam, which seems like a remarkable amount when the trend worldwide has been for mergers. Out of curiosity I started writing about these new airlines, and 5000 words later I ended up in the weeds writing about Vietnam’s booming aviation market. I have some other niche websites as well, so no wonder I am so far behind on blogging about my travels.
Hue
I first visited Hue in 2005 when I did my introductory backpacking trip to Vietnam. I visited again in 2012, and this was my third visit.
I’m still pleasantly surprised with how nice it is, and amazes me that there are no international flights here. When you consider the city size, the things to do in and around the city, and that is is close to beaches and mountains, Hue seems like such an underrated city.
I’ll have a post about Hue, and getting the train from Hue.
Phong Nha
Phong Nha is most famous for its many caves, including the world’s largest known cave (Son Doong Cave). I have a friend who owns accommodation businesses in the area so I made an overdue visit. I visited one of the caves, but mostly I just enjoyed the serenity of being in rural Vietnam.
Dong Hoi
Dong Hoi is the capital of Quang Binh province, and it’s the gateway for travels to Phong Nha and beyond. I wasn’t planning on visiting Dong Hoi, but I had a day to spare before my flight in the evening. All I knew about Dong Hoi was the famous church ruins that is left as a testament to the war. From that day trip I have blog posts in draft for Nomadic Notes and Living In Asia.
ICYMI – Last Months Posts
I’m slowly catching up on my previous trips, and hopefully I can be caught up before my next trip this month.
Shamian – the historic concession island of Guangzhou
Notes on Haiphong – A historic port city in Northern Vietnam
Hanoi Train Street – An infrastructure anomaly that’s become an Instagram sensation
Taroko National Park – highlights, and how to visit on a day trip from Taipei
Where I’m At: September, 2019 – Saigon edition
September 1, 2019 By James Clark 2 Comments (Edit)
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Greetings from Saigon and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and site news.
Where I’ve Been
This is a brief summary of where I’ve been, and I usually blog about visited places a month or so later. At my current rate of blogging I’m about six weeks behind. The only thing I do that’s instant is on Instagram.
Saigon
The featured photo above is one of the many new cafes I’ve been to this month, and most of the month feels like it’s been spent inside of cafes (which is not a bad thing). August turned out to be the first month this year where I didn’t travel to another country. I began the month in Saigon, and apart from a short domestic trip I’ve been here getting work done. I have international trips planned for the rest of the year, so I tried to make the most of this time in one place.
While I’m in Vietnam I’ve been putting together guides and reports on transport and infrastructure in the country. I put together a fact sheet for a new bridge in Ho Chi Minh City, which I figured would be more useful for people searching for this information rather than the casual reader (unless you are a pontist).
There are currently five proposed or planned new airlines in Vietnam, which seems like a remarkable amount when the trend worldwide has been for mergers. Out of curiosity I started writing about these new airlines, and 5000 words later I ended up in the weeds writing about Vietnam’s booming aviation market. I have some other niche websites as well, so no wonder I am so far behind on blogging about my travels.
Hue
I first visited Hue in 2005 when I did my introductory backpacking trip to Vietnam. I visited again in 2012, and this was my third visit.
I’m still pleasantly surprised with how nice it is, and amazes me that there are no international flights here. When you consider the city size, the things to do in and around the city, and that is is close to beaches and mountains, Hue seems like such an underrated city.
I’ll have a post about Hue, and getting the train from Hue.
Phong Nha
Phong Nha is most famous for its many caves, including the world’s largest known cave (Son Doong Cave). I have a friend who owns accommodation businesses in the area so I made an overdue visit. I visited one of the caves, but mostly I just enjoyed the serenity of being in rural Vietnam.
Dong Hoi
Dong Hoi is the capital of Quang Binh province, and it’s the gateway for travels to Phong Nha and beyond. I wasn’t planning on visiting Dong Hoi, but I had a day to spare before my flight in the evening. All I knew about Dong Hoi was the famous church ruins that is left as a testament to the war. From that day trip I have blog posts in draft for Nomadic Notes and Living In Asia.
ICYMI – Last Months Posts
I’m slowly catching up on my previous trips, and hopefully I can be caught up before my next trip this month.
Shamian – the historic concession island of Guangzhou
Notes on Haiphong – A historic port city in Northern Vietnam
Hanoi Train Street – An infrastructure anomaly that’s become an Instagram sensation
Taroko National Park – highlights, and how to visit on a day trip from Taipei
[In the midst of rainy-season Saigon.]
Latest posts from Nomadic Notes
Notes on Kaohsiung – an underrated city for when you have the #overtourism blues
Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan, at the southern end of the island. Overall it’s not a city that features on the international travel radar. As I was to discover during the course of my stay, Kaohsiung is an underrated city.
Travel Reads
Into the wild: take a slow boat to see Borneo's orangutans
“The river is black and reflective, the forest soars above, birds and monkeys everywhere. The jungle feels eerie. And then the magic happens.”
What’s behind a stratospheric tourism boom in the tiny European nation of Georgia
“How geopolitical change led to big interest in the tiny nation.”
What’s it like to live in an over-touristed city?
“Locals explain how the influx of travellers has affected them, how authorities are responding and how visitors can remain respectful of people who live there year-round.”
City Listicles
Bangkok Is The Most Visited City In The World...Again
“Thailand’s capital ranked number one for international visitors, followed by Paris and London, according to this year’s Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index.”
Vienna remains the world's 'most liveable city' – but which cities are on the rise?
“Vienna’s rich cultural offerings, affordable healthcare system and well-developed public transport network has made it the world’s most liveable city for 2019.”
The list also includes the world’s least liveable cities 2019.
Travel Quests
This man has spent $150,000 trying to visit every Starbucks shop in the world
“One man is on a quest to visit every Starbucks; he’s halfway there at age 47 and shares his favorite stores.”
Travel Photography
See the Winners of the 2019 Bird Photographer of the Year Contest
“The winners of the 2019 Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition have been announced. Take a look at some of the award winning bird photographs.”
As Seen On Twitter
This is how Balinese Woman carrying their stuff to the temple by motorbike 😎
Rate 1 - 100 guys? https://t.co/za3shahjsx
Saigon nights.
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