Travelfish newsletter Issue 328 : Krabi + is Southeast Asia safe?
Hi all,
This week we have new coverage on the site for Krabi in southern Thailand—you know what we are going to say, slow down and stay another day! See our Krabi section to learn why.
As you may recall, in response to the disaster in Palu we put a call out for donations, offering complimentary Travelfish membership in return. The response has taken our breath away, with more than A$4,600 donated to various organisations, listed on Erin Cook’s page. Thank you to everyone who contributed.
If you missed last week’s newsletter and have no idea what I am talking about, here is the skinny:
“We have plenty of news stories on what is happening in Sulawesi down below, but first, a quick note on how you can help. Journalist Erin Cook is offering a free subscription to her weekly newsletter “Dari Mulut ke Mulut” (a must-read if you have an interest in the region) to anyone who donates at least A$20 to an organisation working to assist in Sulawesi. We chatted with Erin and are now matching her offer. Send us a copy of a receipt for any donation of over $20 you made to one of the organisations Erin has listed and we’ll comp you an annual Travelfish membership. If you’re already a member, we’ll give you another year. ”
The list of organisations is here.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew
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Soapbox
Is Southeast Asia unsafe?
A few weeks ago I received feedback from a reader who voiced concern that our news wraps from Southeast Asia were so negative it was making them reconsider their trip. At the time I was in Hue in Vietnam, having a ball and replied saying well, it isn’t all bad news!
But it left me wondering. Is the situation in the region that much worse than it was, say, 20 years ago? Or is it just that thanks to the internet, social networks and the Travelfish newsletter (!) that it's easier to be informed of all the problems Southeast Asia suffers from?
Looking at it from a tourist horror-story perspective, there are a tonne more tourists in Southeast Asia now than there was a few decades ago. In 1990, Southeast Asia saw 21.2 million inbound international tourists; fast forward to 2016 and the figure grows to 113.2 million. That means a lot more people might have a misadventure of some sort.
Also, back in 1990, Facebook and Twitter didn't exist to let you know when some tragedy had befallen a traveller to whom you had no personal connection. Compare that to today, where news of traveller misadventures spreads faster than the flooding Tonle Sap.
Despite the incredible growth in tourism, you’re still most likely to encounter trouble in ways that are largely preventable: getting on a motorcycle without a helmet, ignoring flags warning about unsafe seas or drinking to excess then doing something you wouldn’t do sober, for example.
Of course, there are horrific tragedies. The murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Ko Tao in 2014, along with a series of dubiously investigated deaths more recently on the island come to mind, but sadly this isn't a new thing. Recall the murder of Johanne Masheder in Kanchanaburi in 1996, Kirsty Jones in Chiang Mai in 2000, Kelvin Bourke in Fang in 2002, Adam Lloyd and Vanessa Arscott in Kanchanaburi in 2004. And that's just a single decade in Thailand—and the ones I can remember off the top of my head.
For every tragedy like this, a bunch more people are dead or maimed for life after motorbike accidents. Wear a helmet, people and don’t drink and ride!
By and large, Southeast Asia remains a particularly safe place to travel as a typical tourist. Use your head—and protect it—and you’ll most likely live to tell the tale.
Good travels,
Stuart
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Featured
Meet Krabi
One of southern Thailand’s primary tourist and traveller hubs, at first glance it is easy to see Krabi town as little more than a pretty comfortable transport hub connecting the Thai mainland with a bevy of southwest coast islands, but hold your horses (you knew we were going to say that), slow down, and you’ll find Krabi has far more to offer than easy transport from the airport or bus station to a ferry pier.
The view from Wat Tham Sua. Photo: David Luekens
For starters, as with its sister citer over on the east coast (Surat Thani), Krabi offers up some gobsmackingly terrific Thai food. We’re not talking about restaurant fare so much (although there are some great Thai restaurants as well) but rather the food markets. Heavingly spicy, set the mouth of fire southern Thai curries, vast arrays of desserts, pungent salads, and it all comes onto a plate for bargain basement prices.
Moving on from food, what was once a old school backpacker guesthouse cum flophouse scene, Krabi has grown up and while the backpacker stalwarts remain, there are no shortage of comfortable, modern digs ideal for both flashpackers and family travellers—and the prices represent excellent value.
