The Bangkok Mass Transit System began with the launch of two BTS Skytrain lines in 1999. There are now eight lines operating, with more lines planned and under construction. The urban rail transit system of Bangkok is comprised of a mixture of railway systems operated by three different companies. There is no singular brand like […]
Notes on Phuket – There are worse places to be in quarantine (or, it’s fine I suppose)
The “Phuket Sandbox” was a program to let international visitors back into Thailand after the country had been closed for international travel during the pandemic. Instead of being locked in a hotel room for a week, you could stay on the island of Phuket for a week before being allowed to travel anywhere else in […]
Notes on Kep – Fake beaches, ruined villas, crabs (of course), and a cool cafe of Cambodia
Kep is a province in Southern Cambodia, facing the Gulf of Thailand and surrounded by Kampot Province. It was actually part of Kampot Province up until 2008 when this little corner of Kampot was carved out to become the smallest province in Cambodia. [Kep Province, shown within Kampot and Cambodia (map via Wikimedia.)] I’ve not […]
Notes on Kampot – There’s been a vibe shift
Kampot is the capital city of Kampot Province in southern Cambodia. The city title doesn’t seem fitting for a place that is often described as sleepy. In Australia we would call it a big country town. It has a population of over 30,000 people, so it does earn its city status, and it feels more […]
Notes on Koh Rong – An island in transition
Koh Rong is an island off the coast of Sihanoukville in Cambodia. Its undeveloped beaches have been a backpacker favourite for years, offering an unvarnished island travel experience that is slowly disappearing in Southeast Asia. Despite a few previous visits to Sihanoukville, I had never been. I was in Sihanoukville at the start of 2022 […]
Where I’m At: July 2022 – Hanoi
Where I’m At is the monthly travel and site update for Nomadic Notes. Updates can also be found at the weekly travel newsletter, which includes the best travel reads from around the web. Where I’ve been An overview of where I’ve been in June 2022. Laos View this post on Instagram A post shared by […]
Laos-China Railway – A review of the Vientiane to Boten train
The Laos-China Railway opened on the 2nd of December 2021, making it the first railway in Laos (not counting the border shuttle at Thanaleng from Nong Khai in Thailand). The train from Vientiane to Boten takes just 3.5 hours, and its main stops include Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Muang Xai. Laos was still closed […]
Notes on Sihanoukville – After the gold rush
Sihanoukville is a beach/port city on the coast of Cambodia. From an international tourism perspective, it was known as a backpacker haven and for retired expats drinking in girlie bars. In the space of about five years, Sihanoukville was transformed almost entirely into a Chinese casino resort destination. I was last in Sihanoukville in January […]
Where I’m At: June 2022 – Vientiane
Where I’m At is the monthly travel and site update for Nomadic Notes, and random ramblings from myself that don’t fit into a blog post. I also post weekly updates at the weekly travel newsletter, which includes the best travel reads from around the web. Where I’ve been An overview of where I’ve been over […]
Notes on Phnom Penh – Revisiting after the reopening
Cambodia was one of the earliest countries to reopen without quarantine in Southeast Asia, and I just so happened to need to do a visa run from Thailand. That was enough reason to pay an overdue revisit to Phnom Penh. This trip to Phnom Penh was in December 2020, and I saw in the new […]
