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 visit Chiang Mai’s charming little neighbour.

These are the notes of my trip to Lamphun in December 2025.

Lamphun by train

Not only is Lamphun ridiculously close to Chiang Mai, but there is a local train that leaves Chiang Mai at a sensible hour of the morning. Train number 408 departs Chiang Mai at 9.35 AM and arrives at Lamphun at 10.01.

There are more frequent services by bus and songthaew, but the train is the most pleasant experience.

I noticed a big tour group was dropped off at Chiang Mai, and then they were picked up at Lamphun. They could have just come here by the same bus, but the short train trip added some variety to their tour.

It turns out that this Chiang Mai – Lamphun train service has gone viral, which explains why the journey was like being on a photo shoot.

Lamphun Station is a typical small railway station with an old wooden building and immaculate gardens.

The station has a useful tourist map on display that other small provincial capitals could learn from. The map shows the main highlights of the old town, with QR codes to download the map of Lamphun. The map is also honest in saying that you could do the town in 4 hours.

I could have visited Lamphun as a day trip from Chiang Mai, but I wanted to stay to get a better feel for the place. I also have a personal quest to visit every province, which is validated by spending at least one night in the provincial capital.

Lamphun moat

Like Chiang Mai, Lamphun has an old city area surrounded by a moat. Lamphun Station is about 30 minutes walk to the closest gate of the old town moat.

The Lamphun moat is different to Chiang Mai in that it uses the river as one side of the fortified area.

And while the Chiang Mai moated area is almost a square (1550m x 1500m), the Lamphun moated area is a more organic rectangular/oval shape (rectangoval?)

There are only a few sections of wall that remain, which have been rebuilt.

Trees with lights are a good alternative to walls.

Inthayongyot Road

Inthayongyot Road is the main north-south road that passes through the old town, which then becomes the Chiang Mai-Lamphun Road.

The road includes Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, which is one of the most sacred temples in the north. It also happens to be on the rare 1-satang coin (value of 0.01 THB).

The Hariphunchai National Museum has the history of the Haripuñjaya Kingdom before it became part of Lanna.

The blue songthaews that go to Chiang Mai depart from the Hariphunchai National Museum, so you could get a train to Lamphun and a songthaew back to Chiang Mai.

The main street is lined with concrete shophouses that define most of urban Thailand.

Some of them just need a good paint job to accentuate the architectural highlights, such as the shophouse at Jim’s Ice Cream.

At the southern end of the road is the Three Soldiers Gas Station Museum, which is an old-fashioned petrol station kiosk.

Markets

A bonus of staying in Lamphun is experiencing the Friday night market (it was dumb luck that I stayed on the right day).

Thailand is great at night markets, and Lamphun sensibly has its night market on Friday so as not to clash with the big Saturday and Sunday night markets in Chiang Mai.

If you aren’t there for the Friday market, the Lamphun Night Market is open every night and is a good spot for street food.

War Elephant Memorial Shrine

Outside of the old town is the War Elephant Memorial Shrine.

This was a good target to walk towards, as it took me through some roads with big trees.

Near the War Elephant Memorial Shrine is a park with some vintage train engines and carriages.

Cafes, nomads, living in provincial cities

Lamphun is a small city (about 10,000 to 15,000 people according to different sources), so it is not overrun with chain stores. The only chain I saw was Amazon, which is practically everywhere in Thailand now.

There are some good cafes on the main street, and my favourite was Black to Basic near the river.

You know a latte is going to be good when it looks like this.

Lamphun is not a nomad destination (especially when Chiang Mai is so close), so I didn’t see anyone working in cafes.

I had a friend who was living in Lamphun for a while, who came here to learn Thai. He was a retired foreigner who has since passed away. He stayed in Lamphun as he was able to be fully immersed in language learning without running into a foreigner. My friend would come to Chiang Mai for shopping expeditions, and I would meet him for coffee. I thought he was exaggerating, especially as Lamphun is so close to Chiang Mai, but I hardly saw any foreigners here.

Future Lamphun Airport

I was constantly reminded of how close Lamphun is to Chiang Mai by the planes in the CNX flight path.

Chiang Mai International Airport is close to the city centre, and the Nimman area of Chiang Mai is right under its flight path. There is a plan to build a new airport outside the city centre, though no agreement has been made on whether it is a second airport or if the old airport should close down.

The location for Chiang Mai 2 Airport (or Lanna International Airport) is on land that straddles the Chiang Mai/Lamphun border.

[2nd Chiang Mai Airport in Chiang Mai and Lamphun.]

Accommodation

I was getting another train after my Lamphun visit, so I stayed halfway between the station and the old town at the Thaen Thong Hotel.

Northern Line

Lamphun is on the Northern Line that runs between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. This line passes through some of the most historic sites in Thailand, so it is a useful sightseeing line.

From Lamphun, I got the train to Lopburi.

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, and I stopped at Nam Dinh mainly because I was intrigued by why the line takes such a dramatic detour on the North-South line.

[Vietnam Railway Map.svg by Dragfyre via Wikimedia Commons.]

Nam Dinh was the capital city of Nam Dinh province until Nam Dinh was merged into Ninh Binh in July 2025. I was previously visiting every provincial capital in Vietnam, which was 63 provinces and cities. The provincial mergers have now reduced the list to 34, but I will probably still visit the former capitals.

There is hardly any travel information about Nam Dinh online (apart from empty Tripadvisor pages), and there is no Wikitravel page. I did find a backpacker blog that created a guide to Nam Dinh, but this was an obvious AI hallucination once I explored Nam Dinh (I’m not giving them a link). This problem is going to become more common.

What ended up being most useful was this map from 1924 on the Nam Dinh Wikipedia page.

[Nam Dinh Map from 1924 via Wikimedia Commons.]

The citadel no longer exists, and its footprint has been erased from the current street grid. The other streets are the same, though, so I used this map as the most likely place to find old and interesting buildings.

These are my notes from my visit to Nam Dinh.

Nam Dinh Old City – Hanoi in miniature

Nam Dinh is about 85 km south of Hanoi. The city was an important textile centre in the colonial era, and the province (or former province area) is still a major textile hub today.

Walking around Nam Dinh is like walking around parts of the Old City of Hanoi without the traffic.

Someone in Vietnam commented on my Instagram that they thought I was in Hanoi.

Also similar to Hanoi is that most of the historic shophouses have disappeared, and the shopfronts are a mishmash of different styles.

Most of the high-rises in Nam Dinh are apartment blocks outside the city centre. The inner city features skinny tubehouses that are common in Vietnam, with some larger office buildings that beef up the skyline.

Every province in Vietnam has a provincial museum, and they are often the architectural highlights of the city. Now that the provinces have been merged, these museums will need to be renamed.

[Nam Dinh Museum.]

Provincial museums usually have war remnants around the building.

Another museum is the Nam Dinh Textile Museum. This is at the site of the historic Nam Dinh Textile Factory, which was demolished.

City theatres are another landmark to seek out.

I didn’t intend to make so many comparisons to Hanoi, but the Nam Dinh Flag Tower looks remarkably similar to the Flag Tower of Hanoi.

As I have mentioned countless times in other city notes, if you are in a new city in Vietnam, seek out the central market. The main market here is Cho Rong (Dragon Market), which is easily identified by the dragons on the roof.

Vi Xuyen Lake

Vi Xuyen Lake is a good place for a green walk in the city centre.

The lake and the Khoai Dong Parish Church appeared to be the most prominent landmarks when doing an image search for Nam Dinh.

