The Friday Letter
One letter every other Friday: about 900 words, usually one thing I have been chewing on, and whatever I have been reading. Departures and foundation updates go out to this list before they appear anywhere else.
So you can decide before you hand over an address
Every other Friday, at some point between six and midnight Vietnam time. One piece of writing that was not ready for the site — a conversation I am still thinking about, a trip that went sideways, a decision the foundation got wrong. Then three or four links, with a sentence each on why.
What does not arrive: round-ups, “10 things” lists, affiliate links, sponsored placements, or a second email chasing you because you did not open the first one.
Unsubscribe link at the bottom of every issue, and it works on the first click. No exit survey.
The archive is open — read before you subscribe
On knowing a road so well you stop seeing it, and what that costs. Plus: three pieces on rural depopulation that changed my mind.
What happens when the harvest comes three weeks early and your entire itinerary was built around it.
A build report, honestly told, including the bit where we ordered the wrong timber.
Every “hidden gem” post has a cost, and it is not paid by the person writing it.
Start with the coffee piece, if you only read one
Three years of roadside stalls, one woman named Hồng, and the case against tasting flights.
Travel →Two departures still have places for November
Seven days on the red roads, capped at twelve people, timed to the coffee harvest.
Foundation →Eleven libraries and a rule about photographs
What we fund, what it costs, and why we publish the accounts in full every year.