Travelfish newsletter Issue 264 : Looping itineraries + Drop off the map + By the numbers
Hi everyone,
A selection of itineraries to fire up your imagination, on the bookshelf we look at Bangkok-set biopunk novel The Windup Girl, and we highlight a short film traversing Southeast Asia. More below the fold.
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The week that was
This week gone we've been busy updating some of our itineraries in the region, including the Mae Hong Son and Mae Salong loops in northern Thailand—we hope they'll get your feet itching.
Sally is immersed in her Semarang and Karimunjawa write-up while having turned in a rewrite of our coverage of Bangkok's transport system, David has just headed south to Phetburi, Cha-am and Kaeng Krachan, the latter being the largest national park in Thailand. In the north, Mark has been busy on our Chiang Mai update (at least by the looks of our swelling Dropbox folder with eleventy billion temple and khao soi photos).
Cindy is due into Saigon any day now, while Sam is heading back to Hanoi at the end of the month. And after taking a 20km beach walk Sunday, Stuart has updated our Canggu beach coverage.
Stuart would also like to apologise for a comment in last week's newsletter about Agoda making a particular change to their tracking which (it turned out) was incorrect.
For premium Travelfish members, we have more than 200 guides available for download (215 to be exact). Not a premium member? It costs a very reasonable A$35 per year (please note: Australian not US dollars!) for access. Find out more here.
This week's soap box is about dropping right off the map—try it sometime. The newsletter theme this week is By The Numbers.
Please forward this newsletter on to any friends, family, strangers in bars, bus drivers, som tam ladies and massage men you think might be interested to receive it.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish team
Soapbox
Drop off the map
A friend was travelling in the Philippines recently and had a spell on the Batanes Islands, more or less half way to Taiwan in the Luzon Strait. Kicking around on Sabtang, she chartered a boat and headed over to uninhabited Vuhus Island (Google Maps calls it Vohus Island if you want to find it) for a bit of a snorkel.
A logbook kept in a building there showed that the last foreign tourist to visit the island had arrived some 18 months ago.
That's a long time between snorkels.
As with my experience in Eastern Indonesia a few weeks ago, when I chartered a sampan to take me out to a couple of islands for some snorkelling, while there was no logbook, I got the feeling that, as with Vuhus, Pulau Lapang and Pulau Batang don't see all that many foreign faces.
For my friend in the Philippines, I'm not sure how involved a process it was to get to the islands, but in my case, it was just a case of finding a boatman who wasn't bothered by the mythical seven-headed-snake and who'd do it for a reasonable cost. Wasn't all that hard.
My point is, just because a place isn't in a guidebook or on a travel website, doesn't mean it isn't worth going to. And you need not get into chartering boats and dodging mythical beasties to have an interesting off-piste travel experience. Get off the bus early. Pick a station half way to where you're going and get off the train.
Put yourself a little bit outside of your comfort zone and see what you'll find. It'll probably be better than a banana pancake.
Safe travels
Stuart
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Featured
Three days in Melaka
Melaka abounds with sights to see and terrific food, but it’s all jam-packed into a manageable area and you can fit in plenty, even if all you have is a long weekend.
Film of the week
Asia 2016
Composed of one hundred four-second clips from an iPhone. Myanmar, Laos, Thailand. Film by Gerd Eichele.
What we're reading
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
Even if you’re not a fan of science fiction—it’s certainly not a genre we usually pick up—if you’re interested in Thailand and in particular the craziness of Bangkok and where it might be headed as we hurtle into the decades ahead, The Windup Girl makes for a good dystopian read.
Off the forum
Can you help with advice on any of these questions?
Suggestions for a 3-week Kalimantan trip
Cambodia, Laos& Myanmar 1st time.
Notes from the road
BURMA: Five-day markets
One of Inle Lake's most popular and picturesque sights is its famous five-day market, so-called as it migrates from one rustic lakeside village to another on a five-day rota system. Local Shan and Intha people, as well as numerous Pa-O villagers from the surrounding hills, converge to sell their wares and produce. These days, numerous tourists converge to photograph them converging, while stocking up on a few handicraft souvenirs.
CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh’s Street 92
If you’re rushing round Phnom Penh and ticking off the sights, may we suggest a small detour? Just opposite Wat Phno is Street 92, or Daun Penh Street, to give its full name. This elegant tree-lined boulevard running between Wat Phnom and Monivong Boulevard encapsulates much of Cambodia’s history and future, and includes the poshest hotel and a psychedelic fountain.
INDONESIA: Bisma Eight
Bisma Eight boasts chic modern rooms — with extravagant touches like hot tubs — in several low-rise buildings set atop a lush jungled valley. The hotel fits the bill for those with a taste for design and tranquility, with a little extra cash to spend.
ISLANDS: 3 weeks on Thailand’s northern Andaman coast
Just about everyone has heard of Ko Samui, Phuket or Ko Phi Phi, but there’s a lot more to southern Thailand than these big tourist drawcards, both offshore on the islands and back onshore along the mainland.
LAOS: 4,000 Islands, but which one is best?
Deep in the most southern reaches of Laos, in a narrow section of the country where it can feel like there is more river than land, are the somewhat mythical 4,000 Islands. Held up as a rite of passage for those travelling along the banana pancake trail, Si Phan Don as it’s known in the local lingo is a section of the Mekong River that fans out into a 10 kilometre-wide labyrinth of shallow waterways and islands.