Nam Dinh River

Referring to the old map again, the road along the Nam Dinh River looked like a potential place for colonial-era buildings. The river is connected to the Red River, and thus connected to Hanoi.

The riverfront road has an embankment in front of it, so the only river view is on the embankment.

I saw one old building of note there, and there is one hotel and not much else to do.

Big churches, domed homes, and phoney coat of arms of the United Kingdom

The Red River Delta and North Central Vietnam are famous for big churches. If you search for things to do in Nam Dinh, you will find guides for churches scattered around the former province. To see these, you will need your own transport or take a guided tour. For this report, I was focused on sites in the city.

The Khoai Dong Parish Church (which can be seen from the lake) is one of the main landmarks of the city.

The city of Nam Dinh was building a new cathedral when I visited.

Here is what it will eventually look like.

Also popular in the North Central region are new mansions with domes that look like churches.

I saw this building from a distance and walked towards it, thinking it was something significant, only to find it was a multipurpose business building.

I’ve seen many of these new rich houses that have the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, though with different details, such as the lion and unicorn on opposite sides. This is something I have seen all over Vietnam, and I assume it’s what people who have come into money think how people with money decorate their houses.

The home of phở?

Nam Dinh is supposedly the birthplace of phở, though Hanoi also claims this title. My friend Connla wrote what is probably the best article ever written about phở (the purist’s guide to phở in Hanoi). The article gives a brief history of its disputed origins.

Whether phở is from Hanoi or Nam Dinh, I figured I should cover my bases by having phở every day while I was in Nam Dinh. There was a phở restaurant near where I was staying that is from Hanoi, so they have a foot in both camps.

Unlike the protagonists in Connla’s essay, I’m not a purist, so my main criteria for picking a phở restaurant are that they only serve phở (not a menu with several types of dishes) and that it is busy with predominantly Vietnamese diners.

What grabbed my attention at this restaurant was the different cuts of meat hanging in the preparation area.

My palate is not refined enough to distinguish what is the best bowl of anything, so I would never proclaim anywhere to be the best bowl of whatever. I can confidently say that this was a good phở.

Getting the train to Nam Dinh

Nam Dinh Station is the second-last station before Hanoi, and you could come here on a day trip by train if you were looking for a quick train trip from Hanoi. For example:

Train SE5
Depart Hanoi: 8.55
Arrive Nam Dinh: 10.31

Train SE8
Depart Nam Dinh: 14.16
Arrive Hanoi: 16.10

The station is close to the city centre, so you can walk to the main sites from the station if you are travelling light.

[Train SE8 in Nam Dinh]

The day before my train trip, I got a text message from Vietnam Railways alerting me that the train was cancelled. There were big floods in Central Vietnam that disrupted the entire rail network. Some trains were running a limited schedule, while some trains were cancelled outright.

Luckily, Nam Dinh is close enough to Hanoi to have minivan service running at regular intervals.

I will do another trip on the North-South Railway to visit more stations on the line.

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 region of Vietnam. It’s about halfway between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha, and not many visitors stop in between. That alone was enough reason for me to visit.

Vinh is on the North-South Railway, so I booked a train trip from Da Nang to Hanoi, stopping at some less-visited places along the way.

I arrived on a cloudy day after spending a day on the train from Dong Ha. The train was outrunning a tropical storm that hit the central coast area (around Hue and Da Nang), so I was glad to arrive to see that it wasn’t raining.

I mention the weather to forewarn that most of the photos in this article are grey and dull. I had planned to visit the beach of Vinh to see what a resort beach looks like in the North Central Coast region, but I have been to enough beaches on grey days to know that I would be disappointed.

These are the notes of my visit to Vinh in October 2025.

Vinh Train Station

Vinh Station is an unusual design compared to other stations in Vietnam. It has that “built after the war” vibe that can be found in Eastern Europe.

There is a photo of the old station in the waiting room, which hints at what Vinh used to look like before the war.

The grey weather added to the ambience of my initial perception of Vinh. I walked out of the station and was greeted with a wide and straight road.

The wide streets and greyness of it all made me feel like I was in a former Eastern Bloc country, and this was another reason why I was curious to visit Vinh.

The DDR Apartments of Vinh

Vinh is known for the apartment blocks that were built with assistance from the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s.

The apartments are on the main street in the middle of the city, and they are gradually disappearing as modern buildings replace them in these prime locations.

I wrote an article about the apartments at Future Southeast Asia: The last days of the DDR Apartments of Vinh.

Remnants of the Nghe An Ancient Citadel

What would have been the tourism highlight of the city was destroyed during the wars. Vinh had an ancient citadel, and its star-shaped footprint can still be seen on the map.

[Map of old citadel of Vinh.]

There are three gates that are somewhat intact.

[Left Gate of Nghe An Citadel.]

The moat is also intact, though it loses its visual impact without a wall to go with it. The citadel is a residential area with houses along the moat.

This article has an aerial photo of the moat and some old photos.

Vinh Market and the famous foam coffee

As I have mentioned many times before, when you are in an unfamiliar city in Vietnam and don’t know what to do, head for the central market.

The Vinh central market is architecturally nothing to write home about, but little did I know that one of the most intriguing cafes in Vietnam is hidden in the bowels of this building.

I got a message from an English teacher from England who lives in Vinh. He saw my update on LinkedIn, which has unexpectedly become a useful social media platform for Vietnam. He invited me for a coffee inside the market, so we met outside and I followed him through the labyrinthian interior.

Long Ly Cafe is named after the husband and wife team that operate the cafe, and Cafe Bọt (Foam Coffee) is the type of coffee that is served here.

The foam is freshly whipped on demand. As far as I can tell, the foam is coffee-infused whipped cream, though the articles I have read say that the recipe is a secret. Mr Long has been here for over 20 years, and he still makes the coffees. In addition to walk-in customers, there were many delivery drivers coming and going, as well as deliveries to other workers in the market.

What is interesting about this coffee is that it hasn’t spread across the country yet. There are many types of coffee in Vietnam that are associated with cities:

– Ca Phe Sua Da (synonymous with Saigon, and called Ca Phe Saigon in Central Vietnam)
– Coconut Coffee (Da Nang)
– Salt Coffee (Hue)
– Egg Coffee (Hanoi)

Maybe when Mr Long retires he will give up the recipe and foam coffee will become common across Vietnam. It could be known as Long Coffee, or Vinh Coffee to put Vinh on the coffee map.

A foam coffee cost 15,000 VND (0.57 USD).

[Cafe Bọt menu (October 2025).]

Legend has it that Mr Long is the second-most Instagrammed/TikTokked person in Vinh, after Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh was born in a village outside of Vinh in 1890 (his birth name was Nguyen Sinh Cung). While technically not from Vinh, he was from Nghe An province, so there is an appropriate statue in Vinh for the provincial hero.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai

Someone who was born in Vinh was Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. She was born in 1910 under the name of Nguyen Thi Vinh, and was executed in Saigon by the French in 1941.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai is one of the 1,375 names in the database of street and public work names. Some names are more prominent than others, and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai is a name I see in almost every city. Maybe I notice this name more because I lived on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in Ho Chi Minh City for a while. The name is seared onto my brain like where I lived in Melbourne (Barkly St and Mitford St), which are now part of my life history.

The Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Memorial House is on the main street (where the DDR apartments used to be).

There is an altar and some information of her life (Vietnamese only). Here is an article about the life of Comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

The memorial site has some photos of old Vinh, of which there is no trace of today.

[Avenue Marechal Foch.]

A shame that the old Railway Hotel no longer exists.

