Travelfish newsletter Issue 271 : Chiang Mai & Bangkok updates + Tourist slogans + Warts & all
Hi everyone,
We're all about tourism slogans this week. Also online are some more Bangkok and Chiang Mai updates, a review of new Southeast Asian-focused book Blood and Silk and a soapbox on warts and all. More below the fold.
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The week that was
First things first. Last week we announced Travelfish had just turned 14. We were wrong, it only turned 13. Our apologies. Please resend the correct birthday card.
This week new on the site we have still more Chiang Mai updates (the end is in sight right Mark?!), a smattering of updates for Bangkok temples and museums and a new listing for an old cemetery. More new and updated material for Hanoi also snuck online, including the excellent National Museum of Vietnamese History.
In the tube for this week is more Chiang Mai, a Ho Chi Minh City transport update along with some more Hanoi and Bangkok updates. On the road, Sally is in Penang, Mark is heading to Pai, David is in Bangkok, while Stuart stops through some west Bali beaches. Cindy finally made it back to the Caribbean and will be delivering Ho Chi Minh City over the coming weeks.
Premium Travelfish members now have access to more than 200 downloadable guides (222 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 soapbox is on “warts and all”. The newsletter theme is “slogans”; why do people still believe them?
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
Warts and all
Flick on cable TV and you’ll often see a tourism promo from the tourism board of some Southeast Asian country. They’re invariably gorgeous, full of blemish-free individuals plucked from a shampoo ad, who pose and giggle their way through the countryside. They're also so removed from reality (Phi Phi Leh with no other longtails on it? Please!) and, well, extremely boring.
How about one that starts with a very late LCC flight into Bangkok (horror story already). The subjects pile off into Don Muang where all the ladies loos are closed and they’re told to use the ones on the other side... of the two-hour queue to get through immigration.
We’ve all been here.
Their cabbie drops them off at the wrong place, in the rain (of course).
A passerby sees they’re lost and steps in to help. With sign language and plenty of ice-breaking laughter, he leads them to the hotel. The foyer of the $20 “traditional homestay” they booked online is bathed in neon from the enormous advertising billboard which towers between the three-floor minihotel and an expressway overpass. The disappointment is palpable and their new friend suggests they dump the bags and join him across the road at his sister’s restaurant.
Stay with us.
It’s a simple place. Tables are linoleum topped, floors cracked concrete. There's a cluster of steel cups, a big jug of water. The bain-maries out front are loaded with extremely spicy food. It is still pouring. There is a dog asleep on the floor. There’s no menu save a Pepsi signboard covered in an indecipherable, graceful script.
Their new friend gestures for them to sit and pours them all water from the jug—ON ICE. He tut tuts them with both hands and says, “Mai pen rai!” when they gasp at the suggestion of drinking ice. He pulls his phone from his pocket and the sound of his sing song voice drowns out the monsoon rain.
Five minutes later, his daughter, drenched despite her translucent raincoat, pulls up on a scooter, and daintily steps off and into the restaurant.
“Welcome to Thailand!” she greets them in near-perfect English.
Before they know it, their new friend’s wife is leading an impromptu cooking class to cook them a dish that isn't too spicy.
Regardless of where we are in Southeast Asia, the people, particularly those stepping up to assist, form some of the warmest memories we have. And unlike the temples and beaches, you’ll find the people everywhere!
More like this please.
Good travels,
Stuart
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Places to stay: Agoda, Booking
Tours and activities: TourRadar, GetYourGuide
Ground transport: 12Go Asia
Travel insurance: World Nomads
Featured
Bangkokian Museum
Occupying a trio of restored heritage houses draped in trees, the small but worthwhile Bangkokian Museum displays what one upper middle-class home looked like in the Thai capital from the early to mid-20th century.
What we're reading
Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia, by Michael Vatikiotis
Blood and Silk is an erudite romp through Southeast Asia’s modern political and economic history in the hands of experienced regional hand Michael Vatikiotis.
Off the forum
Can you help with advice on any of these questions?
Beach Resort Easily Accessible from Bangkok or Hanoi
Places to visit outside Vientiane, Laos in one week
Notes from the road
BURMA: All That Glitters is Not Gold, But Myanmar Is
Sule Pagoda is the golden glowering heart of downtown Yangon (Rangoon). Nestled in the middle of two of Yangon’s main traffic arteries, which meet up in a roundabout that encircles around it, the pagoda is just one stupa and a stunning key city landmark. It sort of proves that all that glitters is not gold, but Myanmar is.
CAMBODIA: Kingdom of Wonder
An immense city temple complex to rival that of Angkor Thom and Preah Khan of Kampong Svay, Banteay Chhmar is a glorious site rich in treasures, shrouded in trees, and yours to enjoy in relative isolation and as part of the kingdom of wonder.
INDONESIA: Wonderful Indonesia
Taman Sari (literally fragrant garden), or the “Water Castle” as it’s popularly known, was once an extensive playground for the Sultan of Yogyakarta. It encompassed a large artificial lake with islands complete with rare fruit trees, fragrant gardens, swimming pools and meditation areas as well as a network of secret underwater tunnels. It is part of wonderful Indonesia.
ISLANDS: Vietnam: A Destination for the New Millennium
Secluded cove, soft white sand, sparkling turquoise waters, tropical coral reef, no people – sound too good to be true? You actually won’t find this on Phu Quoc. To discover paradise, escape to the An Thoi islands, an archipelago of 15 islands and islets just off the southern coast of Phu Quoc. These islands are helping to make Vietnam a destination for the new millennium.
