Weekly travel reads: Kazakhstan by train

[The Travel Wire #79] Iran, the overlooked Canary Island, Sri Lanka’s little-known north, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• I took a solo railway trip across the largest landlocked country in the world [Adventure]
“Boarding a cavernous platzkart to cross the Central Asian steppe the slow way, writer Kate Bettes embarks on a 26-hour rail journey across Kazakhstan—where Soviet-era carriages, dancing horses, boiling samovars and a surprising number of kangaroo impressions are part of the ride.”

• Iran – a journey into our common humanity [The Tuesday Letter]
“An unusual and timely travelogue.”

• The overlooked Canary Island with cobbled streets, local markets and subtropical forests [Independent]
“La Palma is proving tourism can thrive without spoiling the island.”

• Long road south: Finding Mexico’s beaches before the crowds [Mexico Soul]
“A journey through coastal Mexico before the tourist crunch.”

• Visions of a Himalayan Kingdom [Wayfaring Hearts]
“High altitude, climate-positive trekking in Ladakh, India.”

• You can’t see everything (and maybe you shouldn’t try) [Jacky of All Travels]
“Learning to travel with intention instead of urgency.”

• Exploring Sri Lanka’s little-known north [Travel – the inside track]
“Almost all Sri Lankan tourist itineraries focus on the south – but now the north is opening up.”

• Nobody wants to go where everyone else is going [Outlier]
“Crowds are becoming a defining problem for travel and tourism.”

• Samurai treasures, modern luxuries: Island-hopping through Japan’s stunning Seto Inland Sea [CNN Travel]

• Thoughts on wandering Dubrovnik in off-season [The Wandering Environmentalist]
“A visual exploration on how and why we travel.”

• India in transition: a journey through its new modernity [The Caravan & The Throne]
“Notes from a journey through a country balancing ancient traditions and an emerging modern society — reflections on development, generational change, and India’s transformation.”

• A month without seeing the sun [Line on a map]
“From fearing it to loving it.”

• By the end of the trip, you’re already somewhere else [Souvenirs]