Travelfish newsletter Issue 263 : Melaka + Booking, Bourdain and Bozos
Hi everyone,
Melaka—finally! On the bookshelf we look at The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh, and we highlight a short film covering Java and Bali. More below the fold.
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The week that was
Long in the making, we've finally kicked Sally's mammoth Melaka effort onto the site. We hope you enjoy it.
On the road, Sally is back from her Karimunjawa Island sojourn and is in Semarang, off to Singapore this afternoon. A bit further north, David has had his fill of Bangkok's transport—lucky him!—and that update will be coming online this week. Further north again, Mark has begun our Chiang Mai update which, as Melaka was, will be a complete rewrite. Cindy is en route to Ho Chi Minh City at the moment, with an eye-watering commute: Turks & Caicos -> JFK -> Toronto -> Istanbul -> Saigon. And that is why we live in Asia.
If you missed the last few newsletters, we've got a new book section. Got a favourite Southeast Asian-related title you think we should read and review? Do let us know.
For premium members, we have two new PDF guides online (for Melaka and Bali's Sanur). Not a premium member? It costs a very reasonable A$35 per year for access to more than 200 guides (among other excellent things). Find out more here.
This week's soap box is a bit of inside baseball about the challenges of running a travel website. The newsletter theme this week is Places You Should Know About.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter on to your friends, family, strangers in bars, bus drivers, som tam lady and massage man.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish team
Soapbox
Booking, Bourdain and Bozos
Travel publishing isn't all, well, travel.
One of the ways we earn money is through affiliate commissions. When you click through to Agoda, Booking and so on through a link marked with an asterisk, or through one of the booking boxes, and reserve a room, depending on a wide (and ever-widening!) array of things, a commission may be paid to us. Last week, Agoda made a significant change to how they do this, with no communication regarding it to partners like us. We think their actions are extremely unfair, so we removed a lot (though not all) the Agoda links on Travelfish.
Take that Agoda!
Removing so many Agoda links made it seem there were suddenly a lot more links to Booking. Not long after we received an email from an unhappy reader, who wrote: "Tooooo much Booking.com (did you really need funding *that* bad?)" (Their emphasis.)
Despite some people's apparent in-depth understanding of the economics of travel writing, we run Travelfish.org on the smell of an oily rag. Take my word for it: This is not a lucrative business! This is partly because of deliberate decisions we've made—paying our writers, not accepting freebies nor media discounts, maintaining editorial independence, refusing to run sponsored content and so on—but more generally, travel is a very competitive business.
While we pay our writers, we also hold them to high standards and expect them to go to the places they write about and produce original writing. Unfortunately, not everyone adheres to the same standards. Which brings us to my second point in this week's moan-fest.
A project by Anthony Bourdain, PartsUnknown, published a piece on Laos this week. In it they plagiarised word for word a long paragraph of a piece by Cindy Fan published on, you guessed it, Travelfish. To be clear, the piece wasn't written by Bourdain, but by a local Lao writer who may or may not have been paid. To Bourdain's and his people's credit, they acted quickly and professionally to remove the offending piece and apologise. They even called Cindy to apologise.
Plagiarism happens regularly. The Guardian, for instance, "accidentally" used one of our photos a while back and it took weeks to get them to remove it. But there is a whole industry of what I call "travel chop shops" (these are the bozos in case you were wondering) who have teams of completely desk-bound freelancers who take our research and that of other publishers, rewrite it into their own material and license to travel websites and hotel-selling platforms. They do this with none of the costs that we, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and so on incur.
It's annoying, but we just get on with it.
So regarding the email mentioned above, yes, we do need that funding that bad. (If you're a fan, we still have 34,876,453 premium memberships available!) It keeps us in business and lets us to look after our writers as best as we can, which in turn lets them to continue to deliver the excellent research which (we hope) keeps you all happy Travelfish readers.
The Travelfish Circle!
Safe travels
Stuart
Travelfish partners
We work with a number of partners on a commission basis and this helps keep us in business. Please consider using the following links to make any reservations as a commission may end up being paid to us, with no impact on what you pay. Thank you!
Places to stay: Agoda, Booking
Tours and activities: TourRadar, GetYourGuide
Ground transport: 12Go Asia
Travel insurance: World Nomads
Featured
Melaka
Melaka (Malacca) has been drawing the crowds for centuries, first as a trade centre and focal point for colonial power plays, now for its rich history and good food.
