Travelfish newsletter Issue 259 : Ills and injuries
Hi everyone,
New on the site we have an update of Ko Bulon Lae in far southern Thailand, Tuy Hoa in south-central Vietnam and Johor Bahru in Malaysia, along with a book review of The Signature of All Things and a video taken around Ko Lipe and Ko Tarutao in southern Thailand. More below the fold.
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The week that was
A full update to Thailand's Ko Bulon Lae is now on the site thanks to David's feet-in-the-sands research, while Cindy has delivered Tuy Hoa in Vietnam, which is where you'll likely depart to see Vietnam's version of Ireland's Giant's Causeway. Sally's Johor Bahru coverage is all online, and one thing is for sure: Better go hungry. Hanoi continues to fill out.
This week we received an email from a Travelfish reader who took Cindy's advice on booking particular room numbers at a resort on Phu Quoc Island. When they arrived, they found their neighbours were another couple who had also taken Cindy's advice to book particular room numbers at the same resort. The photo of the two couples sitting in front of Rooms 21 and 22 (Travelfish neighbours!) did bring a big smile to our faces!
Stuart had to cut has eastern Indonesia trip short after cracking a rib on a snorkelling trip (how is that for a workplace injury!). He's recovering back in Bali before heading back east in a few weeks, once the crack has healed well enough to endure more motorbike-riding over rough roads. In the meantime, it means Alor and Pantar will be online this week, though there is a brief write up on the forum for those in a rush, all the better for you to start planning an adventure there! Also somewhere in the editorial tube are more southern Thai islands and Melaka in Malaysia, another place you should make sure you travel to while hungry.
If you missed the last few newsletters, we've got a fancy new book section. Individual titles were previously buried in the forum, so we've given them the dedicated part of the site they deserve. Got a favourite Southeast Asian-related title you think we should read and review? Do let us know.
For premium members, we have not one, not two, but three new PDF guides online (for Ko Bulon Lae, Johor Bahru and Tuy Hoa). Not a premium member? It costs a very reasonable A$35 per year for access to more than 200 guides (among other things). Find out more here. We’ll hopefully be announcing some new deals for Premium Members in the coming weeks as we get some partners on board to offer some premium discounts—making that $35 better and better value.
Also, please note, we've put a few minor corrections through on the Ko Lipe PDF since last week, so if you downloaded that one, you may want to grab the updated one.
This week's theme is "ills and injuries". You'd be surprised how often we've encountered these over the years in Southeast Asia, and we've highlighted a few of our more memorable ones. (Mum, don't read this week's newsletter please!)
Please feel free to forward this newsletter on to your friends, family, strangers in bars, bus drivers, som tam lady and massage man.
As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter on to your friends, family, strangers in bars, bus drivers and massage man.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish team
Soapbox
On cutting a trip short
A day ago I was in Larantuka, Flores, two days ago in Lewoleba, Lembata, the day before that, in Baranusa, Pantar. The day before that I'd chartered a fishing boat to go snorkelling at Pulau Lapang and Pulau Batang, an hour or so from Baranusa.
The snorkelling at Lapang was superb, with a healthy reef, a grand dropoff and tremendous visibility. Within minutes of getting in I'd seen a turtle, eagle ray and a fast-moving school of tuna. It was even better than I'd hoped and, after a bit of a wander around the island, I returned for a second bout of snorkelling at the same spot. Lifting myself out of the water onto the wooden sampan, my hand slipped out from under me on the wet deck and I landed on the narrow wooden rim of the boat, with an "oof" and a disconcerting "crack". I dragged myself onto the boat clutching my right side.
Once back at the homestay my side was quite sore, so I just lay around and waited for the ferry onwards to Lewoleba, due the following day around midday. The following evening, nine-hour ferry ride done and dusted, I got an ojek from the port the 10 kilometres into Lewoleba. The road was not good. Bouncing around on the scooter with a pack on my back left my side in pain, and coughing, sneezing or taking a deep breath became quite painful.
I told the situation to a nurse friend over messenger and she said, "I would be reluctant to get on a motorbike for a few days. If it is a complete crack you risk displacing it; if it punctures your lung, you're toast." My time in Lewoleba was supposed to be three or four days of motorbiking around on bad roads.
I had a choice: Hang out in Lewoleba town for a week resting, or going home. I went with the later and two days later (after another four-hour boat ride, three-hour car ride, two-hour flight and one-hour cab ride) I rolled home.