LAOS: Simply Beautiful
Across the Mekong river from Champasak and only accessible by boat, Don Daeng island will delight visitors with its bucolic scenery, languid pace and car-free pathways. It's simply beautiful.
MALAYSIA: Malaysia, Truly Asia
Kampung Kling Mosque dates from 1748, making it one of the oldest in Malaysia. For lovers of architecture, Kampung Kling Mosque is a delight, with an eclectic conglomeration of styles that result in a charming idiosyncratic look known as the Melaka Style. It all helps make Malaysia, Truly Asia.
SINGAPORE: Your Singapore
Need a break from the city? Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a world-class conservation area set within a sprawling 202-hectare mangrove swamp along Singapore’s northern coast — a paradise for migratory birds on their journey from Siberia to Australia for winter. It's part of your Singapore, after all.
THAILAND: Amazing Thailand
The sheer number of Chiang Mai’s myriad ancient Buddhist temples, or wats, can be overwhelming for visitors (amazing, even), so here is our take on the highlights of the city’s temple scene.
VIETNAM: Timeless charm
A visit to Hanoi would be incomplete without a wander around Hoan Kiem Lake, the centrepiece of the city. No matter the time of day, the lake is surrounded by activity and points of interest so you can soak up the city's... timeless charm.
News from the region
BURMA: Myanmar’s myths of ethnic unity
“The myths of ethnic unity are alive and well in contemporary Myanmar. While we might expect misleading historical claims from previous military-led governments or even the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government, incorrect and problematic statements about the country’s ethnic past even come from those attempting to paint a more complex, even sympathetic picture.”
CAMBODIA: Cambodian women married without consent share their horror stories in court
“One such survivor is Souk (not her real name) who was married against her will to a Khmer Rouge member she had never met. Her wedding, which occurred during a mass ceremony, lasted less than five minutes.”
INDONESIA I: This man wants to remind Indonesia that food comes from the earth, not an app
“By the time Pak Is opened his own restaurant, the locals weren't laughing anymore.”
INDONESIA II: The drowning villages of Indonesia
“Just a few decades ago, thousands of families inhabited these fishing villages. Now, only a few hundred remain, because they have nowhere else to go.”
INDONESIA III: The secrets of Indonesia’s finest novelist
“Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash”, his third novel, sees the author reining in the surrealism to deliver a pulpy, visceral tale of sex, violence and comeuppance.
INDONESIA IV: Asserting sovereignty, Indonesia renames part of South China Sea
“Unveiling the new official map, the deputy of maritime sovereignty at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Arif Havas Oegroseno, noted the northern side of its exclusive economic zone was the site of oil and gas activity.”
INDONESIA V: Indonesian province may move canings away from public eye
“On caning days in Aceh, huge crowds gather to watch as convicts are publicly beaten, an event resembling a medieval spectacle. Longtime critics of public caning said they were glad to hear that the punishment might be phased out.”
LAOS I: Decades after America’s ‘secret war’, unexploded bombs still hinder development
“The correlation between UXO and underdevelopment is most visible through the prism of poverty. According to the World Bank, 16.7% of Laotians earn less than $1.90 per day, representing a higher proportion of people living below the poverty line than elsewhere in Southeast Asia.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA: How ‘khaki capitalism’ has become a way of life in Southeast Asia
“Such unmonitored khaki capital has been useful income for the underfunded Lao military.”
THAILAND I: Thailand wants more tourists who act like Australians
“Australian visitors were among the top 10 biggest spenders in terms of per capita daily expenditure last year, forking out 5,831 baht ($172), Tourism Ministry data shows.” Would love to know how they calculate that spending figure.
THAILAND II: Out of the woods: Thai 'hermits' harness web to go global
“A former bank employee, Toon is at the forefront of a growing number of 'new age hermits' to crop up in Thailand's spiritual underworld -- a densely populated scene of shamans, exorcists and astrologers.”
THAILAND III: Treasury to kick-start delayed projects
Because Bangkok needs more hotels, right?
THAILAND IV: Thailand's king given full control of crown property
“The exact size of the Crown Property Bureau is not made public, but recent estimates have run to more than $30 billion through its holdings in real estate and other investments.”
VIETNAM: Bangkok Airways zeroes in on Phu Quoc
“Bangkok Airways will operate an ATR72-600 turboprop with 70 seats for the non-stop flight from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport to the Vietnamese island.”
Travel writing
INDONESIA I: Meet Indonesia’s 7,000-strong Vespa road warriors
“Often seen as the epitome of European cool, the iconic scooter has received a post-apocalyptic makeover by ragtag gangs of rebel riders.”
INDONESIA II: Tourism ministry to promote Indonesian diving spots in China
How about protecting rather than exploiting?
INDONESIA III: How to get to Raja Ampat
THAILAND I: Rites of passage, Bangkok-style
THAILAND II: Into the mist
“Dark grey clouds take over the sky. Long white curtains of rain span over the skyline, heading closer. Sukhirin is once again blanked in the mist and rain again. But its treasures remain and await your visit.
Interesting site
Bangkok 101
A wrap on many things Bangkok. More than 101 things, in fact.
Travel shot
That’ll do. Photo: Cindy Fan
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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