[Hotel de la Gare.]

Food in Vinh

Some provinces have their signature dishes, and Nhe An is famous for eel soup (súp lươn Nghệ An).

I like the presentation of the fish at this banh canh ca loc restaurant. The pieces are stacked in a way that everyone gets the same portion.

Apart from the English teacher I met, in the four days I was in Vinh I saw two other guys that looked like English teachers, and two travellers with backpacks. I mention this as I was a curiosity to the diners at the restaurant.

Future Vinh

I keep a list of major developments in cities of Southeast Asia at my Future Cities series. There is not enough happening in Vinh to justify a full post, but the arrival of the Sheraton Hotel indicates a new era for the city.

Next to the Sheraton is Vincom Plaza, and they were both nearly finished when I was there. Not that my boss would let me stay there (it’s me, I’m the boss), but if you want a fancy hotel with a view in Vinh, then use my link to book a room at Sheraton Vinh.

I wasn’t expecting to see much here, so the Sheraton was a surprise. I was more interested in seeing Vinh as it is now (including the remaining DDR apartments) before the high-speed railway is built (if it gets built at all).

Vinh will be one of the 5 main express stations (Hanoi – Vinh – Danang – Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh City) out of a total of 23 stations. Being one of the express stations will be transformative for the fortunes of Vinh, and maybe it will become a thriving metropolis after the railway is built.

Follow the construction of the railway at my Vietnam High-Speed Railway page.

A good Vinh guide

This Vinh guide is on a personal website of a resident English teacher.

Onward travel

From Vinh, I got the train to Nam Dinh.

The Phnom Penh Airport Express Bus connects the city centre to Techo International Airport. Here are the bus details, including the route and ticketing information.

Airport Express Bus route and stops

The Airport Express Bus has limited stops between the airport and city centre.

[Map of Phnom Penh Airport Express Bus.]

The route map of the Airport Express Bus.

[Airport Express Bus route map.]

The Airport Express Bus on the city map gives a better idea of how far the airport is.

If you are staying in the riverside area, the Canadia Park bus stop is the most useful stop.

[Canadia Park Bus Stop.]

If you are staying in the BKK1 area, the Royal University Of Law And Economic Sciences bus stop is closer.

[Royal University Of Law And Economic Sciences bus stop.]

The final stop is at the Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station (Phnom Penh City Bus Terminal), near the Embassy of France. There are not as many hotels around here, thus the Canadia Park stop will be the most useful (though check the map to see what is most useful for you).

If you are unfamiliar with the city, here is my guide on where to stay in Phnom Penh.

[Airport Express Bus at Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station.]

Going from the city to the airport, the University of Health Sciences bus stop is the most useful stop. This is near the Phnom Penh Railway Station.

[University of Health Sciences bus stop.]

The bus stops have shelters that are clearly marked “Airport Express Bus”.

[R & F City Bus Stop]

Airport Express Bus timetable

The bus runs approximately every hour. A timetable is on the airport website.

[Airport Express Bus timetable from Techo International Airport.]

[Airport Express Bus timetable from Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station.]

Airport Express Bus at Techo International Airport

The bus stop is outside the terminal building at the end of the carpark. There are some signs pointing in the direction of the bus stop.

I had some taxi/tuk-tuk drivers approach me to try and persuade my to get a ride. I said I was getting a bus and one of the drivers said that the bus doesn’t run very often and it is slow. Ignore such taxi touts (which is good advice for any airport).

[A long walk through the airport car park.]

Tickets for the Airport Express Bus

The ticket price is 1,500 KHR (0.37 USD) (as of December 2025). The driver doesn’t handle cash so there is an old-school cash drop-box. This is a problem if you don’t have any change. Luckily I had some small riel notes from my last trip so I was able to pay the exact amount.

There is also Tap and Pay for the local payment system WingPay, but this doesn’t accept international cards. Payment by QR code has become the dominant payment system in Cambodia, so payment by Visa and Mastercard is not as prevalent.

If you are arriving at Techo International Airport without riel, there are ATMs and a bank in the arrival hall. Cambodia uses USD and KHR, and many of the ATMs only dispense 100 USD notes. This is inconvenient when you arrive and you are trying to break the note with a small purchase. I took a $100 note to the bank and they converted it to riel. They gave me 20,000 KHR notes (about $5), which is more manageable, but still not useful for buying a bus ticket. Ask for some small change as well (eg some 1,000 and 500 KHR notes).

[Canadia Bank at Techo International Airport.]

Onboard the Airport Express Bus

The Airport Express Bus is city bus with seats and standing room, not a seat-only coach.

There is also a section for luggage.

Chiang Mai burning season refers to the time of year when the air in Northern Thailand is filled with haze from forest fires and the burning of crop waste. Even though this is a problem across Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has become the focus of the pollution crisis. The city has made international headlines for being the most polluted city in the world.

The fires are from when farmers burn the stubble in harvested rice fields. There are also fires from slash-and-burn farming, where new agricultural land is cleared from forest and bushland. Fires are also being lit in forests to clear forest litter to harvest mushrooms.

The fires are in Northern Thailand, as well as Laos and Myanmar. Agricultural fires are also a big issue in Central Thailand with sugarcane burning. This is one of the sources of Bangkok’s pollution crisis, and a contributing factor to transboundary haze.

The air pollution has become such a well-known issue that it’s now affecting tourism to the region. In what should be a prosperous time of year for the tourism industry, tourists are now staying away and those that can leave migrate for the burning season.

When is the Chiang Mai burning season?

The burning season typically occurs in the latter half of the dry season from February to April. There is no set dates, and varies in its severity from year-to-year.

The impact of haze on health

One of the most concerning effects of the haze crisis is its impact on public health. The smoke from burning vegetation releases harmful pollutants and particulate matter into the air, leading to respiratory issues and exacerbating pre-existing conditions.

The haze can trigger allergies, respiratory infections, and other health problems, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. Hospitals record an increase of inpatients that are being admitted for breathing difficulties.

Tourism and economy

Chiang Mai’s economy relies heavily on tourism, and the annual haze poses a threat to the future of this vital sector. The dangerous, persistent smog deters tourists from visiting the region, affecting local businesses, hospitality industries, and the livelihoods of those dependent on tourism.

The burning season has become so well known that tourists now know to avoid Chiang Mai in the burning season.

Efforts to address the issue

provincial and national authorities, along with environmental organisations, have been working on reducing the annual haze problem. Initiatives include promoting sustainable farming practices, implementing stricter regulations on burning, and investing in alternative land-clearing methods.

Additionally, public awareness campaigns aim to educate both farmers and the general population about the long-term consequences of open fires.

How to measure air quality

An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator of air pollution shown on a scale from 0 to 500. There are variations in measurement system between different countries, but the following scale is the most used:

0 – 50: Good (Green)
51 – 100 Moderate (Yellow)
101 – 150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (Orange)
151 – 200 Unhealthy (Red)
201 – 300 Very Unhealthy (Purple)
301 and higher Hazardous (Maroon)

Two of the most popular sites that measure air quality are IQAir and the World Air Quality Index project (aqicn.org). They sometimes show different results, depending on site updates and what stations they are getting data from. One might show 120 while the other shows 130. Either way, you know the air is unhealthy. They both give a general idea of the air quality in real time.

[AQI display at Ombra Caffe detecting unhealthy air in Chiang Mai.]

If you are living in Chiang Mai the quickest way to check the air quality is to see how visible Doi Suthep is. On a clear day the green contours of the mountain are visible.

[Doi Suthep as viewed from Huay Kaew Rd and Nimmanhaemin Rd.]

