The Travel Wire: best travel reads #10

India’s Kerala Express, Central Asia’s capital of cool, Bangkok is the new Berlin, quokkas, more pygmy hippos, and the world's largest chicken-shaped building

Welcome to The Travel Wire (by Nomadic Notes), where I curate the best travel reads of the week.

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• An inspirational rail journey aboard India’s Kerala Express

“Running from Delhi in the north to the southern state of Kerala, an epic 46-hour journey on board the Kerala Express brings writer Monisha Rajesh closer to India’s cultures, traditions and communities.”

• Travel is not a political act

“Rick Steves is wrong, and my life's work is a failure.”

By Matt Gross (former Frugal Traveler at NY Times Travel) in his new newsletter.

• How a drab Soviet metropolis became Central Asia’s capital of cool

“Several cities around the globe have reinvented themselves in recent years, but none more successfully than Almaty.“

• I spent 12 days trekking to Everest Base Camp. Here’s the story in photos.

• A 210km drive through 'the most beautiful place on Earth'

• A reflection on three years abroad

“What expat life has taught me” by

Samantha Childress

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• Into the Wild Skies: Matt Dearden’s high-flying journey behind flying from Shangri-La

"Matt Dearden’s journey from computer programmer to bush pilot in Papua is the kind of story that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go."

• I visited the ‘happiest city in the world’ – here’s what I learnt (archive)

• Bangkok is the new Berlin for artists and creatives — what to see and do

• Lidar mapping reveals mountainous medieval cities along the Silk Road

• The rise of the AI travel influencer

• Do you have the wanderlust gene?

"Moving abroad and traveling the world may be hard-wired into your DNA."

• More than quokkas: The Indigenous islanders bringing Rottnest’s dark past to light

[Yes, more than quokkas, but I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to post a picture of a quokka.]

• ‘Moo Deng? Who Deng?’ Meet Haggis the baby pygmy hippo. (archive)

“Edinburgh Zoo playfully started (and then quickly ended) a rivalry with Moo Deng, Thailand’s viral sensation.”

• Philippine hotel named world's largest chicken-shaped building by Guinness World Records

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James Clark (Nomadic Notes)