MALAYSIA: Cafe 1511 Guesthouse
A visit to Melaka is all about culture and history, and what better way to soak up as much as possible than to stay in a museum or at least the servants’ quarters of one? The Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum provides just that opportunity at Cafe 1511 Guesthouse, offering a handful of charming rooms above their namesake cafe next door to the museum.
SINGAPORE: Our top 10 hawker centres
Singapore is a food lover's paradise. Luckily for those on a shoestring budget the city's best eats aren't at five-star restaurants but at the plentiful hawker centres.
THAILAND: Three J Guesthouse
Three J Guesthouse combines a homely atmosphere with eclectic decor and top-notch hospitality. Throw in volumes of info on exploring the area and comfortable rooms at budget prices, and you’ve got one of our all-time favourite places to stay in Thailand.
VIETNAM: One Pillar Pagoda
Located in Ba Dinh Square right by the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the One Pillar Pagoda is one of the most recognisable symbols of Hanoi.
News from the region
BURMA: Startling photos capture Myanmar’s $31b jade mining industry
"They leave behind great heaps of waste that scavengers pick through, hoping to find a rock that will change their lives."
CAMBODIA I: How a tsunami in Japan endangered children in Cambodia
"High prices also wreaked havoc on Cambodia’s salt industry. Noniodized salt from Vietnam was half the cost, so it was smuggled in. Salt meant for the Kampot co-op was sold without iodination."
INDONESIA I: Komodo dragon blood may hold the secret to killing superbugs
“I’ve got a 6-year-old daughter who sleeps on a stuffed Komodo,” says lead researcher Barney Bishop. “I’d like her to grow up in a world with effective antibiotics.”
INDONESIA II: Indonesian police arrest more than 140 men at alleged gay sauna party
“It’s bad for democracy, for freedom of expression and freedom of association. We’re not sure what the government is trying to achieve. We are queer and we are not going away.”
INDONESIA III: The May 98 riots claimed 200 lives in a single fire. Here's what they left behind
"So families instead were left to shoulder the pain. Their family members were lost, but no one was ever held accountable. The country would move on, but these families couldn't. They didn't want their loved ones forgotten. So they sent these personal items, everyday mementos of those they lost, to the commission as a reminder of the questions that remained unanswered—of the justice that remained unserved."
INDONESIA IV: Two adult men in Indonesia caned 83 times for consensual gay sex
"Indonesia’s LGBT community has been under siege in the past year. Prejudice has been fanned by stridently anti-gay comments from politicians and Islamic hard-liners." Sometimes Indonesia struggles to understand which century this is.
SINGAPORE: Freedom of speech doesn’t include the right to be bigots
"It takes a concerted effort by leaders to unite the populace, and for the different communities to communicate in a bid to understand and integrate with one another."
THAILAND I: Lese majeste drive targets web viewers
"Police are clamping down on lese majeste offences by shifting their focus to viewers of illegal content even if they do not post or share it."
THAILAND II: Development plans for Chao Phraya river threatens to drain Bangkok's soul
"But the days of enjoying sweeping riverfront views could be numbered. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the city's government, backed by the ruling military regime, is rushing to gentrify the culturally diverse riverbank that is rich with historic landmarks. "
THAILAND III: Choked by traffic, Bangkok revs up to beat air pollution
"If nothing was done at all during the last 20, 25 years, I cannot imagine what Bangkok would be like now. People would probably be sick from air pollution," Supat shuddered.
THAILAND IV: Junta entrenched 3 years after coup
"“The new constitution whitewashes all junta rights violations, ensuring that Thai military leaders can continue to commit abuses without fear of prosecution,” Adams said." No surprises there.
VIETNAM: Safety questions raised as Saigon driver ends up near aircraft
"According to the reports, a man was delivering paint to a construction team inside the airport, who was renovating the facilities for the military-owned Aircraft Repairing Company." Classic photo.
Travel writing
BURMA: A new map to Yangon
Going to Yangon? Here is a cool new map.
TRAVEL I: The shameful truth behind what happens to your leftover hotel toiletries
“I had a eureka moment,” he said. So, in 2009, Seipler started collecting leftover toiletries from Florida’s hotels, which he began recycling in a relative’s garage in Orlando. Clean the World was born.
TRAVEL II: The hidden costs of flying
"Want your flight to burn less fuel? Start by emptying your bladder before boarding." Will I get a discount though?!
VIETNAM I: On Son Doong Cave
"Tourism and economic development have done untold damage to Vietnam’s environment, but the largely untouched nature of Phong Nha-Ke Bang is heartening. Outside of the tiny village of Doong, located near the start of the trek to Hang En, there are no signs of civilisation along the 15.5 mile round-trip hike."
VIETNAM II: Bernard Fall: The man who knew the war
“It’s always very sad,” he told a radio interviewer, “when you come back to a place and you sort of wonder what they have done with it.” Very interesting read.
Interesting site
Copipanas
"CopiPanas is a group of professionals in Indonesia who love hiking volcanoes. We want to enjoy nature, stay healthy, and come back safely. We have built a legacy of safe, successful, and rewarding mountaineering expeditions in Indonesia."
Travel shot
So many beaches, so little time. 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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