As the days get hazier the mountain becomes a monotoned shape behind the smoke.

[Hazy sunset in Chiang Mai.]

On the worst days the mountain completely disappears from view.

[Doi Suthep shrouded in smoke, as viewed from Huay Kaew Rd and Nimmanhaemin Rd.]

Chiang Mai burning season news

Every year there is much handwringing from local and national politicians with promises to find a solution, yet we read the same headlines every year.

This section is an archive of news about the Chiang Mai burning season over the years. The articles show how some years are more apocalyptic than others, and it includes when announcements have been made to try and addreess the burning issue of the smoky season.

2026

March 27, 2026: Chiang Mai among top 10 most polluted cities in the world

March 4, 2026: Chiang Mai among the top 10 most polluted cities during Thailand’s burning season

2025

Chiang Mai ranks as the most polluted city in the world, authorities declare crisis – [17/03/25]

NASA confirms PM2.5 dust in Northern Thailand is caused by burning – [03/02/25]
“After completing the air quality monitoring and data collection under the ASIA-AQ project in March last year, the Thai team, led by GISTDA and various agencies, has continued its research on the data and contributing factors in collaboration with NASA.”

2024

Chiang Mai’s atmosphere the worlds most polluted today – IQAir – [15/03/24]
“According to the IQAir website, the AQI reading in Chiang Mai is 200, followed by Tashkent in Uzbekistan at 193, 154 in Lahore in Pakistan, 160 in Beijing, 157 in Wuhan, 155 in Yangon, 154 in New Delhi, 154 in Dubai, 153 in Hang Zhou and 151 in Calcutta.”

Flame game foiled: Chiang Mai crackdown scorches forest arsonist – [14/03/24]
“Chiang Mai authorities have taken swift action against forest arson, resulting in the arrest and fining of a perpetrator following a tip-off from a vigilant citizen. Yesterday, March 13, a man was spotted igniting a fire within the protected forest area of Ban Pang Keut, Mae Taeng district in Chiang Mai. The deputy governor personally delivered a cash reward to the informant whose alert led to the apprehension.”

Chiang Mai sets B10,000 reward for reporting forest burners – [10/03/24]

Chiang Mai residents warned to avoid outdoor activities and wear PM2.5 protective gear – [08/03/24]
“Chiang Mai continues to experience forest fires, with 328 hotspots detected throughout Wednesday (March 6) while at 7 p.m., it ranked as the world’s worst air quality, according to the IQAir website.”

Firefighters struggling to contain wildfires in Chiang Mai – [04/03/24]
“…national park officials continued to combat what appeared to be never-ending forest fires in Chiang Mai’s lower districts, blaming local villagers for setting fires because they mistakenly believed they were beneficial to vegetation.”

PM2.5 air quality to worsen in Northern Thailand as 69 wildfires burn in Chiang Mai – [26/02/24]

Huge forest areas destroyed by raging fires in Chiang Mai – [25/02/24]
“Officials blamed torching by local villagers looking for edible foods and spillovers from burning of farm leftovers for the fires.”

Chiang Mai residents win air pollution lawsuit – [22/01/24]
“The Chiang Mai Administrative Court ruled on Friday (19 January) that the Prime Minister and the National Environment Board must complete a management plan to address local air pollution issues in 90 days.”

Chiang Mai governor orders tight measures against burning of farm waste – [10/01/24]
“Chiang Mai governor has instructed chiefs of the province’s 25 districts to intensify measures against the burning of agricultural residue in a bid to reduce PM2.5 pollution.”

2023

PM eyes tourism-crimping haze – [30/11/23]
“Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday voiced concern over the impact of PM2.5 pollution on Chiang Mai’s tourism industry during the high season and pledged to hold talks with neighbouring countries to combat haze and smog pollution.”

Chiang Mai seeks solution to smog – [07/11/23]
“As the smog season draws nearer, Chiang Mai tourism operators are urging the government to accelerate the passage of the Clean Air Act and implement other mechanisms to reduce pollution from the agricultural sector.”

How Chiang Mai became the world’s most polluted city – [12/04/23]
“Burning fields are blamed for hazardous levels of air pollution in northern Thailand but the government is doing little to act.”

Pollution choking Thailand’s north hits tourism, worries public – [10/04/23]

As hazardous haze envelops Thailand, residents seek refuge – [13/03/23]
“Chiang Mai was rated as the most heavily polluted city in the world, exceeding the likes of Delhi, Lahore and Dhaka on air quality monitor IQAir’s real-time index of 100 major centres around the globe.”

Chiang Mai to hand out face masks as dust from fires hits hazardous levels – [08/03/23]
“Thai authorities struggle to contain forest fires, a persistent cause of air pollution during the dry season.”

It’s pollution season again – [30/01/23]
“Chiang Mai has had five data points report pollution levels at higher than 200 migrograms per cubic metre, with the Mae Chaem data centre reporting numbers as high as 284.”

2022

For fire-ravaged northern Thailand, there’s now an app to battle the blaze – [28/02/22]

‘Burning season’ ignites with 4k fires – [02/02/22]
“More than 4,000 so-called hotspots caused by slash-and-burn activities have been detected across the North as the “burning season” begins.”

2021

New data exposes Thailand’s 2021 “burning season” – [17/05/21]
“For a few months each year, Chiang Mai, northern Thailand’s tourist-friendly cultural hotspot, ranks among the world’s most polluted cities. Chiang Mai’s air pollution is largely attributable to agricultural burning rather than fossil-fuel-related combustion experienced in other global cities.”

Feeding the beast: Chiang Mai smoke seen as world’s climate change problem -[22/04/21]
“From Chiang Mai air pollution to global climate change, animal agriculture is the elephant in the room — and biochar one way to tame it.”

Bangkok fiddles whilst Chiang Mai burns – who’s behind the annual smoke season? – [21/03/21]

Holding those behind the haze to account – [21/03/21]
“Chiang Mai spent several days this month as the most polluted city on the planet, with PM2.5 levels reaching 226 microgrammes per cubic meter (μg/m³) there. The predictability of the annual surge in pollution and the lack of effective preventative action have angered city residents and concerned civil society groups.”

[Composite showing Chiang Mai city as seen from Doi Suthep on March 5 and March 10 2021, when the PM2.5 level was 70.9 and 114.4 respectively. (Photo: Gary Boyle).]

Chiang Mai among world’s most polluted cities as forest fires rage in northern Thailand – [11/03/21]
“According to AQI readings by the Pollution Control Department, five northern provinces recorded unhealthy to hazardous levels of air quality on Thursday (Mar 11). These provinces include Mae Hong Son (350), Chiang Mai (248), Chiang Rai (291), Tak (219) and Lamphun (213).”

Air pollution in Chiang Mai sends 30,000 to hospital – [10/03/21]
“Chiang Mai health officials say beyond 31,000 people have sought medical treatment for respiratory issues.”

2020

Chiang Mai smog casts pall over businesses – [03/04/20]
“Thailand’s northern region has been hit with toxic levels of air pollution due to forest fires on Wednesday, especially in the Chiang Mai province, with some areas being engulfed in air quality levels 12 times above safe levels.”

Man charged with burning forest in Chiang Mai – [10/04/20]
“Police arrested a suspected arsonist in Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai province on Thursday (April 9), as part of a clampdown on forest-burning that has seen air pollution spike in the northern region.”

