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.

Notes on Tuy Hoa – Just the right amount of nothing much to do

Tuy Hoa is the provincial capital of Phu Yen province on the south-central coast of Vietnam, about half way between Quy Nhon and Nha Trang. I arrived in Tuy Hoa to visit the beaches of Phu Yen. Rather than heading straight to the coast, I stayed to explore the city. There’s not much to do […]

Where I’m At: July, 2020 – Thanh Hoa edition

Greetings from Thanh Hoa 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 summary of my travels for the last month in Vietnam, where domestic travel has resumed. For real time updates, follow me on Instagram at @nomadicnotes. I also […]

Comparing the beach neighbourhoods of Da Nang and Hoi An

Da Nang and Hoi An are becoming increasingly popular as bases for digital nomads. The two cities are connected by the same long stretch of sandy beach, and if you stand on the beach of Hoi An you can see the burgeoning Da Nang skyline. There are two beach neighbourhoods in particular that have become […]

Visiting Hoi An without international tourists

Hoi An is one of the most charming little cities in Southeast Asia. Having personally travelled to most of the famous tourist sights in the region I can confirm that there are few places that can match its beauty. As such, Hoi An has become one of the overtourism hotspots of Southeast Asia, and by […]

Where I’m At: June, 2020 – Da Nang edition

Greetings from Da Nang and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and site news. Where I’ve Been I’m happy to report that I’ve been somewhere this month, and here’s a summary of the previous month. For real time updates, follow me on Instagram at @nomadicnotes. Saigon The […]

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 […]