I'm very glad I pulled the plug. As I type this, my rib is killing me and here I can rest in a decent bed and get the painkillers I need. Also, living here gives me the luxury of it being easy for me to go back and continue the trip in a couple of weeks.
While my nurse friend was being cautious, it can pay to be cautious, especially when you're travelling in isolated areas where the standard of medical care may not be what it could be. A punctured lung two hours away on bad roads from Lewoleba? No thanks. Bad enough with a cracked rib.
Safe travels
Stuart
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Featured
Ko Bulon Lae
Palms sway as school kids laugh and play on a beachside field. Travellers swing in hammocks and stroll on flower-draped paths to the next languid bay. Away from the problems that blight more popular Thai islands, the serene environment on Ko Bulon Lae is likely here to stay.
Film of the week
Ko Lipe, Ko Tarutao and Ko Adang
There's a bit of each of those islands in this drone/timelapse video. Film by Dynamic Frame.
What we're reading
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love wasn't our cup of tea, but The Signature of All Things is another beast entirely. This is a beautiful, sprawling, luscious novel telling the epic life story of Alma Whittaker, born in 1800 to the wealthiest man in Philadelphia, a botanist and pharmaceutical magnate. She grows up cloistered in the family estate, and becomes a botanist herself, fascinated by… mosses. It certainly doesn’t sound like the recipe for a page-turner, but we tore through 500 pages in no time, totally engrossed by the historical minutiae that Gilbert effortlessly weaves into the story.
Notes from the road
BURMA: Bagan belly
While India (lost 25 kg in three months) remains my personal benchmark, Burma isn't far behind on the stomach-churning stakes. Bagan, in fact. Luckily it was easy to chill there, and still catch a sunrise or sunset during recovery.
CAMBODIA: Watch your stuff
We'd just moved to Phnom Penh, our first night there, after dinner by the river we cruised back past the Royal Palace, two cyclos abreast. Sam said, "I'm so glad we've moved here." And with that motorbike thieves grabbed her handbag (containing my work-permit embossed passport), never to be seen again.
INDONESIA: Cut your toenails
"Don't forget to cut your toenails!" I was told by my guide before commencing the climb of Gunung Agung on Bali. Of course, I forgot to cut my toenails. The descent killed both of my big toenails, which slowly turned black and fell away over the following months. Hmm, we're not really selling destinations this week, are we?
ISLANDS: Making friends and influencing people
I thought the Texan was just a bit drunk when he gave me a mouthful for "chatting to 'his' girl". I then realised just how drunk when, as I walked out of the bar, he smashed a beer bottle in my face, slicing my face open. With no medical care on the island at the time, an Irish traveller third-filled a water bottle with blood as it poured out of my face. Here are some nice beaches there.
LAOS: Don't lose your head
Pulling up at an apparent road accident on the road to Phongsali, I took my motorbike helmet off only to see a guy running at me with an AK-47 raised to smash me in the back of the head. What saved me was not having turned the ignition off. Unexpectedly, I had the quick wits to kick the other bike onto the ground before speeding off.
MALAYSIA: Keep your head
Diving off Kota Kinabalu, I lost control of my buoyancy as we rose to the safety stop and I popped straight to the surface. The pressure explosion in my sinus saw me lose feeling in the left side of my face for three months.
SINGAPORE: Safety first
If there's one place in Southeast Asia you're unlikely to get injured it would have to be Singapore. Probably the biggest risk I've faced there is eating myself to death on chicken rice.
THAILAND: Wear a helmet
Speeding up Asok on a motorbike taxi, just a short walk from Terminal 21, my driver hit a patch of water and we were both thrown off the bike, me onto a stationary car, the driver under a moving one. When I staggered over and tried to pull him out, his hand was torn to pieces by the wheel. He was very bloodied, but probably okay (someone else took him to hospital). Always wear a helmet.
VIETNAM: Almost an injury, but thankfully not
The gates had been locked at the Sapa Guesthouse thanks to a midnight curfew. So we just climbed over them but I lost my footing at the top and fell, the large spikes at the top catching my jacket and leaving me pinned in the air. I looked like the right idiot I was. An inch either way and I'd not be writing this email. Here's a tale of two treks in Sapa—no iron gates to climb over.
