Weekly travel reads: Taiwan the railway destination

[The Travel Wire #50] Old passenger ship hotel in Indonesia, hiking ancient Greek villages, Afghanistan, less bad travel, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• Is Taiwan one of the world’s most underrated railway destinations? [Adventure]

• He bought the world’s oldest passenger ship — and spent $18 million turning it into a hotel [CNN]
“Now, after more than a century at sea, the ship has come to rest — on dry land — in Bintan, a tropical Indonesian island known for all-inclusive beach resorts.”

• A hiking trail linking 46 ancient Greek villages [BBC Travel]

• Afghanistan isn’t a headline [Ride with Ian]
“Biking to Japan Week #28”.

• Less Bad Travel [Couchfish]
“A new way to think about your travel.”

• From contaminated land to community tourism: MAG’s work in Cu Nam, Vietnam [Mines Advisory Group]

• Into the Hill Country: Tea trails and the quiet roads to Kandy [Travel Essayist]
“Hiking through Sri Lanka’s highlands in search of solitude, stories, and the soul of slow travel.”

• Hot springs, empty beaches, forests and wine: exploring the unspoilt Greek island of Ikaria [The Guardian]

• When you want to drink like F. Scott Fitzgerald in Rome, [Souvenirs]
“go to – or avoid completely – the Hotel Quirnale, and don’t punch the ticket inspector in the face.”

• What it’s like tracking Namibia’s desert rhinos in the storms of a decade [National Geographic]
“As rare rains sweep across northern Namibia, its landscapes spring to life, with flowers blooming in the desert, wildlife returning to the water-soaked bush — and a rhino population that carries on regardless.”

• Take the train to Certaldo for the perfect Tuscan getaway [Independent]