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Thomas Bird

@thejourneybird.bsky.social
30 followers 47 following 32 posts

Author of Harmony Express: Travels by Train Through China. Words for SCMP, Nikkei Asia, Rough Guides and Insight Guides. Covers travel and culture in East and Southeast Asia. Enjoys gin & tonic and the teachings of Zhuangzi.

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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Does earth look worse now or is it the light? Well, we can say that since '72, average surface temperature has risen by 1.1°C to 1.3°C. There's been a 73% decline in the abundance of monitored vertebrate populations and we've released 1,300 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
For the attention of Bangkok bookworms…
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
River Kwai Bridge Week returns… my latest for Time Out. www.timeout.com/bangkok/trav...
timeout.com
Your ultimate guide to Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai Bridge Week Festival
How this scenic river town became synonymous with World War Two and home to Thailand’s most famous railway
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Went on a food tour of Bangkok's other Chinatown, my latest for Time Out. www.timeout.com/bangkok/rest...
timeout.com
Navigating Huai Kwang, Bangkok’s new Chinatown
So the story goes, before there was Bangkok, there was Chinatown – a colony of Teochew merchants
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Attention Bangkokians, here are some neat weekend railway trips you can take from the capital. www.timeout.com/bangkok/trav...
timeout.com
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
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
My latest feature for #scmp about the #Chinese travel writer Zhou Daguan who visited #Cambodia during the Yuan Dynasty. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...
scmp.com
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.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
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...
timeout.com
Bangkok’s bard, Lawrence Osborne
The elusive writer talks about Netflix, anti-travel writing and why he sees ghosts in Asia
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
My Bankok feature out now. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...
scmp.com
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.
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The Intercept @theintercept.com · 01/09/2025
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
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
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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
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.
chinabooksreview.com
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?
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
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.
theguardian.com
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
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
My latest travel feature www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...
scmp.com
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.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
Nice of the mighty Paul Theroux to share my latest travel feature on Instagram. #travelwriting #chinatravel #railway
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
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!!!
rgshk.org.hk
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...
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
My interview with Mark Kitto about his new novel China Running Dog was published today by Nikkei Asia.
asia.nikkei.com
Books: Karaoke, concubines and chaos in Shanghai
Mark Kitto's 'China Running Dog' revisits the wild times of the 'roaring 2000s'
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
My story about Qian Heifeng, veteran Chinese railway shutterbug, who has recently trained his lens on Thai trains. asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Li...
asia.nikkei.com
Unique visual account of life on Thai trains
After rise to fame, Chinese photographer Qian Haifeng turns lens on kingdom's railways
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
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.
you.38degrees.org.uk
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...
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
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.
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CNN @cnn.com · 01/03/2025
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.
cnn.it
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...
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
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
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
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
scmp.com
‘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?
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Had great fun talking at SOAS, University of London. Thanks to all the friends, scribes & comrades who braved the cold to attend.
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Paul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
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/...
soas.ac.uk
Harmony Express: Travels by Train through China
Thomas Bird will introduce his latest publication Harmony Express: Travels by Train through China, a travelogue that recounts the years he spent railway-wayfaring in China, from 2014 until late-2019, ...
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The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing @writingchinese.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
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...
The front and back cover of Thomas Bird's book Harmony Express, about travelling by train around China.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
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.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Was great fun talking ay the FCCT the other night about Harmony Express and #rail travel in #China.
youtube.com
2025 01 27 FCCT Train journeys with Chinese characteristics From green trains to high speed rail
YouTube video by FCCT
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Had a great evening talking about Chinese rail travel and my book Harmony Express at the FCCThailand. #thailand #china #books #railway
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
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
fccthai.com
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
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
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.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Morning Muai Thai #thailand
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
This song has been playing on loop in my head of late. #trump #musk #greenland #panama
youtube.com
The Clash - I'm so bored with the U.S.A. (lyrics)
YouTube video by 93WK
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Delicious railway sunset over #Cha-Am
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Published by Earnshaw Books my travelogue Harmony Express recounts five years of travel, on and off the rails, in China earnshawbooks.com/product/harm...
earnshawbooks.com
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…
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
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...
scmp.com
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.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Attention travel lit fans, train nerds, China-watchers and anyone else with some time on their hands in #Bangkok on the evening of January 27. I shall be speaking in promotion of my book Harmony Express at the FCC with a fab panel of expert guests. Hope to see you there. www.fccthai.com/events/469
fccthai.com
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
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Arguably #Taiwan’s most pleasant city (certainly my favourite), warm #Tainan is laidback yet positively boiling over with culture... Insiders’ guide to Tainan, Taiwan: where history, art and cuisine come alive www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...
scmp.com
Insiders’ guide to Tainan, Taiwan: where history, art and cuisine come alive
Taiwan’s fourth city has plenty to satisfy the inquisitive visitor, especially in the walkable district of Anping, which is brimming with culture.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Rolling along the #railway towards #Bangkok I caught this blood orange sunset. Sublime.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
It was a privilege to interview these fine Hanoians in order to pen this article about my favourite capital in Southeast Asia. Uncovering Hanoi, Vietnam’s rich culture and cuisine www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...
scmp.com
Uncovering Hanoi, Vietnam’s rich culture and cuisine
Locals recommend the Vietnamese capital’s best street food, creative spaces and historical sights.
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Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
There are still a number of charming old #Japanese railway station houses in #Taiwan along the West Coastal Line. asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Li...
asia.nikkei.com
Time traveling on Taiwan's local trains
A history lesson on the island's west coast railway line
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