One of the more unusual tourist attractions to emerge in Hanoi is the Hanoi train street. This “street” is more of a passageway that has a single railway line passing through it. There are houses on either side with barely enough room for the train to pass through. The railway is not fenced off, so […]
Hanoi Train Street – An infrastructure anomaly that’s become an Instagram sensation
August 19, 2019 By 5 Comments
Hanoi to Haiphong by train
August 14, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Hanoi-Haiphong railway is one of the few railway lines in Vietnam that is not part of the main north-south railway. Originally this line was part of the Yunnan-Haiphong Railway that was built by France between 1904–1910. Haiphong is the closest seaport to Hanoi so it’s always been an important access point for Hanoi. Haiphong […]
Notes on Haiphong – A historic port city in Northern Vietnam
August 13, 2019 By 2 Comments
Haiphong is the third largest city in Vietnam, and apart from being an industrial port city it has a historic city centre that should attract more tourists than it does. It rarely makes anyones list of places to visit in Vietnam, but if you have time it’s worth a detour. I had read it being […]
Shamian – the historic concession island of Guangzhou
August 6, 2019 By 2 Comments
Shamian in Guangzhou is a former concession island that was established by the French and British after the Second Opium War. This small island has some of the best preserved colonial architecture in Asia. It might also be the best 19th century historical site that isn’t a UNESCO World Heritage Site (yet). The island was […]
Where I’m At: August, 2019 – Saigon edition
August 1, 2019 By 3 Comments
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 Hanoi View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jul 1, 2019 at 7:44am PDT I began the month in Hanoi for what has become […]
Notes on Guangzhou – A worthy stopover city beyond the trade fair
July 30, 2019 By 6 Comments
It had been nine years since my last visit to Guangzhou. Nine years is a long time in modern China, and Guangzhou (like Shenzhen) seemed like another city compared to my previous visit. I don’t know anyone who has ever gone to Guangzhou just for a holiday. I have many friends who go for the […]
Hostel Review: Piece Hostel Sanjo, Kyoto – Japan
July 22, 2019 By
Hostel Name: Piece Hostel Sanjo Address: 530 Asakura-cho, Kyoto, Japan. I stayed at the Piece Hostel Sanjo in Kyoto. This was my first time to Kyoto so I didn’t have a feel for what the best area would be. After a little research it looked like the area west of the Kamo River looked like […]
The Acropolis and the saga of the Parthenon Marbles
July 10, 2019 By 7 Comments
On my first visit to Athens I of course went to the Acropolis. How could you not. This ancient monument is so well known that there was the danger of it not living up to a lifetime of expectations. Fortunately I was more impressed than I thought I would be. After my Athens visit I […]
Flight Review: Bamboo Airways – Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City
July 3, 2019 By 4 Comments
Flight: Bamboo Airways QH 203 From: Hanoi (HAN) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) Bamboo Airways is a Vietnamese airline that began operations in January, 2019. I had been waiting for an opportunity to review them, so when I had a trip planned from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City I booked a flight. I […]
Where I’m At: July, 2019 – Hanoi edition
July 1, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Greetings from Hanoi and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and site news. Hanoi in July is probably not the best time to visit if you don’t like sticky heat, but apart from that I’m always happy to be back. Where I’ve Been Saigon View this post […]