Air quality in North still ‘critical’ – [30/03/20]
“Air pollution across the upper North remains at critical levels with authorities monitoring almost 400 active hotspots in Chiang Mai alone on Sunday. The air quality did not improve on Monday morning, with IQAir recording “very unhealthy” air quality and hazardous, ultra-fine PM2.5 dust levels at 170.1 microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m³) at 10.30am in the so-called “Rose of the North”.”

Strict no-burn zone measures to be implemented in North – [06/02/20]
“The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation is coordinating with administration officials in the North and related agencies to ensure law enforcement puts out forest fires and tackles the severe air pollution.”

2019

Thailand’s famed ‘Rose of the North’ is wilting – [23/06/19]
“Ancient Chiang Mai is suffering from over-development and pollution.”

Unhealthy smoke over Thailand – [12/04/19]
“For more than a month, northern Thailand has been experiencing unhealthy, elevated levels of smoke and air pollution. The thick haze is a result of wildfires and prescribed burning by farmers clearing their land for the planting season. Meteorologists expect the unhealthy air quality to last into May.”

[NASA Earth Observatory image shows smoke and haze blanketing portions of southeastern Asia on April 12, 2019,]

On the front line with the Chiang Mai firefighters battling the flames behind the world’s worst air – [06/04/19]

Chiang Mai braces for watered-down Songkran as city chokes in smog – [05/04/19]
“Chiang Mai’s travel trade is bracing for muted Songkran celebrations as the smog crisis is likely to put a dent on visitor arrivals to the northern city and the surrounding provinces for the upcoming Thai New Year.”

Thai leader orders action to fight pollution in Chiang Mai – [04/04/19]

Thai junta chief demands action to cut smog – [02/04/19]

Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai suffer haze and smoke until at least May – [01/04/19]

Chiang Mai residents up in arms over choking smog amid government inaction – [01/04/19]
“Local authorities’ inability to deal with the severe problem – the result of a spreading forest fire – with any sense of promptness has already led to a campaign to remove Chiang Mai Governor Supachai Iamsuwan from office.”

Thailand urged to declare emergency in Chiang Mai as air pollution hits ‘disastrous’ levels – [30/03/19]
“An academic has called on the government to declare a state of emergency in Chiang Mai and most of Thailand’s northern provinces over ‘disastrous’ levels of smog.”

Northern Thailand was once a paradise. Now forest fires have made the air worse than Beijing’s. – [07/03/19]
“In mid-March, the city with the worst air pollution in the world wasn’t an industrial powerhouse populated by millions. It was Chiang Mai, the tourist-friendly cultural center in northern Thailand.”

Chiang Mai tops world pollution charts – [12/03/19]

Chiang Mai air pollution worst in the world – [13/03/19]
“The air quality index (AQI) in Chiang Mai as of 4pm Tuesday stood at 230, compared with 170 in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka and 164 in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to Air Visual, an app that monitors air quality.”

2018

We’re No. 1? Chiang Mai air pollution smashes competitors – [12/04/18]
“The “Rose of the North” won world recognition Wednesday for the dubious distinction of having the worst recorded air quality during peak conditions.”

Explaining Chiang Mai’s smoke pollution with real data – [01/04/18]
“An interview with Craig Houston, an aeronautical engineer and Chiang Mai resident who has been collecting and analysing date related to the pollution crisis.”

Chiang Mai ranked sixth worst for air pollution globally – [18/03/18]
“Air pollution in the North continues to be critical, with small dust particles of 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) exceeding safe limits at almost every air-quality testing station.”

2017

Chiang Mai has worst small particle pollution in Thailand: Greenpeace – [18/05/17]
“Chiang Mai is Thailand’s most-polluted city in terms of dangerously small pollutants which kill tens of thousands in Thailand annually”.

2016

Thailand: Air quality levels in Chiang Mai reaches unhealthy levels – [19/04/16]
“The air quality in northern Thailand, particularly Chiang Mai, has reached unhealthy levels, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at the time of publishing registering at 113, which is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

Smog causing health woes for thousands in Chiang Mai – [18/04/16]
“Thousands of people in Chiang Mai have developed symptoms that can be linked to air pollution this month.”

2015

Amid northern haze, a burning desire for wealth – [29/03/15]
“As the seasonal smoke worsens, the forest fires caused by a lucrative mushroom trade and other foragers are only exaggerating the problem.”

Smog shrouds northern Thailand as air pollution hits unhealthy levels – [03/03/15]
“Northern Thailand was shrouded in smog as air pollution hit unhealthy levels in some areas, due to uncontrolled burning and wild fires.”

2014

Transboundary pollution in Northern Thailand causes dangerous levels of smog – [26/03/14]
“Chiang Mai, the largest city in the North and second-largest in the country, announced this year’s first day of “unsafe” air quality on March 11. Levels of PM10 (particulate matter of less than 10 microns) rose above the Thai government’s threshold of 120 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3). Neighboring provinces have since reported similarly hazardous measurements. By comparison, PM10 in Bangkok has hovered between 40 and 50 during this same period.”

Chiang Mai air quality health threat – [14/03/14]
“Air quality measurements in Chiang Mai have registered above the ‘healthy’ spectrum for three consecutive days.”

2012

[Stop Burning – April 2012.]

Haze spreads across north: Thailand – [27/02/12]

Links and resources

Causes and solution of forest and agricultural burning in Northern, Thailand [PDF]
International Journal of Agricultural Technology 2022Vol. 18(4):1715-1726

Seasonal Patterns and Trends of Air Pollution in the Upper Northern Thailand from 2004 to 2018
Volume 22, Issue 5, May 2022.

Dong Ha is a city in Quang Tri Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It was the capital of Quang Tri until Quang Tri was merged with Quang Binh Province in July 2025. Quang Binh lost its name in the merger, but Dong Hoi (the capital of Quang Binh) became the capital of the newly-merged province.

Dong Ha is not a touristy town, though you might pass through here if you are doing a DMZ tour. It was the northernmost city in South Vietnam, and the city was in ruins by the time the war ended. There is not much to see in the city.

My main reason to visit was to see an old train station as part of my Rail Vietnam project. I was also in the process of visiting every provincial capital in Vietnam. My list has been shortened now that the provincial mergers have demoted Dong Ha and other cities as capitals. I haven’t decided what to do with this list, though I will probably still visit the cities that are no longer capitals.

I was here in October 2025, and during my trip Dong Ha was on the edge of a tropical storm that was barrelling towards the coast further south. I wasn’t lashing rain, but it was a persistent sideways drizzle with a wind that destroys umbrellas.

It also didn’t help that the main thoroughfare was being renovated, so the site of grey and wet construction material wasn’t leaving a great first impression.

Despite the rain hampering my exploration hours, I was able to visit the main sites. These are my notes on Dong Ha.

Old Dong Ha Station

I have been through Dong Ha before on the train, and I noticed some military trophies near the railway in the city centre.

This was the location of the old Dong Ha Station. Most of Dong Ha was obliterated during the war, so there isn’t any obvious architectural sign that this was a station. It is marked on Google Maps as the old station, and the site is now a memorial to the war.

Here is my article about old Dong Ha Station.

Central Market

As I have mentioned before, if you are in a new provincial city of Vietnam and don’t know where to start exploring, start with the central market. Dong Ha Market is in a distinctive building that stands out from the surrounding modern buildings.

Another thing to consider when visiting a new province in Vietnam is to see if there are any regional food specialties.

Vietnam is hit-or-miss when it comes to providing useful information on their official tourism portals, so I was surprised to find a useful article about food in Quang Tri on the Quang Tri government tourism website.

With this list I went to the amazing food hall at the market, which is a round building with a covered dome.

