Travel plans (Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia), Chiang Mai installs a bad bike blocker, and latest posts round-up.
Travel plans
Greetings from Chiang Mai. I’ve been here for nearly two months, so it is time to move on before my visa expires.
I am returning to Vietnam in July to act as a quasi-tour guide for some Australian friends. The trip includes Da Nang/Hoi An and Hanoi. I will be visiting the main tourist sites in Hanoi with my friends, but I don’t think they will be interested in seeing the demolition works around the city. I will make time to see some of the construction sites that are reshaping Hanoi.
After Vietnam, I will stop over in Singapore en route to Indonesia. Singapore and KL are the best travel hubs for getting to anywhere in Indonesia outside of Jakarta and Bali. I’ve already been to KL this year, so I picked Singapore.
The last section of the Circle Line on the Singapore MRT is opening in July, so I will be checking that out. One of the new stations (Cantonment) is at the old Tanjong Pagar Station (where the Singapore-KL train used to depart). It’s good that there is a metro station here now, but it is still disappointing that there is no railway service between the two cities with one of the busiest flight routes in the world.
I will be in Indonesia for one month, and this is a follow-up from my one-month rail-themed trip in 2024. My 2026 trip starts in Padang, where I will be riding the limited railways of West Sumatra. This is the only section of the railways of Sumatra that I haven’t been on.
After Sumatra, I will go to Jakarta (which is now the world’s largest city since my last visit). I will do some updates for my transit guide to Jakarta, and then visit some new-to-me places in Java by rail.
If you are in any of those places and would like to meet up, feel free to send a message.
Site news
Updated: Motorbike barriers of Southeast Asia
Chiang Mai has now entered the gallery of shame on the motorbike barriers of Southeast Asia list. A motorbike barrier has been installed at the main city gate (and probably the best-known landmark of the city).
Many of the bike barriers I have listed have at least attempted to allow step-free access. This is just pure laziness.
Weekly news
I publish the weekly news update every Wednesday for paid subscribers. This is a round-up of news related to transport and urban development in the region.
Note: I have now completed the newsletter migration from news.futuresoutheastasia.com to futuresoutheastasia.com. Some newsletters were still being sent via the old address, but all emails will now be from futuresoutheastasia.com.
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Here are the last month’s issues of the weekly newsletter (click article links to upgrade).
• Future Southeast Asia News [24 Jun 2026]
Raising awareness of city planning in Cambodia, Jakarta builds pedestrian deck to link six transit modes, Philippines weighs return to China for stalled Mindanao railway, the engineering challenges behind the Circle Line loop, single-entry fare system for Bangkok rail network, Hanoi launches construction of five metro lines spanning over 300 km.
• Future Southeast Asia News [17 Jun 2026]
Indonesia targets 10,524 km railway network expansion, LRT3 Shah Alam Line ready for operations by end June, Manila-Bulacan-Pampanga-Bataan Coastal Road-Dike Project, Bangkok airports target 120 million ‘by 2029’, Vietnam to add 7 new airports by 2030.
• Future Southeast Asia News [10 Jun 2026]
Phnom Penh’s public space shortage, Trans-Sumatra Railway project from Aceh to Lampung, MAHB to invest RM11bil in airport expansion over 5 years, MRT-7 will retain all 14 stations, a first look at 3 new Circle Line MRT stations, Bangkok city plan to unlock rail-linked mega-projects, Hanoi drowns in construction debris.
• Future Southeast Asia News [3 Jun 2026]
Cambodia vows urban renewal, Vang Vieng old airport development, New Kuching International Airport, no bridge to Boracay, Thailand’s long-delayed three-airport high-speed rail project, Ho Chi Minh City ordered to expand its metro tenfold by 2030.
In Case You Missed It (this month’s articles)
Hanoi’s ambitious 5-line metro launch
Bonifacio Global City – The Singapore of Manila, or the Manhattan of Asia?
Redeveloping the old Vang Vieng CIA airstrip into “The City That Never Sleeps”
Discover more from Future Southeast Asia
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When in SG you might want to take a spin on the rental pedal bikes there. I’ve been doing some lightweight exploring of the non traffic cycle routes.
I recommend you get something like a removable NiteIze phone handlebar mount, since the provided basket is pretty useless as a phone carrier. Strava and RidewithGPS have route suggestions.
Looking for a bike helmet suitable for travel. I found a bike rental place in Phnom Penh close to non crazy PP traffic, but was too lazy to get there from BKK1.
Don Det is great for biking with many rental outlets. Pakse, Banlung, Stung Treng, and Sen Monorom struck out because mostly my dumb pre trip planning.
Good idea for the Singapore bike rental.
I am considering Southern Laos at the end of the year, and cycling around Don Det makes sense.