Travelfish newsletter Issue 278 : Nusa Lembongan + Considered travel + running
Hi everyone,
This week we’re all about "running". We’ve got a review of Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw, and a soapbox on considered travel. More below the fold.
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The week that was
Online this week we have polished off our update of Nusa Lembongan, the little island perched off the coast of Bali. If you’re dreaming of Lembongan, a comfortable bed is the right place to start—and here is our pick.
Lembongan's tiny neighbour Nusa Ceningan is coming this week. We've also updated a raft of Bangkok sights. This means two new PDFs into the stable, one for Nusa Lembongan and another named The Temples of Bangkok. As we've continued to add depth to our coverage we've found that the PDF guides have been getting larger and larger. This means you can expect more of them, like the Bangkok one, breaking out specific information to give readers a more approachable collection of information. Don't assume these will be brief: The Bangkok temples one is still more than 50 pages long! More titles coming this week.
Even if you’re not a premium member, you’re still able to access all this information via our main public website—here are a couple of Bangkok’s temples to give you an idea of what we’re producing. Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho and Wat Saket. But if you'd like another way to support independent, informed coverage of how to travel around and what to see in Southeast Asia, we'd love for you to chip in: It costs a very reasonable A$35 per year (please note: Australian not US dollars!) for access. Find out more here
Premium Travelfish members now have access to more than 200 downloadable guides (229 to be exact) and a special deal with both roundtheworldflights.com and All Points East.
This week's soapbox is on “considered travel”: How much consideration should you put in to where you travel? We've also got a review of Tash Aw's lovely little book, Strangers on a Pier, and a film on travelling in the region.
Please forward this newsletter on to any friends, family, strangers in bars, bus drivers, som tam ladies or massage men you think might be interested to receive it.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish team
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Soapbox
Considered travel
Back in the day, pretty much the biggest “issue” travellers concerned themselves with was to agree or disagree with the tourism boycott of Burma. There was no “correct” approach—there were no legal recriminations regardless of your decision. Nevertheless plenty of ink (and it was ink back then!) was spilled in heartfelt for and against opinion pieces.
Fast forward two decades and the boycott is largely forgotten (though we’d argue many of the conditions that perhaps warranted the boycott in the first place remain). Nevertheless, considered travel in the region is more complicated than ever. We have a junta in Thailand and dictator inbound in Cambodia. There are reports of ethnic cleansing in western Burma and state-sanctioned murder in the Philippines. Human trafficking and child labour—often directly involved in businesses in the tourism industry—remain an enormous problem across the region. Age-old issues of land encroachment, people being kicked off their land and so on remain, well, age old.
And these are just some nation-state examples. Riding elephants is no longer de rigueur and the entire practice of “hilltribe" trekking is receiving a more critical eye. Travellers are encouraged to consider the environmental impacts and sustainability of what they do and to better manage their trash, and to take their business to places which do the same.
“All too hard, I just want a holiday!” it can be tempting to throw one's arms in the air and exclaim. After all, for many, reading a PhD on political freedoms and human rights abuses isn’t really on the radar as part of the holiday inspiration process. Like many things however, there is a middle ground.
When you’re planning your holiday, make the time to educate yourself, even to a rudimentary level, about what is going on where you are headed. For all the chanting about “fake news” there are still plenty of “real news” sources to avail yourself of—we link to plenty every week in this very newsletter.
Aside from the news, read some books on the country you’re travelling to. Now sure these might not be overly helpful in what is happening down the road, but they can be very helpful in explaining the context to why something is happening today. The more you read, hopefully the more nuanced view you’ll gather of the country you’re travelling in.
And with this will grow your ability for considered travel.
Good travels
Stuart
Featured
A day in Cholon
You can walk the itinerary we've got planned for you to spend a full day in Ho Chi Minh City's Cholon, but if you're a runner, go ahead and zip around in your runners instead.
What we're watching
Analog_Asia
An interesting take on travelling in—and recording—Asia. Film by Zac Turgeon.
What we're reading
Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw
Tash Aw’s beautiful personal essay examines the rich diversity of a slice of modern Asia through his own family’s immigration and educational experience. Aw was born in Taipei and raised in Malaysia, where his grandfathers had settled—in Perak and Kelantan—after emigrating from China.
Notes from the road
BURMA: Bagan
The Bagan Temple Marathon happens each November. Here's how we'd spend three or four days exploring beautiful Bagan afterwards.
CAMBODIA: Angkor Wat
Runners can choose from a few options for hitting the road around Angkor Wat—here's a starting point.
INDONESIA: Borobodur
The MesaStila challenge in Central Java takes place just 45 minutes' away from Borobodur Temple, so you can take in a tour of this stunning temple as part of your cool down in the days afterward.
ISLANDS: Bali
The Bali marathon takes place in August, which means you have a year from now to both get into shape, and a year to peruse the more than 400,000 words we seem to have written on the island of Bali—we are not exaggerating. We'd probably head to Candi Dasa, fairly close to the race route, to recover afterwards.
LAOS: Luang Prabang
The Luang Prabang Half-Marathon happens each October. Luckily, the food is very, very good, whether you're carb-loading ahead of a run, chilling out in recovery, or hey, not even vaguely interested in running at all.
