How to get the public bus from Da Nang to Hoi An. Da Nang and Hoi An are about 27 km apart, and there is a direct public bus that connects Da Nang city centre to Hoi An Ancient Town. Bus Number: 02 Frequency: Every 15-30 minutes Ticket: 40,000 VND Travel time: 1 hour Operator: […]
About James Clark
Notes on Hon Son – A car-free island in Vietnam
Hon Son is an island about 65km west of Rach Gia in An Giang Province in Vietnam. The island has an area of 11.5 square km, and there are no private cars on the island. Hon Son is one of several islands of the Nam Du archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. The islands are […]
Notes on Lopburi – The new train station, and where are the monkeys and overlanders?
Lopburi is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Central Thailand. Lopburi is littered with historic ruins, and the city made global headlines when it was overrun by monkeys. The city is on the Northern Line that connects Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A new train station was built outside the city in 2025, so I […]
Notes on Lamphun – Chiang Mai’s charming little neighbour
Lamphun is the capital of Lamphun province in northern Thailand. Lamphun province is next to Chiang Mai province, and their eponymously-titled capitals are only 19 km apart. Despite Lamphun’s proximity to Chiang Mai, I had somehow spent years of my life in Chiang Mai but had never visited Lamphun. It was time for me to […]
Riding the remnants of the Philippines South Main Line
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Main Line originally traversed South Luzon from Manila to Legazpi. The line was approximately 500 km in length, but the system has been reduced to two fragmented sections. The current lines are used as commuter services and are not useful for tourism. If you are a train enthusiast who […]
Nanning to Hong Kong by train
My review of the Nanning to Hong Kong high-speed railway service. Nanning is the capital of Guangxi region in southern China. The region is next to the Vietnam border, and its proximity to Hanoi makes it a useful hub if you are overlanding to other points in China. There are direct services from Nanning to […]
Notes on Nam Dinh – A chilled-out version of old Hanoi
Nam Dinh is a city in Ninh Binh province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. I visited Nam Dinh in October 2025 as part of a rail trip where I was stopping at lesser-visited cities. This was a research trip for my website, Rail Vietnam. I was on my way from Vinh to […]
Hanoi to Nanning by train
A review of the overnight sleeper train service from Hanoi (Vietnam) to Nanning (China). The Hanoi to Nanning train is the only international service from Vietnam, and one of the few international train services in Southeast Asia. There is also a Hanoi to Beijing train that is a continuation of the Nanning service. For this […]
Hotel Review: Vienna 3 Best Hotel Guangxi Nanning Station
Review of the Vienna 3 Best Hotel Guangxi Nanning Station, a budget hotel conveniently located near Nanning Station. Hotel Name: Vienna 3 Best Hotel Guangxi Nanning Station. Address: No.10 Youai Nan Road, Xixiangtang, Nanning, China. I stayed at the Vienna 3 Best Hotel Guangxi Nanning Station in Nanning, China. I booked online at the rate […]
Notes on Vinh
The oddly modern Vinh Station, the old apartments from the German Democratic Republic, remnants of the Nghe An Ancient Citadel, Vinh Market and the famous foam coffee, Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and future Vinh on the high-speed railway. Vinh is the capital city of Nghe An province in the North Central Coast […]
