Thomas Bird

6 best weekend railway journeys from Bangkok From historic ruins and floating markets to beachside sunsets, these incredible rail adventures are the perfect way to escape the city for the weekend

Attention Bangkokians, here are some neat weekend railway trips you can take from the capital. www.timeout.com/bangkok/trav...

Insights into ancient Khmer society from a forgotten Yuan dynasty visitor Long before the Europeans arrived in Angkor, a Chinese explorer had documented the magnificence of modern Cambodia’s ancient pride and joy.

My latest feature for #scmp about the #Chinese travel writer Zhou Daguan who visited #Cambodia during the Yuan Dynasty. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...

Bangkok’s bard, Lawrence Osborne The elusive writer talks about Netflix, anti-travel writing and why he sees ghosts in Asia

My interview with novelist and (anti) travel writer Lawrence Osborne ahead of the Netflix adaptation of Ballad of a Small Player. www.timeout.com/bangkok/movi...

Insiders’ guide to Bangkok: eat, shop and socialise like a local Bangkok’s coolest corners, from neon-lit alleys and punk bars to canalside islands, Song Wat vintage finds and Talat Phlu noodles.

My Bankok feature out now. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...

A graphic over a black photo of Israel bombing Gaza that says, "At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli, army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. #ProtectJournalistsInGaza #LetReportersIntoGaza

At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed. We join with more than 150 other media outlets across the world to condemn these crimes.

Read more: interc.pt/3HS71C2

What Happened to China Travel Guides? | China Books Review Guidebooks for China boomed from the 1980s to the 2010s. Then the Covid pandemic hit. With fewer visitors, and travel guides going out of print in the digital age, what are we missing?

At @chinabooksreview.com, @thejourneybird.bsky.social writes about the boom-and-bust cycles of China travel guides, from their first heyday in the 1920s to the "extinction event" of Covid shutdowns.

UK moves jets to Middle East as Starmer refuses to rule out defending Israel Military assets to provide ‘contingency support’ as PM repeats call for de-escalation after Iran’s retaliatory strikes

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... But when men, women and children were being massacred wholesale in Gaza, schools and hospitals turned to rubble, journalists targeted, Sir Kier scarcely flinched.

Insiders’ guide to Kunming: what to eat, drink and do in Yunnan’s capital Enjoy a vegetarian meal at a Buddhist temple, local beer at Chaba Brewing and a hot springs dip at Yunshang Spring.

My latest travel feature www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...

Nice of the mighty Paul Theroux to share my latest travel feature on Instagram. #travelwriting #chinatravel #railway

Royal Geographical Society (Hong Kong) RGS HK - How Railway Imperialism Inspired Modern China's Railway Mania Popular repeat speaker Thomas Bird looks back at the arc of railway development in China. He discusses his amazing experiences riding the “Iron Rooste...

See you soon at Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong for a talk about train travel with Chinese characteristics. For this one, I'll take a bit of deep dive into Qing / Republican-era history to ask, why is modern China so mad about trains? Hope to see you there HK friends & comrades!!!

Books: Karaoke, concubines and chaos in Shanghai Mark Kitto's 'China Running Dog' revisits the wild times of the 'roaring 2000s'

My interview with Mark Kitto about his new novel China Running Dog was published today by Nikkei Asia.

Unique visual account of life on Thai trains After rise to fame, Chinese photographer Qian Haifeng turns lens on kingdom's railways

My story about Qian Heifeng, veteran Chinese railway shutterbug, who has recently trained his lens on Thai trains. asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Li...

No second state visit for Trump Unbelievable. Keir Starmer has handed Donald Trump a letter from King Charles, inviting him for a second state visit to the UK. It’s totally unprecedented, and should not go ahead.  This is the...

Unbelievable. Donald Trump has been invited to a state visit to the UK. We should not be rolling out the red carpet to celebrate this man. Agree? Add your name to the petition today.

