Travelfish newsletter Issue 290 : How about a bit of respect? + Salt!
Hi everyone,
This week’s theme is “salt”, in part because Stuart has been eating so much of it in delicious Kuala Lumpur the last week. We’ve got a new review of the beautiful Sugarbread, by Balli Kaur Jaswal. More below the fold.
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The week that was
This week David is in Hanoi on a brief break before heading back to complete our full update of Thailand's Ko Chang; Stuart is still in KL as he hasn’t quite eaten everything yet; Sally is busy writing up her West Java research and Mark is back in Cambodia. New on the site, we have some of Kuala Lumpur’s sights and attractions, which Stuart is adding as he goes. His favourite so far, undeniably, the beautiful Islamic Arts Museum.
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Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish team
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Soapbox
How about a bit of respect?
I’m in Kuala Lumpur at the moment, trying to, well, eat everything, as part of my updating our coverage on Kuala Lumpur. At this stage it is looking like around a five-kilo trip. All that damn lard, I tell ya.
Anyway, KL has some excellent points of interest, so I’ve been trying to work off the lard walking from sight to sight—take my word for it, KL is not a city designed with pedestrians in mind! Aside from excellent museums and some great green spaces, KL also has some temples and mosques that are well worth a visit. Sadly, it never fails to amaze me what tourists deem to be appropriate wear for a visit to a religious site.
Okay, the Chinese temples can be pretty freewheeling, but the Hindu temples and particularly the mosques can be quite conservative when it comes to what they expect casual visitors to wear. In an apparent nod to the absent-mindedness of some tourists, at both the National Mosque and Jamek Mosque friendly staffers will help the semi-dressed into brightly coloured hooded robes (red at Jamek and purple at the National), free of charge.
But really, is it that hard for people to understand that wearing a bikini top or a tank-top and board shorts are not appropriate wear at a religious site?
No, it isn’t all that hard. Which leaves me to think that some people just don’t care. So the question begs, if you can’t be bothered to dress with a modicum of respect before entering a Muslim mosque, a Tamil temple, or (and this is a major issue in Thailand) a Buddhist wat, then perhaps just don’t go?
Good travels
Stuart
Featured
Don Hoi Lot
When it comes to locally produced food, tiny Samut Songkhram punches far above its weight. The province’s inland reaches are studded with fruit and veggie farms, and the coast churns out a bounty of fresh seafood and related products like salt, fish sauce and shrimp paste. For a taste of all of the above and more, head down to Don Hoi Lot.
What we’re reading
Sugarbread by Balli Kaur Jaswal
At its heart, the lovely novel Sugarbread is the story of Pin, her mother and grandmother, secrets and inter-generational cultural change.
Notes from the road
BURMA: Eating in Burma
The most famous salad in Burma and probably the country's second signature dish (after mohinga) is laphet thoke (green tea leaf salad). Tea leaves pickled by oil, garlic, salt and chilli (optional) are consumed together with fried beans, peanuts, garlic, sesame seeds and dried shrimp.
CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh food tour
A bag of pork scratchings miraculously appeared for us to snack on as we headed back through the market, stopping at a stall to try green mango with a classic dipping mix of salt, sugar, chillies and dried shrimp.
INDONESIA: Katewel, Sumba
Katewel (Katewela) is a tiny coastal Bugis settlement on the north coast of West Sumba, built around a muddy, mangrove-filled, crocodile-infested estuary. The beach here isn’t much, and you can’t swim (did we mention the crocodiles?), but Katewel is worth a visit to see the traditional salt making.
ISLANDS: Kusamba salt making
Along the dry east coast of Bali, traditional salt panners spend their days labouring in the hot sun to produce some of the tastiest sea salt you’ll find.
LAOS: Tamarind Cooking School
My larp lacked salt and a pinch was all that was needed to bring out the glorious fragrance of my herb-infused minced pork.
MALAYSIA: Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu’s laksa hotspot Kedai Kopi Yee Fung is always busy and great for people watching. The Sabah-style laksa (medium/large for 7/8 ringgit) is pretty mild in spiciness, however the coconut milk sauce is creamy and well balanced. It comes with shredded chicken and thinly slices prawns, tender and delicious. Squeeze in some fresh lime to boost the taste. Ice lemon kitchai (kalamansi lime with salted plum) is a refreshing accompanying drink.
