My story of how I met the most interesting person on Earth and the true meaning of freedom
In 2018 I was living in the beach town of Danang, Vietnam working online when I stumbled across Tropical MBA’s Dan Andrew’s post about hitching a ride on the digital nomad express from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Saigon, Vietnam.
In the post, he was pictured having lunch in Saigon with an apparent friend named James Clark.
As I clicked on James’ hyperlink, I was elated to go down the rabbit hole of his Nomadic Notes blog.
James Clark, the man behind Nomadic Notes
As I was scrolling through his website, I noticed his recent post about Danang living and, clicking away, and learned more about his continuous global travels since 2003.
You see James wasn’t just any typical backpacker---he has been a digital nomad having traveled continuously since early 2000!
Most people travel to an interesting country for a couple of weeks and talk about their experience for a lifetime; James, on the other hand, travels non-stop, moving from one location to another---having been perpetually traveling for over 20 years!
From his website, it seemed like he was recently cris-crossing Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and India.
Credit: James Clark: Thai islands
“Amazing!” I thought to myself. “How could have this guy been traveling the world for decades?”
As I was scrolling through his blog, I noticed James’ clear and concise travel reporting from some of the most far away places: Hoi An and Sappa, Vietnam; Hua Hin and Bangkok, Thailand, the Balkan countries, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and everywhere in between.
In every blog, he provided in depth coverage about each city, going in detail on hotels, transportation, food, maps, and offering helpful tidbits.
Nomadic Notes is a travel blog providing helpful travel tips
I was excited to read that James was based in Saigon.
So on my very next trip there, I reached out to see if he wanted to meet for coffee.
I shot him a quick message about coming across his website and content and said I was making an upcoming Saigon trip.
To my surprise, James wrote me back saying he would be willing to meet me at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Saigon’s famous digital nomad neighborhood.
This area comprises a 3-block area of condensed alleys featuring a plethora of restaurants, cafes, and full-serviced apartments, catering to an eclectic international clientele of Japanese, Korean, European and North Americans.
Typical Saigon alleyways: Credit: James Clark
As I entered the cafe, I met a tall, mild-mannered, middle-aged man with a slight Australian accent.
We quickly sat down at a nearby table and both ordered cafe lattes.
James, for the most part, was somewhat reserved and quiet during our half-hour conversation where we discussed Vietnam and Danang living, travel in general, and other interesting and popular travel destinations.
After a good amount of conversation, we parted ways.
Ever since that 2018 meeting, we have become quite good friends and have collaborated on several Youtube interviews.
During my 2019-2023 Saigon stint, we would meet up at a cafe every so often to catch up and to learn about his latest travels.
In these cafe meetups, James provided the latest Southeast Asian developments, including infrastructure projects, the local economic climate, and how Covid was playing out in respective countries.
Nguyen Hue Street, Saigon: Credit: James Clark
Finally, by early 2023 as I was preparing for a move back to the States James agreed to meet up one last time.
We decided to grab coffee at a Japan town cafe.
After our 45 minute meeting, we parted ways, James walking off in the distance and me still intrigued by how someone could create a lifestyle traveling the world as he did.
I found it fascinating how James could, on a whim, choose an interesting city and country, and be off just like that, living life on his own terms.
James lived the most interesting life out of anyone I had ever known.