MALAYSIA: Kota Kinabalu
You're spoiled for choice when it comes to things to do using Kota Kinabalu as your base after your May Kota Kinabalu marathon. Start here if you plan on staying a little longer to explore, as we suggest you do. Or skip the marathon and come anytime!
SINGAPORE: Gardens by the Bay
The Singapore marathon happens in December and is designed to show off Singapore icons along the way, including Gardens by the Bay. Thankfully, you can visit here even if you're not running.
THAILAND: Chiang Mai
The Chiang Mai marathon is on each December. Why not try this year's? We've just updated our coverage of the city, so you can hang out there recovering for a week or two, and know exactly where to stay and what to do. Start here.
VIETNAM: Ho Chi Minh City
You have about 80 days to prep for this year's marathon; or you can take as long as you like to prep for just an ordinary, run-free visit browsing through our freshly updated coverage. Start by trying a scooter tour.
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!
Flights: roundtheworldflights.com
Places to stay: Agoda, Booking
Tours and activities: TourRadar, GetYourGuide
Ground transport: 12Go Asia
Travel insurance: World Nomads
News from the region
BURMA I: The Guardian view on the slaughter in Myanmar: a crime against humanity
"The brutal, bloody, and ultimately pointless mistreatment of a Muslim minority shames Aung San Suu Kyi."
BURMA II: Desperate Rohingya flee Myanmar on trail of suffering
“There are no more villages left, none at all,” said Rashed Ahmed, a 46-year-old farmer from a hamlet in Maungdaw Township in Myanmar. He had already been walking for four days. “There are no more people left, either,” he said. “It is all gone.”
BURMA III: Explosions rock Myanmar area near Bangladesh border amid Rohingya exodus
"The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people and triggered the exodus of villagers to Bangladesh."
CAMBODIA I: Cambodia Daily announces immediate closure amid threats
"The Daily has insisted that the tax dispute is politically motivated, calling for a proper audit and good faith negotiations. Meetings between the newspaper’s management and tax officials, however, have failed to bridge the impasse. "
CAMBODIA II: Cambodia arrests opposition leader, accusing him of treason
A top official for Human Rights Watch in Asia called the arrest a “disastrous setback” for Cambodia as its long-ruling authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, consolidates power in advance of elections scheduled for next year and marked a further deterioration in its relations with the United States.
CAMBODIA III: 'Red line has been crossed' in Cambodia; Australia urged to speak up for democracy
"But critics say a $55 million deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia has largely silenced Australia's voice on democracy and human rights."
INDONESIA I: Lynched over an amplifier: Mob justice alarms Indonesians
" 'It reflects a lack of trust toward legal institutions. The police are seen as insufficiently responsive,' so villagers take matters into their own hands."
INDONESIA II: ‘Ecological disaster’: Controversial bridge puts East Kalimantan’s green commitment to the test
"While the benefits of the bridge are still on paper, its development has already caused significant environmental damages to the surrounding land and marine ecosystems."
INDONESIA III: In Indonesia, 3 Muslim girls fight for their right to play heavy metal
"They say they want to prove that they can be observant Muslims while also playing loud music and being independent."
MALAYSIA: No tourism tax for Malaysians
This tax is so dumb.
TOURISM: 'Unesco-cide': Does world heritage status do cities more harm than good?
"The daily intrusion has clearly taken a toll: windows are boarded, “no photo” signs are pervasive, and tenants quickly vanish at the sight of a foreign face."
VIETNAM I: 500 Vietnamese backpackers collect garbage on southern Vietnamese beach
"Besides cleaning up the hill, the group also put a reminder banner every kilometer to remind people to keep the area clean and protect the environment."
VIETNAM II: Foreign tourists keep flocking to Vietnam, but whether they come back is another story
"Poor promotions, unfriendly visa policy and dizzying development at the expense of natural attractions are turning visitors away."
Travel writing
CAMBODIA: In pictures: The last years of the White Building
"As the final pieces of Phnom Penh’s iconic White Building are pulled down, we look back at how our photographers have captured life in the dilapidated structure — which until recently housed almost 500 families as well as businesses, an art gallery, and a longtime community."
CAMBODIA II: End of the line for Cambodia's homegrown 'Bamboo Train'
"But the hallowed site in northwestern Battambang province will soon be no more as a government project to refurbish the country's dilapidated rail system inches closer."
INDONESIA I: Ramengvrl's guide to ramen in Jakarta
INDONESIA II: Climbing Mount Ciremai
"All the usual hiking rules applied such as no littering or setting fires in addition to one I had never come across before: don’t piss in bottles and hang them from trees."
INSURANCE: Does your credit card offer enough travel insurance?
"Answer: they are not the same. And it’s an important exercise for the rest of us, who might be thinking of skipping a travel insurance policy for an upcoming trip. Read the fine print before you make any decision."
VIETNAM I: Ha Tien: Jewel of the Mekong Delta
"Occupying a perfect position – a feng shui masterpiece of land, water, and wind – in the southwestern corner of the country, Ha Tien is the most attractive place to be in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region."
Interesting site
Elliott
US-centric, but still an interesting advocacy website for those challenging some of the situations that arise when travelling. Run by consumer advocate and journalist Christopher Elliott.
Travel shot
Meet Nusa Lembongan. 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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