It’s been a while. Travel took over, deadlines piled up, and the newsletter went dark.
And after some thought, I’m keeping this going. Not out of habit, but because it still feels worth doing. And if you’re still reading, I’ll keep writing.
Quick question:
- Do you want more opinion: sharp takes, hard truths?
- Or more reporting: news, tools, trends that actually matter?
Hit reply. I’m listening.
—Keith
China
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I spent the month of March in China. Chongqing, Chengu, and Xi’an. I’ll stop short of saying that it was life-changing (because this isn’t a YouTube video) but it certainly opened my eyes.
It’s a weird feeling, arriving in a place that functions more efficiently than pretty much every other country (Japan included), yet seems designed for everyone except you. That’s China.
No welcome banners. No translations. No gentle on-boarding for foreigners. You’re on your own. And that’s the charm. This is exactly why you should go.
Arriving in China after 2 years in Southeast Asia felt like stepping into the future. A future that’s fast, efficient, and mostly cashless. You can get a fridge delivered to your apartment faster than a pizza in Europe.
There’s no hand-holding. Few English signs. The apps don’t translate well unless you’ve got a local number and the patience of a monk. But that’s part of it.
The cars are all electric. The streets are spotless. Trains leave early, and train stations feel more like international airports. You’ll see old people dancing and doing Tai Chi in parks, on the street, by the river, at all times of day. You’ll eat the craziest food that tastes like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. Some of it was phenomenal. You’ll eat the best custard tart of your life in a bakery that looks like an Apple Store. People might give you gifts, just because.
Having experienced (very) loud and boisterous Chinese tourists in Thailand, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But everyone I met was kind, welcoming, and curious.
Nobody tried to sell you me sarong, an apartment, or a tuk-tuk ride to their cousin’s gem shop. In fact, unless you speak Mandarin, nobody’s trying to sell you anything. It’s not built for you. Which is precisely the point. In 8 days in Chongqing, I saw 2 other foreigners (or at least non-Asian visitors), both staying at my hotel. They also mentioned that I was the only other foreigner they’d seen.
China doesn’t want to impress you. It doesn’t need your likes or your praise. It’s not designed to entertain outsiders, and that’s exactly what makes it worth seeing.
I’d call it cultural recalibration rather than culture shock.
– Xi’an’s Wall: Power, Preservation, and Public Space
I spent a week in Xian earlier this year loved everything about the place, the food, the people, and the sights. The Terracotta Warriors were worth seeing, but it was the city walls that left a stronger impression—quietly monumental, still part of daily life. The food? Consistently excellent, no theatrics needed.
The great wall of Xi’an is China’s other great wall.
Most travelers come to Xi’an for the terra-cotta warriors but it’s the city wall that locals live with. At 14 km miles long and up to 15 meters wide, the wall is still used by locals and tourists. This raised platform is where wedding shoots, fashionistas, tourists on rental bikes, and families do their thing. It’s a popular spot for cosplay fans.
The wall is also one of the best-preserved in China, built on foundations that date back to the Tang dynasty. Its rectangular layout and 18 gates once enclosed a city that was both a capital of empire and an important point in the Silk Road (possibly the starting point).
But, here’s the bad news. What’s left of the wall is mostly a careful reconstruction, but it’s used, not just displayed. And that makes all the difference.
Here’s a photo of one section of the original wall that’s left without changes to show how it originally looked.
Lisbonified: The Rise of Copy-Paste Escapism
How the internet flattened the travel world.
In The Death of Awe, MØRNING talks about how social media and digital voyeurism have fundamentally altered the way we travel, turning transformative experiences into algorithm-fed content loops.
With dream destinations easily accessible to anyone with enough cash, travel is no longer about escape or discovery. It’s about replication.
Viral hotspots like Lisbon, Bali, and Rio become caricatures of themselves, swamped by crowds chasing the same minute-long visuals they saw online. Travellers disown the “tourist” label but behave like consumers, not guests.
What I learn from this, and what I’ve already suspected is that travel is no longer about getting lost, but about producing proof of an experience. The closeness we feel to places through screens makes the real thing underwhelming.
Tokyo on $1,000: No Splurge, No Sacrifice
Here’s a frugal traveler’s guide to experiencing Tokyo on a grand..
Main takeways:
- Consider booking a room in a business hotel, which often offers competitive rates
- Get a Suica or Pasmo card for convenient and discounted travel on public transportation
- A 75-cent cream puff from Lawson is as worthy as any boutique dessert in this city of culinary precision. The best meals might cost $28—or 75 cents.
- Go local: low-rise neighborhoods, standing sushi joints, backstreet izakayas.
- Whether it’s handmade coffee, obscure natural wine, or city-planning books, obsession is currency here.
Cities That Welcome Wandering (Mostly)
Tatler’s list of walkable cities for solo travelers is mostly solid. Kyoto, Lucerne, Melbourne: these places are built for wandering. Sidewalks are reliable, public transport fills in the gaps, and you can move around without getting flattened by a motorbike. Hội An and Mendoza have compact centers and easy ways to drift between meals, museums, and markets without much hassle.
