Weekly travel reads: By train, from Singapore to Bangkok

[The Travel Wire #108] The continent in an island, a four-hour horse ride to stay with Mongolia’s reindeer herders, the place that will finally fix you does not exist, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• 1,200 miles by train, from Singapore to Bangkok (archive) [NY Times Travel]
“A writer takes a weeklong journey, from the island city-state to the Thai capital, in the final days of a historic rail connection.”

• The continent in an island [Postcards From Rowena]
“Sometimes even people living on a Greek island need to get away. So where do we go? Crete: the Continent in an island!”

• The tremendous revival of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya waterfront [Condé Nast Traveler]
“Tony Perrottet visits the banks of the Chao Phraya River, where old-school noodle stalls now share space with Michelin-starred restaurants and gilded temples soar over former warehouses turned art galleries.”

• The place that will finally fix you does not exist [Never Quite a Local]
“I crossed China chasing a Himalayan paradise. Here’s what I found instead.”

• I met my mom for the first time in Italy [That’s So Eden]
“I thought we were giving my parents the trip of a lifetime. Turns out, it was the trip of a lifetime for me too.”

• What travelling alone for years actually does to you [The Nomad Dossier]
“Not the version people post about. The other version.”

• It took an 80th birthday to remind us some trips shouldn’t wait [Get Lost With Lonely Planet]
“The people are the itinerary.”

• Beyond the end of the road: A four-hour horse ride to stay with Mongolia’s reindeer herders [BBC Travel]

• Milan. Price tags and value [Attitude Blog]
“An old acquaintance newly seen. From the If Cities Were People series.”

• Beyond the Instagrammable café: Why Southeast Asia still drinks the old way [The Southeast Asia Desk]
“From plastic stools to polished cafés, Southeast Asia is embracing new café trends while keeping its own way of drinking and gathering.”

• The beautiful Latin American haven that still feels like a discovery [Escape Artist]
“Volcanoes, lakeside villages, and a community already in place.”