SINGAPORE: Pulau Semakau
You might expect an island made from burnt garbage to be stinky and dirty, but Pulau Semakau is scenic and the only smell is the salty sea air.
THAILAND: Day trip to Baan Laem and Bang Tabun
A day trip from Phetchaburi to the coastal towns of Baan Laem and Bang Tabun reveals old-style Central Thai scenes of salt farms, rice paddies, riverside temples and crab-fishing huts dotting the ocean to the horizon and beyond.
VIETNAM: Hoi An to Lang Co
Also try the stir-fried morning glory, whole fish steamed, squid (dip them in a slurry of salt, pepper and lime juice) and when fresh, the salt-chilli fried prawns.
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Tours and activities: TourRadar, GetYourGuide
Ground transport: 12Go Asia
Travel insurance: World Nomads
News from the region
BURMA I: Myanmar army accused of targeting Rohingya children
“A nine-year-old girl has told Al Jazeera how she survived being shot three times as she crossed into Bangladesh, after Myanmar soldiers shot and killed both her parents.”
BURMA II: Status of Irrawaddy dolphin raised to ‘endangered’
“Between 2002 and 2016, 42 dolphins were found dead in Myanmar, 29 of them in the Irrawaddy Dolphin Protected Area (ADPA). Established in December 2005, the ADPA is the first national aquatic protected area to be so designated by the Department of Fisheries in Myanmar.”
INDONESIA I: Bali’s rumbling volcano leaves tourist industry gasping for air
“But now, Ubud’s hotels and shops have few customers and the streets are uncharacteristically devoid of traffic. Tour buses, typically ubiquitous, have vanished.”
INDONESIA II: In Indonesia, women begin to fight ‘epidemic’ of street harassment
““I feel street harassment has been normalized within our society,” said Anindya Restuviani, coordinator of Feminist Festival Indonesia, which organizes events on women’s issues, including harassment.”
SOUTHEAST ASIA: Eluding censors, a magazine covers Southeast Asia’s literary scene
“Mekong Review is unique in part because it serves as a bridge between the academic world and Southeast Asia’s literary scene, said Judith Henchy, the head of the Southeast Asia section at the University of Washington Libraries in Seattle. “It’s an attempt at a kind of regional cosmopolitan voice,” she added.” We’re subscribers!
THAILAND I: How stable is post-cremation Thailand?
“The dismissal has raised questions about how far the new reign will go in ferreting out old royalists who have used the monarchy’s name for personal enrichment or influence-peddling.”
THAILAND II: Michelin guide leaves sour taste
“What was more surprising to me was the fact that only seven out of the 17 establishments that won a star were serving Thai food. Five restaurants, including one that won two stars, serve French cuisine.. As a fan of Thai food, that was one of the biggest disappointments.”
VIETNAM I: Bomb disposal experts destroy 4m US missile found in Hanoi river
“Across Vietnam, unexploded ordnance still threatens a fifth of the country’s land mass decades after the Vietnam War ended. Explosions occur frequently, killing more than 1,500 people every year and maiming and injuring 2,200 more, according to official data.”
VIETNAM II: The man who shot Vietnam
“Faas’s assignment to Vietnam was a logical choice, according to Tim Page, another fearless Vietnam War photographer. In 1960 he was in Congo, where he took some of the last images of the independence leader Patrice Lumumba. “There is no school for conflict,” Page said, “only the experience. You can do it or not. Horst could.””
Travel writing
BOOKS: 13 of our favorite travel reads from 2017
“From a meditation on the Caribbean’s future after the hurricanes to an exploration of the haunted side of Bangkok, here are some of our favorite Travel articles from the past year.”
BURMA I: Under a spray of Myanmar stars, my world felt properly foreign
“If anything the mountains there reminded me of the sea – wave upon waves of mountains, up and down. Riding through them on the motorbike felt like being out of the back behind a set of waves, on a surfboard, being gently risen and dropped by some natural force.”
BURMA II: Should we boycott Myanmar tourism?
Kind of misses the point that many “regular people” in Burma today support what is happening in the west.
INDONESIA: Agung Volcano, Bali – December 2017
VIETNAM: Saigon's coworking movement and the rise of the city's creative class
“Two of their most important criteria for a coworking space are a quiet atmosphere and an aesthetically stimulating interior, says Nguyen. However, these factors don’t have to be divisive.”
Interesting site
Fried chillies
Travel shot
Astronomy and astrology. 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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