It was enjoyable walking around looking at what the vendors had to offer, and everyone was enthusiastically saying hello to me as I was the only foreigner in the market.

I found what I was looking for (Quang Tri jackfruit noodles), but even if I didn’t know what I was looking for I would have been stopped in my tracks by the presentation.

Another lady came over and sold me on the banh loc (cassava cake). I recognised these from the Quang Tri food list, so I bought a plate (well done Quang Tri tourism board, your blog post helped make a sale). The caphe lady then found me, which was an easy sale. Everyone was so nice so it was hard to say no to the other vendors.

I was on my way out and then I met the juice lady. She grabbed my arm in the way that Vietnamese grandmas do that make it impossible to say no.

I ordered an orange juice with no sugar, and she was so incredulous that I didn’t want sugar that she brought the jug of sugar to me in case I changed my mind.

Provincial musuem

Every provincial capital has a provincial museum, and they usually have some war remnants on the property.

I don’t know what will happen to the provincial museums in the demoted capitals, as the Quang Tri capital is now Dong Hoi. For now, there is still a Quang Tri provincial museum in Dong Ha.

[Missile at Quang Tri Museum.]

Le Duan

A giant figure in 20th century Vietnamese history is Le Duan. I mentioned in my notes on Buon Ma Thuot that streets named Le Duan in Vietnam are usually one of the most prominent streets in the city (such as Le Duan in HCMC, which leads to the gates of the Independence Palace).

Le Duan was from Quang Tri, and he became the leader of North Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh died. It was seen as symbolic that someone from the south (just) was the leader of the north.

Fidel Memorial Park

I saw a park on the map named Fidel Memorial Park and I thought, “like Fidel Castro?”

Yes, there is a Fidel Castro Park in Dong Ha, named in honour of Castro for his visit to the liberated region in southern Vietnam in 1973.

Mine Action Visitor Center

Dong Ha is the base for Project RENEW, which is an organisation that is removing unexploded ordnance (UXO) and providing risk education and victim assistance.

Project RENEW has information about their work and the war in Quang Tri at the Mine Action Visitor Center.

The Mine Action Visitor Center is a small museum that has photos and war remnants on display.

This museum is a reminder of why there are no historic old buildings in Dong Ha.

This map shows why they will be still be clearing the land of UXO for decades to come (and here is an online map of U.S bombing strikes on Quang Tri Province).

I was in Dong Ha a few months after the provincial mergers had taken place. It occurred to me while looking at this old DMZ map that the merging of Quang Binh and Quang Tri has erased the old border between north and south.

Quang Tri province is now where north and south was divided, so it seems fitting that this former divide no longer exists on a provincial level.

If you are visiting Quang Tri then visiting the sites of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is a must. I had been to Quang Tri province in 2005 when I did a DMZ day trip from Hue. DMZ tours have changed over the last 20 years as it is now more feasible to do a one-way trip from Hue to the DMZ to Dong Hoi, instead of backtracking to Hue. From Dong Hoi you can go to Phong Nha.

I was glad to visit Dong Ha this time as well. I like to visit unassuming provincial cities after I have been somewhere overly touristy (such as Da Nang and Hue), and my experience at the market showed how welcoming the people of Dong Ha are.

The government tourism board describes Quang Tri as the heroic land. The writer of this articles describes Quang Tri’s main tourism specialties:

“What are the specialties of that land? I keep joking, Quang Tri has a specialty called “bomb”, a specialty that few places have as much as Quang Tri.”

Dong Ha to Vinh

From Dong Ha Station I got the train to Vinh. Stay tuned for my notes on Vinh.

Buon Ma Thuot is the capital city of Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. While Da Lat is the best-known city in the Central Highlands, Buon Ma Thuot is the largest city and is closer to the geographical centre of the Central Highlands region.

I have been to Da Lat many times, mainly because it’s more convenient to get to from Ho Chi Minh City. On my recent trip to Da Lat, I got the bus to Buon Ma Thuot, saving me a longer bus trip (or flying) from HCMC. These are my notes on Buon Ma Thuot from my visit in March 2025.

Buon Ma Thuot city notes

Buon Ma Thuot is also spelled as Ban Me Thuot, and Ban Me is also used as its name. BMT is also an acceptable abbreviation, which I will use from here on in.

What is immediately noticeable about BMT compared to Da Lat is that the city is flatter and there is a street grid in the city centre. Da Lat is surrounded by steep hills, and there are barely any straight roads. BMT is on a plateau, and it’s easy to walk around.

Being in the Central Highlands, I was wondering where the mountains were. It’s a twisty and mountainous road between Da Lat and BMT, but you can’t see any mountains in BMT. I checked a topographic map, and BMT is on a plateau of around 500 metres in elevation.

My visit was just after the 50th anniversary of the Buon Ma Thuot Victory. There were still many posters around the city celebrating this anniversary.

[50th anniversary of Buon Ma Thuot Victory.]

The central roundabout of the city features the Victory Monument, which has become the main landmark of the city.

Every visit to a new city in Vietnam requires a visit to the central market.

The BMT market has a skybridge connecting two buildings.

When in a provincial capital, always check out the provincial museum as they are usually the most architecturally interesting building in the city.

[Dak Lak Museum.]

Note: I was in BMT before the announcement of provincial mergers that happened in July. Dak Lak province was merged with coastal Phu Yen province, and the expanded province is still called Dak Lak with BMT as the capital.

In addition to being walkable, BMT is also very green. There are many tree-lined streets, and the city is also good at pocket parks.

Cities in Vietnam use the same street names of Vietnamese heroes, and streets named Le Duan are usually in the most prestigious locations. The Le Duan Street of BMT has much nicer trees than the Le Duan Street of Ho Chi Minh City.

There is a cathedral near the main roundabout, though it looks more like a parish church.

[Ban Me Thuot Diocese Cathedral.]

There has not been a construction boom like in the coastal cities of Vietnam, so BMT is still a relatively low-rise city. The Saigon Ban Me Hotel is the landmark tall hotel of the city.

[Saigon Ban Me Hotel.]

Coffee

The Central Highlands is a major coffee-growing region, and BMT is the hub of the coffee industry in Vietnam. In a case of poor timing, I arrived in the city just as they were packing up the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival.

If you are visiting BMT for coffee, there is the Coffee World Museum.

The museum houses antique coffee-making equipment with displays that show the history of coffee.

The museum is built in highland-style houses.

Next to the museum is a new urban area called The Coffee City. The project was under construction when I visited, though some sections looked abandoned.

Coffee World Museum was built by Trung Nguyen Legend Group, who were founded in BMT and are now headquartered in HCMC. Trung Nguyen Legend Group are the largest domestic coffee brand in Vietnam, though Highlands Coffee are listed as the largest by number of stores in Vietnam.

Trung Nguyen was on the cusp of cafe domination in Vietnam in the 2010s until a messy public divorce between the founders. The cafe chain rebranded around this time. When I came to HCMC in 2012, Trung Nguyen had the best cafe logo.

[Trung Nguyen Coffee logo in HCMC (2012).]

The new logo is not as distinctive and the branding has gone with notable European coffee-drinkers (such as Beethoven) and imagery of successful people flying in private jets and a G7-brand instant coffee.

On my last visit to Singapore was in a random mall and I saw a Trung Nguyen cafe with the original logo. The wife of the original partnership set up Trung Nguyen International in Singapore using the original logo.

[Trung Nguyen Coffee in Singapore.]

