Travelfish newsletter Issue 338 : Phnom Penh + RefillMyBottle + travel manners
Hi all,
Ok, Phnom Penh is all done and dusted, included a massive 185 page PDF for Travelfish members. We’re back up there in a week to tie up some loose ends, after which we’ll add some more material into the guide, but what is online now should be plenty enough to get you going. You can start reading about Phnom Penh here or jump straight to our accommodation picks here.
Cambodia Living Arts. Look at those fingers. Photo: Stuart McDonald
Coming up this week we have a complete rewrite of Ko Lanta in Thailand along with (finally) the last of Hue in Vietnam.
In this week’s Soapbox we take a look at some simple travel advice that could make for a better trip for everyone involved and our interview is with the smart cookies at RefillMyBottle.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew
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Soapbox
On travel advice
Procrastinating the other day on Twitter I volunteered a piece of travel advice and asks for other’s thoughts.
Over 50 people responded and the two most popular replies were “Learn how to say “hello” and “thank you” in the local language. And smile. Combine a few words with a smile and watch barriers lower and doors open all over the world.” and “Always remember that travel is a privilege and you are a guest not a conqueror” (mine was “get up early, real early, like before, or as the sun is rising, and go for a walk and see what you find”—you can see the whole thread and all the suggestions here.
So often good advice is simple and easy to act on. Learn a tiny bit of the language, smile, remember your place and your manners. It is a bit of a head scratcher that these kind of things really need to be said, but sadly they do and certainly here in Bali we see no shortage of people who do not appear to have received the manners memo.
If you’re a first time visitor, please make the effort to learn a little of the language. Nobody is expecting you to be able to manage an in depth discussion regarding the mating of the Mongolian butterfly, in Khmer, as soon as you get off the plane. But “hello”, “goodbye” and “thank you” in, well, any language should be within the realm of possibility for most travellers and once you have one word, you’re that much closer to two. Numbers are another extremely simple word set to learn and, when combined with “cheap” and “expensive” (along with the smile we already covered they may even save you a bit of money. So buy a phrasebook and put that 6-18 hour flight to good use.
Penh House: One of the new crop of excellent places to stay in the city. Photo: Stuart McDonald
On manners and remembering your place, yes, you can go and buy a cultural guide or guidebook (you can read that on the flight too!) or you can just start with a bit of common sense. Take a breath, slow down, watch and listen to others and let them lead by example. Are others taking shoes off? Perhaps you should to. Is there anyone else at the temple in speedos? Maybe you need to go back to the hotel and put some clothes on (duh!). How are people greeting one another? Follow their lead. Sure you’ll probably make a few mistakes, but people will know at least you’re making an effort, and for many that is all that matters—at least you are trying.
Think would you do X in your home country. Do you ride a motorbike unlicensed, without a helmet while drunk in your home country? No? So why are you doing that in Thailand? Do you bargain for food after you have eaten it at home? No? So maybe don’t do it in Vietnam either. Do you generally treat authorities with respect at home? You get the idea.
A little bit of knowledge goes a long way and will hopefully count towards you having a more enjoyable stay in the country and your hosts may well be happier to have had you. See, more smiles still!
Good travels,
Stuart
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Talking Travel
Meet RefillMyBottle
Every week we publish a Q&A, this week with chatted with Margot Jacq from RefillMyBottle to find out a little bit more about the organisation.
Can you please tell our readers a little about the team of people behind RefillMyBottle and how the idea developed?
RefillMyBottle was initially called RefillBali and was created in 2016 by Alex Tsuk and the BGreener Community. The idea was to build a network of drinkable water refill stations in Bali. Shops, restaurants, hotels, businesses registered as RefillStations. As the concept grew and expanded to other islands and countries, the name shifted from RefillBali to RefillMyBottle.
Currently, 4 people constitute the RefillMyBottle team. Alex Tsuk is the founder, Christine Go the project manager who is in charge of the main operations, Rahmat Ramadhan is the web developer, and Margot Jacq is the project manager’s assistant who is here as an intern.
I read that the organisation started in Bali. The island has had plenty of press over the last five years or so regarding the waste challenges it faces—how has the response of Balinese businesses been to what you are doing?
