Nomadic Notes

I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. I’m currently based in Ho Chi Minh City writing about transport and city development in Southeast Asia.

Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel tips, where to stay guides, rail travel, and old-school trip reports.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Where I’m At: May, 2020 – Saigon lockdown 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 No prizes for guessing that I didn’t go anywhere last month. The month began with a partial lockdown enforced in the city on the first of April. You were still able […]

The Living In Asia Newsletter – News on transport and infrastructure in Asia

For regular readers of Nomadic Notes you may know that I also run another site at Living In Asia, where I write about urban design, construction, infrastructure, and transport in Asia. I already write a lot about cities in Asia at Nomadic Notes, but I needed a new home where I can go into detail […]

Bang Saen – The closest beach to Bangkok

Bang Saen Beach in Chonburi Province is just over 100 km east of Bangkok. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s because it’s not a beach that would make it on a “top ten beaches of Thailand” listicle, let alone top 100. In Thailand though it’s a popular beach destination, especially for Bangkokians who want […]

Where I’m At: April, 2020 – Saigon quarantine 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 What a long month March was. That Lenin quote comes to mind where “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” I started the month in […]

Notes on Kolkata

Kolkata is third-most populous metropolitan area in India, with a population of over 14 million. Calcutta (as it was formerly known) became the headquarters of the East India Company in 1773, and it was the capital of British India from 1858 to 1911. The remains of this period have left one of the grandest cities […]

Old Goa – Time machine dreams and the fragility of civilisation

Old Goa (Velha Goa) was the former capital of Portuguese India from the 16th century until the 18th century. It was once a significant city with a population that rivalled Lisbon, having an estimated population of over 200,000 people. The city was eventually abandoned due to a plague in the 18th century, and the capital […]

Where I’m At: March, 2020 – 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 Here’s a summary of where I’ve been last month. Follow me on Instagram for where I’m at in real time. North Goa View this post on Instagram Good morning Goa. A […]

Notes on Panaji – The quaint capital of Goa, and the Macau of India

Panaji (formerly Panjim) is capital of the state of Goa. There’s no beach here, and at just over 40,000 people, petite Panaji feels positively provincial. While there are 36 states and union territories in India, Panaji doesn’t even crack the top 300 biggest cities in India. I think though that in the future Panaji will […]

Notes on North Goa Beaches

Goa is the smallest state in India, with a coastline of approximately 160 kilometres facing the Arabian Sea. Despite its diminutive size its a bit of a pain to get around due to the roads and its geography. The state is comprised of two districts: North Goa, and South Goa. When people are planning a […]

Notes on Bengaluru (The Garden City) – Old city mayhem, transport apps, and fancy airports

Bengaluru is the third largest city in India, located in the middle of the Deccan Plateau in South India. I was in Bengaluru on the way to somewhere else. I visited Bengaluru in 2007 during my first trip to India, so I would have preferred to visit a new city. 13 years between visits is […]