If I were in charge of the Trung Nguyen branding, I would drop the weird obsession with the G7 and famous Europeans and lean into their highland heritage. Have an image of a highland house with the steep roof (like at the museum), and celebrate Vietnamese culture.

I rarely visit Trung Nguyen cafes, mainly because I don’t like the iced tea they serve with coffee. Most iced tea in Vietnam is weak and almost flavourless, while the Trung Nguyen iced tea has a strong flavour (possibly barley tea), and I don’t like the taste of it.

Considering that I was in the origin city of Trung Nguyen, I visited the flagship cafe (Trung Nguyen Coffee Village). Having just said that I don’t go to Trung Nguyen cafes, this cafe was a delight to visit. The village is more like a large garden area with water features and plenty of places for photo opportunities.

I had an iced coffee and tried the iced tea to see if it still tastes weird (it still tastes weird).

In addition to visiting the coffee king of Vietnam, I was curious to see what the cafe scene in general was like in BMT. I visited Dak Lac Coffee purely because it has a cool name. Dak Lak is such a great name for a province, and it would be very brandable as a chain.

The coffee lived up to its good name.

I visited Soul Specialty Coffee, who show on Google Maps as Soul Fine Robusta BMT.

There is a new wave of Vietnamese cafes that are celebrating the robusta coffee that is grown in Vietnam. For too long, the arabica cabal has been badmouthing robusta, so cafes like Soul are promoting Vietnamese robusta.

And there are of course Highlands Coffee cafes in BMT, though the cafe chain was started by a Vietnamese American in Hanoi, and not the Highlands.

Food

For food, one local specialty I was looking for was banh uot. A friend from Dak Lak introduced me to a banh uot restaurant in Saigon, so I had to try it in Dak Lak.

[Bánh Ướt Chồng Dĩa Bà The BMT]

Banh uot (translated as wet cake) is a sticky rice sheet that is used to roll around fillings. The sheet is wet and sticky, so it is brought out on a stack of plates. You then roll your own rolls with meat, vegetable, and herb fillings. The sticky nature of the sheet makes it easier to roll, and at the end of the meal, they count how many plates you used.

When it comes to finding food in new cities in Vietnam, I will see if there is a local specialty (like banh uot), and also walk around and see what is popular. I saw this place called Banh Canh Ca Dam Huong (fish cake noodle soup).

There were many people here, and they had extra seats outside, so that was a good sign.

One of my travel rules is not to eat fish so far inland, but I made an exception here for fish cake. The soup had a delicious broth that I can’t describe (which is why I am not a food blogger), and I noticed it got a bad review on Google because they only offer spoons. I looked around, and everyone was eating the noodles with two spoons and no chopsticks.

Vietnam has been slowly globalising, with chains such as Starbucks and McDonald’s finding their way into more provincial cities. The Central Highlands has few global chains so far. BMT has Jollibee from the Philippines (which partly owns Highlands Coffee), Lotteria from Korea, KFC (which was one of the early fast food arrivals in Vietnam), and Pizza Hut. Starbucks are opening in more provincial locations (including Da Lat), but there are no international cafe chains here.

Elephants of Buon Ma Thuot

Elephants are an icon of highland culture, and they are used in imagery around the city (thus the elephant mascot for the coffee festival).

One of the most clever logos I have seen is for the Tay Nguyen Hotel (Tay Nguyen being the name for the Central Highlands in Vietnamese).

[Tay Nguyen Hotel logo.]

One of the best hotels in Buon Ma Thuot is Elephants Hotel.

Another cafe I visited was Ama H’Rin Coffee House. There are some highland houses on display here with wooden carvings, such as this elephant. I didn’t get to explore highland culture outside the city, so I haven’t covered that in this article.

Riding elephants is still prominent in Vietnam, even while other elephant sanctuaries in the region are going “no ride”. The Vietnam tourism website is promoting the first ride-free elephant sanctuary in Vietnam near BMT, though there was still elephant riding at the coffee festival.

Further reading: Buôn Ma Thuột’s thriving elephant culture in 1957.

Transport

BMT is a good place to start if you are visiting other cities by bus in the Central Highlands.

I got the bus to BMT and then took a flight to Da Nang. Most of the flights from BMV are to SGN and HAN, with only a few other domestic locations. There was talk of upgrading the airport to international standards, though every city wants to become international.

There are no trains in the Central Highlands (apart from the fragment of an old railway in Da Lat). There is a long-term plan to build a Central Highlands railway, which would effectively be an inland version of the train from HCMC to Da Nang. I made a map that shows what a Central Highlands railway system would look like if all of the proposed railways were built.

[View full size map of Central Highlands Railways.]

Introducing my latest travel website, Rail Vietnam. This guide covers every train line in Vietnam, station information, and how to buy tickets.

About Rail Vietnam

I write about train travel in Vietnam here at Nomadic Notes, but I figured it would be better to have a dedicated site to post more detailed information.

A Vietnam rail site is the ideal subject for a niche site. It’s a topic I am very familiar with, and it is a small niche that won’t require too much time once it is set up. I also found a great domain (railvietnam.com) that is easy to brand.

The official website is not the most user-friendly experience, and there are many Vietnamese travel agent websites that try to look like the official website. My site is clear that it is an independent guide.

I will be publishing guides for the passenger lines, and I am open to accepting trip reports from other writers. I may also publish destination guides for every place with a train station if I decide to expand the site.

Future railways

While there is not a great variety of train lines in Vietnam, there are many new lines that are planned for the future. Some of the future lines include:

– The North-South High-Speed Railway (replacing the current North-South Railway)
– Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong Railway (replacing the current Lao Cai-Hanoi, Hanoi-Hai Phong lines)
– Hanoi-Ha Long Railway (possibly high-speed replacing the defunct line)
– Hanoi-Dong Dang Railway (upgrading current line that runs to Nanning in China)
– Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho-Ca Mau Railway
– Central Highlands Railway

Some possible new international lines include:

– Vientiane-Vung Ang
– Hai Phong-Ha Long-Mong Cai (connecting to Dongxing in China)
– Ho Chi Minh City-Phnom Penh

I write about future rail development at Future Southeast Asia, which covers construction and development issues. Rail Vietnam will cover the new railways from the perspective of future travellers. The average traveller doesn’t need to know about a steel plant that is being built to manufacture rail tracks, so Rail Vietnam will cover topics such as stations and tickets.

These news lines are years away from being a reality, but you will find out about them on Rail Vietnam when they are ready.

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[Somewhere between Da Nang and Hue.]

Bao Loc is a city in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Bao Loc is the closest highland city to Ho Chi Minh City, and the construction of a new expressway has made it more accessible.

I was reading about some recent tourism developments in Bao Loc, which are being built to cash in on weekenders from Ho Chi Minh City.

There are frequent local buses from the popular tourist city of Da Lat, so I got the bus to Bao Loc to see what is happening.

[Local bus from Da Lat to Bao Loc.]

I thought it would be a short ride as Bao Loc is in the same province as Da Lat. It ended up taking 3 hours, not including the time it took driving around Da Lat to pick up more passengers. I should have looked at the time and distance on the map.

From a tourism perspective, there is not a lot going on in Bao Loc. It is pleasant yet unremarkable town. It doesn’t have the old French villas like Da Lat, and the mountains are not as dramatic as in Da Lat. Like Da Lat, Bao Loc has an artificial lake in the city centre, though the lake was being dredged when I visited.

There are nice tree-lined streets, and you can walk around without worrying about getting mown down when trying to cross the road.

If you are stuck for things to see, look on the map for a pagoda.

[Phuoc Hue Pagoda.]

