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View Bangkok from the King Power MahaNakhon Tower

January 22, 2019 By James Clark 1 Comment

King Power MahaNakhon is one of the most visually distinctive buildings in Southeast Asia. Up close it looks like a jumbled mess with pieces of the building missing. From a distance though it all makes sense. The missing pieces resemble pixels that are spiralling around the building. The building was completed in December 2016, and […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: bangkok, buildings, thailand

Rebuilding the new Beirut

September 2, 2018 By James Clark 7 Comments

Sometimes you get a good feeling about a place even before you step foot on its soil. This was the case for Beirut when I first caught a glimpse of the city. The airport is close to the city centre, and if the flights are arriving from the north the flightpath goes over the old […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: beirut, buildings, lebanon, urban design

Notes on Astana – the futuristic capital of Kazakhstan

July 31, 2018 By James Clark 3 Comments

When I was looking for a flight from Bangkok to London I kept seeing deals with Air Astana with a stopover in Almaty and Astana. With the flight being as much as a direct flight it seemed like a good opportunity to visit a new country. Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, and I happened […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: astana, buildings, kazakhstan

Diamond Island – The fake Paris of Phnom Penh

January 25, 2018 By James Clark 5 Comments

Diamond Island - The fake Paris of Phnom Penh

I have a soft spot for Phnom Penh as it was the first city I visited in Southeast Asia. The combination of that good memory and it being a little rough around the edges has kept me coming back whenever I can. Every time I come back it’s a little less dustier and a little […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, cambodia, phnom penh

The regeneration of Kuala Lumpur Old City

May 31, 2017 By James Clark 6 Comments

The first time I visited Kuala Lumpur was when I was overlanding my way down the Malay Peninsula in 2006. Like most backpackers I ended up in a cheap guesthouse in the Chinatown area of KL. I was amazed that there were so many heritage buildings that had not been restored. There are sections of […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, kuala lumpur, malaysia

The changing face of Saigon – 2017 edition

February 23, 2017 By James Clark 10 Comments

Notes on Saigon - 2017 edition

With around 8.5 million people in Saigon the city will soon join the ranks of the world’s megacities. I wrote about the changing face of Saigon in 2015 which summarised the changes to the city. Much has happened over the last two years so here is an update on the changes – good and bad […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, ho chi minh city, vietnam

Cholon Wanders – Visiting Saigon’s historic Chinatown district

February 21, 2016 By James Clark 4 Comments

Cholon Wanders - Visiting Saigon's historic Chinatown district

For visitors to Saigon the most popular sites are in a compact area around District 1 and 3. If you have time though I recommend making a visit to Cholon, which is the old Chinatown area, most of which lies in District 5. Cholon used to be a city in itself until it was merged […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: building, buildings, cholon, church, ho chi minh city, mosque, temple, vietnam

The changing face of Saigon

January 14, 2015 By James Clark

The changing face of Saigon

[Old and new Saigon: Bitexco Financial Tower and a French colonial-era building.] I’ve been basing myself in Saigon off-and-on for the past two years, and my first visit here was in 2005. In this time I’ve been watching the city transform as it catches up from decades of underinvestment. It’s an interesting time to be […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, ho chi minh city, vietnam

In Pictures: Beautiful buildings of Detroit

August 1, 2013 By James Clark 24 Comments

Michigan Central Station - Detroit

Detroit?! You’re going to Detroit?! Why? This was the most common reaction I heard when detailing my US travel plans to Americans. Occasionally I would meet someone more curious who thought it was a good idea, but they were few and far between. They wanted to go for the same reason I did: ruin porn […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, detroit, in pictures, michigan, usa

Ridiculously skinny buildings of Vietnam

January 15, 2013 By James Clark 20 Comments

Skinny Buildings - Vietnam

[A tall and skinny building in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.] Spend any amount of time in Vietnam and you will soon notice that there are skinny buildings everywhere. Some are so slender that they barely look like they could fit a double bed across. Don’t ask me how they would get a double bed […]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, ho chi minh city, vietnam

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Welcome to 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.

I’m currently based in Vietnam, writing about transport and infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

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