Film of the week
East of Java
A video shot on the islands of Java, Bali and Gili Air (Indonesia) the firsts two weeks of August 2010. By Miguel M. Shaw.
What we're reading
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Hard-hitting, deeply earnest and unabashedly brutal, Bao Ninh’s 1994-published The Sorrow of War is a North Vietnamese war classic that remains essential reading for visitors to Vietnam today. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in the war years, it seems almost disrespectful to not read it if you are travelling to Vietnam.
Off the forum
Can you help with advice on any of these questions?
3 1/2 weeks with kids ideas? Itinerary OK?
Vietnam vs. Thailand in June/July
Andaman Sea or Gulf of Thailand
6 month Itinerary, SE Asia, starting in October
Notes from the road
BURMA: In Dein
In Dein, occasionally referred to as the 'Shan Bagan', is a huge collection of partly restored and partly ruined stupas begun in the 12th century and added to by Shan princes up until the 18th century. It is a highlight of any visit to Nyaung Shwe.
CAMBODIA: Sambor Prei Kuk
A site older than Angkor lost in tranquil forests, Sambor Prei Kuk is even more mysterious (and to some, lovely) than the more famous temples to the west. In a cool and peacefully leafy setting, beautiful 1,200-year-old brick temples combine with nature to create an environment that showcases the best of both worlds.
INDONESIA: Lakey Beach
Stand on the beach at Lakey, look out to sea, and if you had Superman eyes that allowed you to see really, really far (curvature of the earth notwithstanding), you’d be able to see Antarctica. When the swell gets going, particularly pumped by storms in the Southern Indian Ocean, a world-class wave rolls in here that has surfers from around the globe coming to visit.
ISLANDS: Gili Layar
The latest of the "secret gilis" to begin to see some development, Gili Layar lies just to the west of the considerably more developed Gili Gede and to the east of Gili Asahan, but offers far superior off-the-beach snorkelling and a decidedly laid back beachside vibe. We liked it here. A lot.
LAOS: Muang Sing
The small town and district of Muang Sing sits nestled in a wide-open valley ringed by a fortress of green hills and mountains, just 58 kilometres northwest of Luang Nam Tha. It has all the makings of a star destination: gorgeous scenery, relaxed atmosphere and an astonishing number of ethnic minority villages living side by side.
MALAYSIA: Mantanani Islands
Three little blips on the radar form the Mantanani Islands, laying about 40 kilometres northwest of Kota Belud. Mantanani Besar, Mantanani Kecil and Lungisan are your quintessential alabaster-fringed tropical archipelago, reef ringed and sitting in crystal-clear aquamarine waters.
SINGAPORE: Sultan Mosque
An iconic landmark in historic Kampong Glam, golden-domed Sultan Mosque is the centrepiece of Singapore’s Muslim community. If you’ve never been inside a mosque before, Sultan Mosque is very welcoming, with friendly guides on hand to greet non-Muslims and answer any questions you may have.
THAILAND: Chiang Saen
Picturesque, historic Chiang Saen is the pick of the bunch of Chiang Rai province’s Mekong towns yet is also probably the least visited. It’s quiet—sedate, even—but does have more than its fair share of markets, interesting sights in and around town, good accommodation choices and better than okay eating options.
VIETNAM: Qui Nhon
Situated on the central coast of Vietnam, Qui Nhon fills the much needed beach niche between Hoi An and Nha Trang—it lies almost equidistant between the two tourist hotspots.
News from the region
BURMA: The true face of Buddhism
"Outbreaks of communal violence have captured significant attention in recent years but less well known are the actions of monks and laypeople who protected those targeted by angry mobs – and saved countless lives in the process." Heartening story.
CAMBODIA I: Cambodia’s Virachey National Park in danger
"What will happen to Virachey’s wildlife when the road finally tears through this secret forest? Cambodia’s track record is not encouraging, and most likely the road’s completion will sound the death knell for the rare species we have camera-trapped."
CAMBODIA II: AirAsia to start flights between KL and Sihanoukville
"Budget carrier AirAsia will begin selling tickets next week for a new route linking Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville, with the first flights to take off in August, the company’s CEO said."
INDONESIA I: Indonesia lacks answers to rise of political Islam
"As happened in many Middle Eastern countries in recent decades, secular nationalism appears to be weakening in Indonesia and a less tolerant form of Islam seems to be consolidating itself. Secular nationalism in Indonesia has never found an eloquent and effective champion since President Sukarno, who died 47 years ago."