News from the region
BURMA I: Stop the Suu Kyi blame game in Myanmar
"Despite this, it is important to understand the dynamics and push-pull factors that Myanmar and Suu Kyi currently face. The government and military do not operate in a vacuum."
BURMA II: It’s time to talk about Min Aung Hlaing
"Min Aung Hlaing is the biggest obstacle to improving human rights, democratic reform, peace, modernisation, and improving health and education in Burma."
CAMBODIA: 11 Years, $300 million and three convictions. Was the Khmer Rouge Tribunal worth it?
He added: “Bottom line, would you rather have the justice that was rendered here — this court, with all its problems — or have nothing at all?” Given the political realities, he said, this was the only court on offer.
INDONESIA I: Should Indonesia move its capital?
"Moving the capital city from Jakarta is not a novel idea. In 1957, President Sukarno had already said Java will suffer from a population boom and that economic growth in the island will be out of control."
INDONESIA II: RIP orange bajaj
I was also curious about the role of orange bajaj in people’s lives: the experience of an entire family defying the law of physics by cramming into an orange bajaj, middle school kids’ daily routine of riding bajaj oranye to school, the Betawi street performers on their way to the national monument with their giant ondel-ondel effigy strapped to bajaj oranye’s tarpaulin top.
THAILAND I: Bangkok has the world's best street food — but authorities want it gone
"But even as the accolades were being accepted, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was handing out eviction notices in some of the most popular street-food hotspots."
THAILAND II: 1932 democratic revolution plaque removed
"Pro-democracy activist Chotisak Onsoong, who earlier this year launched a debate on how to preserve the plaque, said he believes the plaque removal is the work of a right-wing reactionary group."
THAILAND III: Main southern Thai insurgent group rejects army peace plan
On Monday it outlined objections to Bangkok's peace plan, saying it "must include the participation of third parties (international community) as witnesses and observers" and that an "impartial" mediator should lead the talks, not the Thai army.
THAILAND IV: In Thailand, a king’s coup?
And so it is — only, given the revisions in question, more power for the monarchy will mean less for the military.
VIETNAM: Scientists propose ‘breeding’ artificial beach in Nha Trang
Wot.
Travel writing
Wish I were there: The life and times of a travel writer
"I loved how Theroux ignored the sights and wrote about the people, how he included details — like hairy brown sweaters in Istanbul — that all travelers noticed but that professional travel writers left out of their stories in their pursuit of the Important (which was also, often, the Already Known)."
INDONESIA I: The Bekantans of Balikpapan Bay
"In the remaining mangrove forests on the island of Borneo, a very close relative of ours is struggling to survive against a backdrop of industrial exploitation and rapid habitat destruction." Fab pics.
INDONESIA I: The first morning: Odalan at Pura Taman Pule
"By 5 am there were already queues for the main courtyard – and these were people who had already prayed at the various other shrines dotted around the main temple. "
INDONESIA II: Lembata, ikat hunting again
That evening I have a wonderful meal of crispy fried chicken with a seriously wicked sambal. After the boring food of Maumere, we are back to hot spicy food again. Halelujah! The fingers on my eating hand tingle for hours that evening, god knows what it's doing to my insides!
INDONESIA III: Is there a place for traditional whale hunting?
The Indonesian village of Lamalera has hunted whales, sharks and dolphins for the last 500 years. Their method is to leap from a small wooden boat with a long harpoon made of bamboo and spear the animal. Once brought to shore the animal is divided in to parts and distributed to the community, partly for consumption and partly for exchanging with other inland communities for corn and rice. But in recent years, the practice has become increasingly controversial.
THAILAND I: 10 top tips from our Bangkok correspondent
Thailand’s capital is a labyrinth of great bars and restaurants to refuel in after, perhaps, Thai boxing, a river island cycle, or wakeboarding. From fresh mangoes with coconut sauce to acoustic karaoke … it’s all on the menu.
THAILAND II: Chiang Mai: Thailand's modern-day Left Bank
"To make this transformation 'official', the city is preparing applications to gain the status of a UNESCO Creative City, in a bid to join a network of 116 others that have identified creativity in crafts and folk arts, design, media arts and other related fields as major factors for sustainable development." Hmmmmm.
Interesting site
NotDunRoamin
"We are Chris and Danila – travelling the world and volunteering on conservation projects, and we’re writing about our experiences in this blog."
Travel shot
At the Glass Temple in Johor Bahru.
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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