Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 08/04/2026Does 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. 000
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/11/2025River Kwai Bridge Week returns… my latest for Time Out. www.timeout.com/bangkok/trav...timeout.comYour ultimate guide to Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai Bridge Week FestivalHow this scenic river town became synonymous with World War Two and home to Thailand’s most famous railway 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 03/11/2025Went on a food tour of Bangkok's other Chinatown, my latest for Time Out. www.timeout.com/bangkok/rest...timeout.comNavigating Huai Kwang, Bangkok’s new ChinatownSo the story goes, before there was Bangkok, there was Chinatown – a colony of Teochew merchants 030
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 15/10/2025Attention Bangkokians, here are some neat weekend railway trips you can take from the capital. www.timeout.com/bangkok/trav...timeout.com6 best weekend railway journeys from BangkokFrom historic ruins and floating markets to beachside sunsets, these incredible rail adventures are the perfect way to escape the city for the weekend 030
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/09/2025My latest feature for #scmp about the #Chinese travel writer Zhou Daguan who visited #Cambodia during the Yuan Dynasty. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...scmp.comInsights into ancient Khmer society from a forgotten Yuan dynasty visitorLong before the Europeans arrived in Angkor, a Chinese explorer had documented the magnificence of modern Cambodia’s ancient pride and joy. 040
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/09/2025My 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.comBangkok’s bard, Lawrence OsborneThe elusive writer talks about Netflix, anti-travel writing and why he sees ghosts in Asia 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 16/09/2025My Bankok feature out now. www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...scmp.comInsiders’ guide to Bangkok: eat, shop and socialise like a localBangkok’s coolest corners, from neon-lit alleys and punk bars to canalside islands, Song Wat vintage finds and Talat Phlu noodles. 030
Reposted by Thomas BirdThe Intercept @theintercept.com · 01/09/2025At 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 218284
Reposted by Thomas BirdMaura Elizabeth Cunningham @mauracunningham.bsky.social · 01/08/2025At @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.comWhat Happened to China Travel Guides? | China Books ReviewGuidebooks 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? 073
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 15/06/2025www.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.comUK moves jets to Middle East as Starmer refuses to rule out defending IsraelMilitary assets to provide ‘contingency support’ as PM repeats call for de-escalation after Iran’s retaliatory strikes 054
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 04/06/2025My latest travel feature www.scmp.com/postmag/trav...scmp.comInsiders’ guide to Kunming: what to eat, drink and do in Yunnan’s capitalEnjoy a vegetarian meal at a Buddhist temple, local beer at Chaba Brewing and a hot springs dip at Yunshang Spring. 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 18/05/2025Nice of the mighty Paul Theroux to share my latest travel feature on Instagram. #travelwriting #chinatravel #railway 010
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 10/04/2025See 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.hkRoyal Geographical Society (Hong Kong) RGS HK - How Railway Imperialism Inspired Modern China's Railway ManiaPopular repeat speaker Thomas Bird looks back at the arc of railway development in China. He discusses his amazing experiences riding the “Iron Rooste... 000
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 10/04/2025My interview with Mark Kitto about his new novel China Running Dog was published today by Nikkei Asia.asia.nikkei.comBooks: Karaoke, concubines and chaos in ShanghaiMark Kitto's 'China Running Dog' revisits the wild times of the 'roaring 2000s' 010
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 27/03/2025My 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.comUnique visual account of life on Thai trainsAfter rise to fame, Chinese photographer Qian Haifeng turns lens on kingdom's railways 010
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Unbelievable. 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.ukNo second state visit for TrumpUnbelievable. 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... 000
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 02/03/2025It’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. 000
Reposted by Thomas BirdCNN @cnn.com · 01/03/2025Zelensky 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.itFact check: 33 times Zelensky thanked Americans and US leaders | CNN PoliticsZelensky 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... 1723214834
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 01/03/2025I’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 000
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 27/02/2025So 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 Hinscmp.com‘We actually have a vineyard’: an insiders’ guide to Thai hidden gem Hua HinThe Thai royal family ‘discovered’ it in the early 20th century, but what does the resort destination have to offer today’s travellers? 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 19/02/2025Had great fun talking at SOAS, University of London. Thanks to all the friends, scribes & comrades who braved the cold to attend. 010
Reposted by Thomas BirdPaul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · 12/02/202518/2/25 - @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.ukHarmony Express: Travels by Train through ChinaThomas 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, ... 031
Reposted by Thomas BirdThe Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing @writingchinese.bsky.social · 09/02/2025We'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... 032
Reposted by Thomas BirdAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 30/01/2025It’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. 231212019219145
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 30/01/2025Was great fun talking ay the FCCT the other night about Harmony Express and #rail travel in #China.youtube.com2025 01 27 FCCT Train journeys with Chinese characteristics From green trains to high speed railYouTube video by FCCT 030
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 28/01/2025Had a great evening talking about Chinese rail travel and my book Harmony Express at the FCCThailand. #thailand #china #books #railway 030
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 26/01/2025Attention 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/469fccthai.comTrain journeys with Chinese characteristics: From green trains to high-speed railIn 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 110
Reposted by Thomas BirdAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 24/01/2025Had 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. 1061282043779
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 24/01/2025This song has been playing on loop in my head of late. #trump #musk #greenland #panamayoutube.comThe Clash - I'm so bored with the U.S.A. (lyrics)YouTube video by 93WK 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Published by Earnshaw Books my travelogue Harmony Express recounts five years of travel, on and off the rails, in China earnshawbooks.com/product/harm...earnshawbooks.comHarmony ExpressThomas 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… 000
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025A 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.comPuerto Galera beyond the reefs: insider tips to the Philippines’ diving capitalAquatic 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. 030
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Attention 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/469fccthai.comTrain journeys with Chinese characteristics: From green trains to high-speed railIn 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 020
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Arguably #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.comInsiders’ guide to Tainan, Taiwan: where history, art and cuisine come aliveTaiwan’s fourth city has plenty to satisfy the inquisitive visitor, especially in the walkable district of Anping, which is brimming with culture. 050
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025Rolling along the #railway towards #Bangkok I caught this blood orange sunset. Sublime. 010
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025It 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.comUncovering Hanoi, Vietnam’s rich culture and cuisineLocals recommend the Vietnamese capital’s best street food, creative spaces and historical sights. 010
Thomas Bird @thejourneybird.bsky.social · 21/01/2025There 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.comTime traveling on Taiwan's local trainsA history lesson on the island's west coast railway line 051