INDONESIA II: A dog's life
"It is not illegal to eat dog meat in Indonesia. It’s just disgusting. But it is illegal, and subject to criminal sanctions, to practise animal cruelty. It is that area of the law that most urgently needs to be enforced. Governments at all levels need to do that."
INDONESIA III: An unfair trial leaves Chinese-Indonesians feeling vulnerable
"His political rivals, meanwhile, showed no compunction about taking advantage of this travesty: the victorious candidate for governor, Anies Baswedan, took to campaigning in the white shirt and black skullcap of a pious Javanese Muslim." Worth noting Anies is a Javanese Muslim—not sure about the pious bit.
LAOS: Cash and chemicals: For Laos, Chinese banana boom a blessing and curse
"Experts say the Chinese have brought jobs and higher wages to northern Laos, but have also drenched plantations with pesticides and other chemicals. Last year, the Lao government banned the opening of new banana plantations after a state-backed institute reported that the intensive use of chemicals had sickened workers and polluted water sources."
SOUTHEAST ASIA: The true cost of that tropical hardwood table
"He stresses that locally controlled, small-scale timber extraction can bring many benefits and be truly sustainable, but claims that the economic model for industrial logging is 'fundamentally flawed'."
THAILAND I: Generals’ speed limit: Thailand
"The junta’s new “Thailand 4.0” development model is claptrap. The country is failing either to stay cheap or to compete through modernisation by building a highly skilled workforce. In the two decades since the Asian financial crisis, competitiveness has drifted down. Already the labour force is shrinking as society ages, while the education system remains broken." Tell us what you really think, The Economist!
THAILAND II: Fighting addiction at a Thai monastery
"No contact with the outside world is permitted during the first five days of treatment. Patients pass the time by meditating, playing table tennis and weightlifting, and manual work such as painting and making Buddha statues."
Travel writing
PHOTOGRAPHY: How photojournalists cover sexual violence against women
Not directly travel related, but an interesting read in what gets surfaced, and rewarded, in the world of professional photography.
ON THE ROAD: The biggest threat facing middle-age men isn’t smoking or obesity. It’s loneliness.
"I’m hesitant to say I’m lonely, though I’m clearly a textbook case of the silent majority of middle-aged men who won’t admit they’re starved for friendship, even if all signs point to the contrary." Interesting piece, I meet a lot of older guys travelling by themselves (including me!).
BURMA: Nuns to noodles: A Panthay tale
"In one well-thumbed photograph he is a smiling young man, already graduated, standing with a diminutive nun who has the alert expression of a lifetime of teaching. There is an air of protectiveness in the young man’s pose as he escorts his old teacher on her last day in Myanmar, then Burma, where the military regime of dictator Ne Win had forced missionary schools to close."
INDONESIA I: Paving over paddy
"Even so, the farmers of Glagah and Palihan still won’t let authorities come and measure their paddy fields for compensation packages. To do so would be to admit defeat. And once the one-off compensation windfall was spent, they would have to accept their own entrance into the industrial workforce or 'guest worker' legions."
INDONESIA II: On Sari Organik
The interesting back story to Nila, the woman behind Sari Organik in Ubud.
MALAYSIA: My 75 ringgit lesson in Penang
Another scam artist to watch out for.
THAILAND I: Why Bangkok is emerging as a serious culinary capital
"Yet there’s a foodie’s paradise to be discovered that stretches far beyond the rickety plastic stools and exhaust fume–soaked ambience that most tourists associate with snacking on the city's sidewalks." Bangkok's fancypants scene.
THAILAND II: Bangkok's Chinatown at heart of heritage battle
"'The new businesses are good for us, they bring people from other districts to Chinatown. But prices are also going up. Our rent has doubled in the last years. If it goes up again, it might become difficult for us to stay,' Suyakon said."
VIETNAM: The great Vietnam War novel was not written by an American
"Immersed in the stories, feelings and memories of the Vietnamese refugee community in which I grew up, I was determined to tell some of those stories, for I knew that Americans as a whole knew very little about them."
Interesting site
The Snob's List
"The Snob's List is your new authority on fine dining in Vietnam. Each entry will be thoroughly and anonymously assessed before being featured on our site. All editorial content on The Snob’s List is based on the editorial team’s discretion, not on the desire of any company, advertiser or PR firm." Yes. More of this in food please.
Travel shot
Penang comes to Melaka. Photo: Sally Arnold
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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