It’s rare to find myself aligned withe The Mail but if Trump & company are succeeding at anything it’s uniting the left & right of British politics.

Fact check: 33 times Zelensky thanked Americans and US leaders | CNN Politics Zelensky has thanked the United States on numerous occasions since Russian launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 – expressing gratitude to Trump and President Joe Biden, to members of Cong...

Zelensky has thanked the United States on numerous occasions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 – expressing gratitude to Trump and Biden, to members of Congress from both parties, to US defense companies and their employees, and to the American people.

I’ve loathed bullying school and recognise it immediately. The way Orange Jesus and The Hillbilly spoke to #Velensky was nothing short of it: two morons ganging up on a brave individual, browbeating him and taking cheap shots because they had the ‘power.’ How low the US has sunk. #betrayal

‘We actually have a vineyard’: an insiders’ guide to Thai hidden gem Hua Hin The Thai royal family ‘discovered’ it in the early 20th century, but what does the resort destination have to offer today’s travellers?

So pleased to see my Hua Hin travel feature online. Thanks to all the locals & expats who made it happen: ‘We actually have a vineyard’: an insiders’ guide to Thai hidden gem Hua Hin

Had great fun talking at SOAS, University of London. Thanks to all the friends, scribes & comrades who braved the cold to attend.

18/2/25 - @soasuni.bsky.social - @thomasbird.bsky.social on Harmony Express: Travels by Train through China, a travelogue that recounts the years he spent railway-wayfaring in China, from 2014 until late-2019. www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

The front and back cover of Thomas Bird's book Harmony Express, about travelling by train around China.

We're looking forward to welcoming @thejourneybird.bsky.social to Leeds on Wednesday, to discuss his book Harmony Express! In association with the East Asian Research Society. All welcome! writingchinese.leeds.ac.uk/events/harmo...

It’s important to know that a lot of productive activity is happening in person and offline, too.

Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.

Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.

YouTube video by FCCT 2025 01 27 FCCT Train journeys with Chinese characteristics From green trains to high speed rail

Was great fun talking ay the FCCT the other night about Harmony Express and #rail travel in #China.

Had a great evening talking about Chinese rail travel and my book Harmony Express at the FCCThailand. #thailand #china #books #railway

Train journeys with Chinese characteristics: From green trains to high-speed rail In 2010, Thomas Bird was hired as a magazine editor in Shenzhen. As he worked on the news pages, he realised that he was living through the biggest railway-building boom in human history.Beginning wit

Attention Bangkokians! I shall talking at the FCC Thailand tomorrow evening. Famous Thai rail blogger Richard Barrow will be on the panel. If you’re interested in #China, #trains (or both) please do sign up for the event. www.fccthai.com/events/469

Had an awesome time chatting with Jon Stewart & @weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social talking about how to fight the dumpster fire.

Gear up. It’s time to brawl.

Morning Muai Thai #thailand

YouTube video by 93WK The Clash - I'm so bored with the U.S.A. (lyrics)

This song has been playing on loop in my head of late. #trump #musk #greenland #panama

Delicious railway sunset over #Cha-Am

Harmony Express Thomas Bird found himself in southern China free from any serious commitments. His rock band had just split up, he’d left his job as the editor of a lifestyle magazine and his girlfriend disappeare…

Published by Earnshaw Books my travelogue Harmony Express recounts five years of travel, on and off the rails, in China earnshawbooks.com/product/harm...

Puerto Galera beyond the reefs: insider tips to the Philippines’ diving capital Aquatic diversions both above and below the surface may be the prime draw to the Philippines’ Puerto Galera, but the roads west and south lead to pleasures only those in the know are familiar with.

A short journey south of Manila, Puerto Galera is a veritable pirate’s cove of coral gardens, hillside viewpoints and hidden coves. I’ve spent many a happy hour there… Puerto Galera beyond the reefs: insider tips to the Philippines’ diving capital
www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...