The Travel Wire: The Little Osaka of Thailand

[The Travel Wire #52] The Doğu Express, carefree or clueless travel, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• Notes on Sri Racha – The Little Osaka of Thailand [Nomadic Notes]

• All aboard the Doğu Express, the cult Turkish train you’ve never heard of [Adventure]
“Traveling 800 miles from the Turkish capital Ankara to the city of Kars, the 26-hour Doğu Express has long been a fixture on Türkiye’s night train circuit. But after a Swedish YouTuber shared a video, local people realized they had an epic route on their doorstep, and it became a (literal) overnight railway sensation. Author and keen train traveler Monisha Rajesh joins the crowds.”

• Carefree or clueless? [Couchfish]
“When exactly does carefree become clueless?”

• PHOTO ESSAY: Tracing pre-canal Panama’s forgotten crossings and colonial routes [AP News]

• From drones to robots: tourists flock to China to glimpse a ‘cyberpunk’ future (archive) [SCMP]
“Social media hype about China’s ‘futuristic’ technology and urban infrastructure is attracting a growing wave of foreign tourists.”

• Lost Beyond Elounda… [Claire in Crete]
“Craig and I are lost – somewhere between Plaka and Milatos, in the thorny, mountain hinterland of East Crete where it feels as if you could tumble over the edge of the world…”

• In Western Uzbekistan, a rich design heritage is the foundation of the future (archive) [CN Traveler]
“While exploring a remote corner of the country, Michael Snyder learns how millennia-old craft and design traditions are forging a modern culture among the ruins.”

• ‘An idyllic escape from the world’: Slovenia’s Jezersko valley [The Guardian]

• When travel takes you beyond your comfort zone [Thoughtful Travel]
“Flying in an aerial motorbike, performing mountain-top handstands, or “just” taking a solo trip …”

• From tribal life to thieves: Vietnamese YouTuber conquers 195 countries [VnExpress]
“After traveling to 195 countries, a Vietnamese YouTuber reflects on a journey defined not by check-ins but by experiences like sleeping in African tribal villages and mugging in Colombia.”