Weekly travel reads: Okunoshima rabbit paradise

[The Travel Wire #70] Notes on Afghanistan, Georgia’s western Pankisi Valley, Mauritius beyond the beach, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• ‘A place of darkness and light’: the uninhabited Japanese island that became a rabbit paradise [The Guardian]
“Once host to a poisonous gas research facility, Okunoshima is now an Instagram-friendly tourist destination.”

• Notes on Afghanistan [Matt Lakeman]
“In Fall 2025, I spent three weeks in Afghanistan travelling through Kabul, Bamiyan, Ghazni, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif. The following is a recounting of the interesting parts of my travels and readings on the country.”

• The land of left behind [Marklands]
“Bulgaria doesn’t top many league tables – for economics, happiness, football or tourism. Here’s why you should go.”

• A caffeine-fueled journey through Vietnam’s rich coffee culture [National Geographic]
“Born from necessity and ingenuity, Vietnam’s growing coffee scene offers immersive tasting experiences for visitors.”

• Preah Vihear in 2002: A memoir by Andy Brouwer [Cambodianess]

• Osaka, Japan, is “fine” by day, but absolutely *bonkers* at night [Brent and Michael Are Going Places]
“Our latest digital nomad destination is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But in a good way!”

• How The Snooty Traveler ruins everything [Be Back By Dinner]
“This is your permission slip to travel your way in 2026.”

• Slow travels in the Veneto [Laura McVeigh]
“Freya Stark’s City of a Hundred Horizons, Venice’s Giudecca, cinema life, Chioggia, & the language island hidden in a forest.”

• Tourists are discovering a fascinating destination on the edge of Europe — but it’s on a US warning list [CNN Travel]
“Security fears have kept tourists out of Georgia’s western Pankisi Valley for years, but now it’s emerging as an unspoiled destination.”

• Mauritius beyond the beach: A GlobeFoxing dispatch [GlobeFoxing]
“Notes on diversity, nature, and modern tourism from an Indian Ocean summer.”

• Bonding with the dead at Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires [Wander, Wonder, Write]
“On retro culture, Argentine politics, and wandering dead.”

• The local way to Mondello Bay [Souvenirs]