It has been great. We receive a lot of support from local businesses. We now have more than 450 RefillStations in Bali. Our next challenge is to make more people know about the existence of RefillMyBottle. RefillStations have done a great job but more people need to use the app and refill to make a real change.
Pavilion: Still as lovely as ever. Photo: Stuart McDonald
The plastic bag ban in Bali is due to take effect shortly (even my local warung has switched to tote bags!), do you think banning plastic bottles could be a sensible next step?
Of course, banning plastic bottles would be the best regulation to generate a drastic change. It would be much more efficient in terms of impact than raising awareness which takes a lot of time. And in the face of plastic pollution, we are unfortunately running out of time. But things are changing little by little. For example, the EU has planned to ban single-use plastic by 2021, which is a great news. And we can see in Bali that the younger generations are increasingly aware of the plastic issue, so it gives us hope.
In the presentation you sent across you say by refilling travellers can save 120 plastic bottles a month. That seems like a lot! Can you explain to our readers just how many bottles a traveller goes through in a typical day?
We assume that everyone needs two litres of water a day on average, especially in warm countries such as Indonesia. Which equals four little disposable bottles of 500 ml and means 120 single-use plastic bottles a month. Of course, people drink more or less water a day, but it gives an idea of the amount of plastic waste we could save by only refilling our bottle.
I saw on the “Partners” page you list a bunch or organisations you have partnered with, and you note that they contribute more than financial support. So are donors the funding model for RefillMyBottle?
At the moment, we still rely on donations. However, in the near future, we plan to develop a business model to sustain our organisation. Actually, we have just launched a new crowdfunding campaign in order to scale up, build a team and support our marketing and communication activities.
Would you say most Refill Stations offer the refills for free, or for a nominal charge?
More than half of the RefillStation offer water for free. And some of them charge a small fee, ideally not more than the cost of plastic bottled water in supermarket.
If a reader isn’t travelling at the moment but would like to support you, aside from setting up a Refill Station, what would you say is the best thing they can do?
We would definitively say that he can help us spread the word about RefillMyBottle and support our crowdfunding campaign at https://refillmybottle.causevox.com/.
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Ten things worth reading
Some quick thoughts on travel writing
Now that the first lot of the Phnom Penh coverage is in the bag, I put together a brief summary of what is involved in putting this all together. May be of interest to some. No, I don’t have four lunches every day.
Why Is America So Obsessed With Thai Street Food?
Saying the best Thai food is eaten on the street is pretty well known as being inaccurate, but it is true that eating street food can be a memorable experience—even if the food isn’t top grade. An interesting read by Austin Bush.
Inside Cambodia’s cave of bridges
A short seven minute video about an archeological dig near Battamabng in western Cambodia. Slow process, but fascinating work, with some beautiful pottery found—the same methods are used top make pottery in the country today.
Chiara Luxardo - Burma Love
“In a country where same sex relationships are still illegal, where human rights for minorities are far form granted, Luxardo's project manages to touch deep and important themes in a delicate, joyful way.”
Cambodia’s paths less travelled
An interesting piece on what is available in Cambodia for the very high-end traveller. Luckily those with far more down to earth budgets can still enjoy many (if not all) the attractions within the country.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train
James covers a bunch of the possibilities on one of the most popular train trips in Thailand. Skip the flight, catch the train we say!
Behind the Lion Air Crash, a Trail of Decisions Kept Pilots in the Dark
A long, very interesting read regarding the recent Lion Air crash in Indonesia.
Nam Du Islands: Travel Guide
We covered the Nam Du islands a few years ago, then they closed to foreign visitors, then re-opened, then closed again, then re-opened. Sigh. Tom was there recently, and his write-up is a solid primer for anyone considering a trip to there.
Be a childsafe volunteer
Thinking about volunteering while in Southeast Asia? This should be the first thing you read.
Banned from the Airwaves
“The elections are now over, but the ripple effects of the crackdown continue to be felt throughout Cambodia’s civic space, leading to heightened caution and self-censorship among the populace.”
What we’re reading
Moonwalking with Einstein
From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.
Travel shot
The rooftop bar area at Onederz is even prettier in the evening. Photo: Stuart McDonald
Till next time
That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia.
Travel light!
Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team
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