• Digital Nomad History
  • Digital Nomad Resources

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

Where I’m At: February, 2018 – Chiang Mai edition

February 1, 2018 By James Clark Leave a Comment

Where I’m At: February, 2018 – Chiang Mai edition

[Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to, site news, and where I’m going next.]

Greetings from Chiang Mai! I’m here on a visa run from Vietnam. There is a new direct flight between Saigon and Chiang Mai by Vietjet, so took the opportunity to try it out. It’s a much better experience than arriving via Bangkok. I have a month of travel coming up, including researching Thai railway travel and visiting a new country.

Where I’ve Been

Sihanoukville

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jan 1, 2018 at 6:54am PST

I started the year in Otres Beach, which is the “nice end” of Sihanoukville. I wanted to see what was going on at the city end so I stayed there as well. Sihanoukville is surrounded by lovely beaches, but it is quickly developing. Here is my trip report on Sihanoukville – the new Macau of Southeast Asia.

Kampot

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jan 3, 2018 at 6:29am PST

I was last in Kampot in 2012, and unlike Sihanoukville this little river town has retained most of its charm. The old town has a well preserved collection of colonial architecture and the street grid makes for an easy place to walk around. There some good cafes here too, so it’s an ideal place to spend some time to work. I have a blog post for Kampot coming soon.

Saigon

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jan 13, 2018 at 7:13am PST

The highlight of this month was seeing the city go crazy for the AFC U-23 Championship. This was a regional under 23 tournament that was held in China. In the grand scheme of things isn’t the most important sporting event to follow. I didn’t even know it was on, or that Vietnam had beat Australia in the group stage. It was only when I was out one night and heard a bunch of screaming from nearby bars that I realised something was going on. I then saw a bunch of motorbikers flying Vietnamese flags. Vietnam had beaten Iraq in the quarter final, and that’s when things got interesting.

I didn’t watch the semi final but it turns out that half the city did. I happened to be near a sports bar when the penalty shoot out was on, and Vietnam won. The crowd erupted and people spilled out onto the street waving flags, but that was only the beginning of a night of celebratory mayhem. An hour later the streets were jammed with motorbike traffic, with flags waving and people chanting Viet Nam Vo Dich (Vietnam Champions).

I’ve never seen a semi final win celebrated so hard, and I was concerned that everyone was pumping expectations so high that the comedown from the final would be brutal. I was told that as this is the first time Vietnam has been in a final it was a great moment of pride, thus the celebrating with gusto.

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jan 23, 2018 at 4:19am PST

The final was on a Saturday but there were some last minute doubts of it going ahead after the pitch was blanketed in snow. Apparently none of the Vietnamese players had seen snow, let alone played in it. Their opponents from Uzbekistan had the advantage of being used to cold and snow.

I watched the game on the main walking street in Saigon (Nguyen Hue), which was lined with giant screens for the event. Here is an overhead shot to get an idea of the crowd.

Definitely bigger than Trump’s inauguration crowd.#Vietnam #onlyfootballcoulddothisinVietnam #AFCU23 pic.twitter.com/U3jUPtRveb

— Nguyen Phuong Linh (@linhpnguyen) January 28, 2018

After finishing at 1-1 at full time, Uzbekistan won with a last minute goal in extra time. They were deserved winners, and Vietnam played gallantly with no shame in the loss.

Despite the loss the people still wanted to celebrate, and the traffic and noise was even crazier than the semi final. If you had just arrived and don’t follow sports a natural guess would have been that Vietnam had just won the World Cup. It was an amazing spectacle to behold. And the most impressive thing was that I didn’t once feel unsafe. If I was somewhere in Europe and there was a large group of football fans out after a loss I wouldn’t feel safe to go out. Everyone was just driving around like the city is one big motorcycle gang, which in a way it is. It was all in good spirit, with no fights or disorderly conduct.

Here are some more pictures of the final night.

A post shared by James Clark ✈️ (@nomadicnotes) on Jan 27, 2018 at 7:56am PST

I now hope these under under-23’s go on to greater things for Vietnam in the 2022 World Cup.

ICYMI – Last months posts

Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville by train

Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

Diamond Island – The fake Paris of Phnom Penh

Filed Under: Where I'm At Tagged With: cambodia, ho chi minh city, kampot, sihanoukville, vietnam

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Notes on Kep – Fake beaches, ruined villas, crabs (of course), and a cool cafe of Cambodia
  • Notes on Kampot – There’s been a vibe shift
  • Notes on Koh Rong – An island in transition
  • Where I’m At: July 2022 – Hanoi
  • Laos-China Railway – A review of the Vientiane to Boten train
  • Notes on Sihanoukville – After the gold rush
  • Where I’m At: June 2022 – Vientiane
  • Notes on Phnom Penh – Revisiting after the reopening
  • Where I’m At: May 2022 – Saigon
  • Notes on Ko Samet – The closest beach-break island from Bangkok

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2022 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in