However, Chiang Mai doesn’t really fit the bill. I’ve been to most of the other cities on this list and I’ve spent a couple of years in Chiang Mai. It’s definitely not a walkable city in the same category as the others.
Scooters, and ride apps quickly become necessary, which makes the inclusion of Chiang Mai as “walkable” feel like it was written by someone who hasn’t actually walked it.
The Long Way Through: Georgia’s Military Road, Then and Now
Now that it’s summer in the northern hemisphere, it’s a great time to drive this road. I did it a few years ago and it was one of the highlights of my Georgia trips.
The Georgian Military Road is a 210km route through the Caucasus Mountains, connecting Tbilisi to Russia via a landscape shaped by trade, war, and empire. Once part of the ancient Porta Caucasia, it’s been used by everyone from Silk Road merchants to Russian generals. Today, it’s a living museum—Orthodox churches, Soviet mosaics, medieval fortresses, and war-scarred villages all visible from the roadside.
Stops include Mtskheta, Georgia’s former capital and a UNESCO site with 4th-century Christian roots; Pasanauri, home of the original khinkali dumplings; and the looming Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument—equal parts propaganda and panorama.
Tourism and Well-Being—What the Research Actually Shows
This systematic review digs through 183 studies to answer a simple question: does travel actually make us happier? Short answer—yes, but not for long. Vacations give a temporary boost to mood and life satisfaction, especially when they tick both hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (meaning) boxes. Long-term impact? Less clear.
fascintingly, image matters too—what tourists think about a place often matters more than the reality.
Crowds, meanwhile, kills the buzz. Too many people in the wrong place at the wrong time? Well-being plummets. Cultural background and personal expectations shape how much chaos people can tolerate.
Ever heard of this quiet little travel hustle?
If you’ve spent more nights in hotels than in your own bed this year — and your digital trail is cluttered with booking links — you might be leaving money on the table.
Expedia Group runs a Travel Creator Video Program where they pay $150 per accepted video featuring hotels, resorts, or properties booked through their platforms (Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.).
You don’t have to be on camera. In fact, it’s my undertanding that they prefer no faces in the videos. And that’s fine with me.
I’ve only just heard about this program but I’ll film the next hotel I stay in and report back on my results in the video affiliate program.
No influencer status required. Just clear footage and a clean shot. You also don’t need to book through Expedia (this is my understanding and what I’ve learned from reports by other bloggers). But, of course, the property must be on the Expedia platform for booking.
If accepted, you get $150 per video (USD, paid via bank transfer or PayPal).
Details here
The Problem: Baggage Is the Tax on Movement
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/travel/shipping-luggage-frugal-traveler.html (Paywall)
You wait longer, pay more, and live with the low-grade dread of your essentials orbiting a baggage carousel in Minsk.
Around 7 in 1,000 airline passengers get the mishandled-bag treatment (SITA data).
Luggage transfer services have some advantages for the over-packer or even just normal poeple (for someone like me who can travel for months at a time, one-bag travel is inconvenient and can in fact, be wasteful, but that’s for another newsletter):
- there’s no schlepping through airports or wrestling baggage carts
- you can skip the baggage carrousel
But, you you need to be organized and you’re paying $60–100+ more than airline fees.
I’ve used Send My Bag in the past and it was worth the cost.
One of the world’s most famous tourist destinations is losing tourists
Foreign arrivals to Thailand are stagnating, and the government is calling emergency meetings to figure out how to stop the slide. Foreign tourist arrivals are flatlining: Just 0.12% growth year-over-year from Jan–April 2025, with 11.84 million visitors.
Thailand’s tourism slump in 2025 isn’t due to a single event but more due to these factors eroding traveler confidence.
- Safety Concerns: High-profile incidents, such as the abduction of Chinese actor Wang Xing, have amplified fears about scams and personal security, particularly among Chinese tourists .
- Natural Disasters: The March 28 Myanmar earthquake, felt strongly in Thailand, led to immediate cancellations and heightened safety concerns .
- Economic Factors: Global economic uncertainties and rising travel costs have made tourists more cautious, affecting their choice of destinations.
Chinese visitor numbers dropping to record lows despite visa waivers (China is the number one source of visitors to the land of smiles)
What does this mean for travellers to Thailand?
Can we expect lower prices, cheaper airfares, and better visa policies?
Wish You Were Here. Before Everyone Else Was
Bali in 1978. Severe lack of açai bowls, ecstatic dance, and oat milk. How did people survice?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFcVvgsR6hW/
Thailand in 1960s – Backpackers seeking Buddhism and beachers, without a Lonely Planet guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hpkh-PG2VE
In ’60s Thailand, enlightenment was strictly offline, earned barefoot in a temple courtyard, not livestreamed from a Bangkok penthouse by a guy named Sage. There was no Grab delivery and taxi back then and Pad Thai had only been around for a decade or two.
The Alfama Before Instagram, Lisbon in the 70s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Q91N2kpYU
Portugal was still a dictatorship when this film was made. The black and white film adds to the vibe. Many of the streets look suprisingly similar today.