Phuoc Hue Pagoda is not far from the main lake.

Whenever I am in a small city or town in Vietnam, I look for cafes hang out at. There are plenty of cafes in town to chill out in.

In addition to the lake being restored, the 28/3 Park was was also closed for renovation.

I had been travelling around the South Central Coast and Highlands in March of 2025, and every city had 30/4 posters to commemorate the upcoming liberation day anniversary. Each southern city has their own liberation day, and I was in Bao Loc leading up to the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bao Loc (28 March). If you are in a southern city and see a park with a date in March or April, then you can guess that this is a liberation park.

Bao Loc in 1975 was known as B’Lao Town, and it was the capital of Lam Dong from 1958 to 1975. The provinces and capitals were reorganised after reunification, and Da Lat became the capital of Lam Dong.

It’s hard to imagine now that Bao Loc could have been the capital, but there was a time when Da Lat was not the tourism juggernaut that it is today.

I walked around the peaceful streets of Bao Loc and wondered if this is what Da Lat felt like 30+ years ago.

Bao Loc is starting to get more local media attention, with such headlines as, Is Bao Loc the new Da Lat? It’s also being called a hidden gem, which is probably a sign that it’s no longer a hidden gem.

Most of the tourism activity is outside the city, so the city doesn’t feel like it is becoming the next Da Lat. I didn’t see any westerners when I was there (not even a stray English teacher), and there are no signs in Korean or Chinese.

There are holiday home developments in the surrounding hills with names like Sky Hills and Sakura Gardens, aimed for the short-break market from HCMC. I keep a list of developments in Da Lat and Lam Dong if you want to see more.

[Sky Hills Bao Loc.]

In my previous research about Lam Dong province, I found some plans for various railways in the Central Highlands. One railway was planned to connect a mining project in the highlands to a port, via Bao Loc. I made a map of all of the proposed Central Highlands railways, and this is what Bao Loc would look like if it was connected to a passenger railway system.

[Bao Loc in a futuristic Central Highlands railway network.]

This map has now changed because in July 2025, Binh Thuan province was merged into Lam Dong province. This means that Lam Dong is now a coastal and highland province.

There was also a plan to build a commercial airport on the site of the old Loc Phat airfield.

The railway and airport plans are extremely unlikely to happen, so for now, Bao Loc will retain its sleepy small city charm.

I stayed at the Camellia Hotel, which is located in the city centre near the lake (hopefully filled with water again if you plan to visit).

Further reading

2 days amid the mist and clouds of Bao Loc
“Set amid coffee hills and mist, Dai Binh Mountain in Bao Loc has become a favorite with travelers seeking to swap phone signals for clouds, forests and mountain air.”

Sri Racha is a city on the Bay of Bangkok in Chonburi province. The city is between Bang Saen (the closest beach to Bangkok) and Pattaya, and it is part of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area.

Most people would be familiar with Sriracha for the sauce, though the most famous Sriracha sauce brand is made by a Vietnamese immigrant in America and not from Thailand. This name is so famous that it messes with search results when looking for anything to do with the city of Sri Racha.

I was interested to visit Sri Racha as it’s known as the Little Osaka of Thailand. Sri Racha got this title as it’s an industrial hub that includes Japanese car manufacturers. Japanese workers live in Sri Racha, and now it has also become a retirement city for Japanese.

I visited Sri Racha in January 2025, and these are my notes from that trip.

There are numerous buses that depart from Ekkamai Station in Bangkok. The bus stop in Sri Racha is on the side of the road in front of Robinson department store. Being dumped on the side of the road is not a dignified arrival, but it turns out that this is as central as it gets.

[Robinson on Sukhumvit Rd, Sri Racha.]

The main road that goes through Sri Racha is Sukhumvit Road (the same Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok), and the most useful area for visitors is between Sukhumvit Road and the sea.

I guessed that the best area to stay was near Robinson, so that turned out to be an inspired guess. After dropping off my bags I walked towards the sea.

There is not a coast promenade here so it’s hard to get a view of the sea. There is no real beach here and it is a port city, so there was never a need to make a seaside promenade.

There is an old village on the seafront with houses on stilts.

There are some guesthouses here that I didn’t see online.

These guesthouses reminded me of the jetty guesthouses in Hua Hin that are still operating (for now).

The pier is the best place to get a view of the city and its relation to the sea.

There are some colourful old working fishing boats here.

There is a better stretch of seafront north of the pier at Surasak Montri Public Park. The park includes an artificial beach, but it’s near a waste water runoff and the water was black when I was there. This is why I don’t swim anywhere in the Bay of Bangkok.

Apart from the polluted water, the seafront park is pleasant. It would be a nice place to live if you are happy with a sea view and are not interested in swimming. There are new apartment towers near the park with sea views.

The park includes a running/skating circuit, and it was good to see that kids were putting it to use.

I wandered more around the area between Sukhumvit Road and the sea, and the Osaka of Thailand nickname is apparent with the amount of Japanese restaurants and bars.

There is a karaoke bar area that caters for Japanese, and it was odd to walk through such an area and not be called out. Westerners are not the target audience here. There are some cool bars that would not look out of place in Osaka, such as Rat Fink Bar.

I don’t drink, so I can’t vouch for the bar scene. There isn’t a hipster cafe scene here yet, but I found good coffee at Meloso Coffee Roaster (part of Raphael Bakery).

[Latte at Meloso Coffee Roaster.]

I read online that Sriracha is the only place in Thailand where the government office sign has Japanese language.

There is also a torii gate in the city, so yes, there is a distinct Japanese presence in Sri Racha.

There are many Japanese restaurants here, so I tried out some ramen places while I was there.

[Ramen at Izakaya Ryoma.]

I’m not against fusion food, so when I saw this ramen truck serving tom yum ramen I had to try it.

[Le Mong Ramen Truck]

Tom yum is the Thai hot and sour soup, and ramen is the classic Japanese noodle soup. I love both, but would they work as a combination? It was a tasty soup, but every mouthful was constantly confusing to be tasting ramen ingredients in a tom yum broth. Overall I felt that this Thai-Japanese fusion was an appropriate soup to try in Sri Racha.

[Tom Yum and Ramen, together at last.]

There is also a typical Thai night market in front of the Pacific Park mall. This has all the usual Thai night market staples if you are ramened out.

Ferries for Ko Si Chang depart from Sri Racha. Ko Si Chang is the closest island to Bangkok that is open to the public, and I have listed that in my guide to the closest beaches and islands to Bangkok.

Ferries depart from a little island that is connected by a pier. I didn’t go to Ko Si Chang on this trip, but I walked along the pier to Ko Loi, so I can technically say that I have been to another island in Thailand.

[Walkway to Ko Loi.]

The only obvious tourists I saw in Sri Racha were at the pier coming from and going to Ko Si Chang.

There is a wat on the island, which was something of interest to visit if you aren’t getting a ferry.

The walk is worth it to get a sea view of the Sri Racha skyline.

There is a train station in Sri Racha, but the train is infrequent and slow, and the station is far inland. I took the same train from Bangkok to Pattaya, and I only took it to see what it was like. I am waiting for the 3-airport high-speed railway to open, which will stop at Sri Racha.

I noticed on my wanders around the city some old engines.

[Old engine near the Surasak Montri Public Park.]

I presume there were used to haul freight from the port, but I have not found any info about this.

[Old engine near the Sriracha Town Municipality Office.]

If I was a proper island bagger I would have gone to Ko Si Chang, but I passed that opportunity to visit another island. I might end up back here if/when the high-speed railway opens.