Relaxing at Than Bok Khorani. Photo: David Luekens
So you’re fed and you’re in bed, what comes next? Well for starters you need to book yourself about three more nights and start exploring. You have natural attractions to the north (Khao Phanom Bencha National Park), northwest (Than Bok Khorani National Park and Tha Pom Khlong Song Nam) and southeast (Emerald Pool and Khlong Thom hot springs) and that is before we even start looking at what lies out in the Gulf of Phuket. There is also Wat Tham Seua (often referred to as the Tiger Cave Temple) which delivers spectacular views, though you will need to earn those views.
Some of the islands, notably Ko Lanta, Ko Jum, Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai and, of course, Ko Phi Phi, lend themselves to overnight (or longer) stays, but some of the closer islands, like Ko Hong and/or Ko Poda make for very popular day trips from Krabi town.
The pools are popular with locals and foreigners alike. Photo: David Luekens
Sometimes people are undecided—should I stay in Krabi, which doesn’t have a beach of its own, or head out to Ao Nang, which does. The latter is very heavily touristed, and our advice would be to forgo the beachside setting and let yourself enjoy a little more of what the mainland has to offer—better beaches will come soon enough.
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News from the region
BURMA I: Dozens injured in crackdown on Myanmar garment worker protest
“Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the sector could soon be at risk as the European Union considers whether to reinstate economic sanctions over the Rohingya crisis, potentially stripping the country of tariff-free access to the trading bloc.”
BURMA II: A genocide incited on Facebook, with posts from Myanmar’s military
“So secretive were the operations that all but top leaders had to check their phones at the door.”
CAMBODIA I: Chinese influx brings trash, high prices to Cambodia’s Sihanoukville
“Traffic police now try mainly to stop Chinese nationals who break the traffic laws, because they will get more money from the Chinese than from Cambodians, Muong Son said.” That sounds totally normal for Sihanoukville!
CAMBODIA II: Leaked Cambodia memo shows Hun Sen tightening grip on dissent
“Meanwhile, leading members of civil society groups this week told the Nikkei Asian Review about widespread surveillance and intimidation tactics being used against people the authorities see as political critics.”
CAMBODIA III: Almost forgotten: Cambodia’s anti-colonial nationalists
“It is very important to acknowledge the effort of those Cambodian nationalists… but our people ignore that because they were against the monarch. I’m afraid one day their names will vanish from the people’s memories.”
INDONESIA I: The transcendent bissu
“The Bugis people thought that when a being became a woman or a man, that being could no longer communicate with the gods. Men and women were in some sense cut off from the gods that made them. But the gods had a means of communicating with humans: the bissu. ”
INDONESIA II: Indonesia’s help sought again on saving Sumatran rhinos
“Liew said a breeding programme, which had been discussed and much talked about since the previous government, was vital for the species’ survival in Sabah.”
INDONESIA III: Jokowi’s authoritarian turn
“By turning the institutions of security and law enforcement against democratic opposition, the Jokowi administration has overseen a blurring of the lines between the interests of the state and those of the government. ”
INDONESIA IV: Indonesia’s indigenous languages hold the secrets of surviving disaster
“Incorporating indigenous knowledge into education systems may be one path forward for disaster warning in Indonesia and elsewhere, said Arif, calling for disaster education, including local wisdom, to be compulsory in schools. ”
INDONESIA V: Indonesia’s deadly disaster sparks political blame game
“Among the development community and internationally, however, Widodo’s credibility has taken a large hit. While his ability to look genuinely presidential among the ruins of Central Sulawesi plays well with voters, it rings hollow after a regulation issued by the disaster mitigation agency (BNBP) demanded foreign aid workers leave the area.”
THAILAND I: Thailand set to legalise same-sex unions
“This appears to be changing, however, as the junta aims to prepare a bill that would effectively recognise same-sex unions by the end of this year.”
THAILAND II: No name, no rights: the long road to Thai citizenship
“Stateless people include indigenous hill dwellers and children of migrants who were born in Thailand. They have limited work options and are barred from voting, travelling outside their province, and from buying land.”
THAILAND III: Similans re-open with tight new restrictions
Yeah except according to this tweet the new “strict limit” is almost double previous levels.
VIETNAM I: My Huong thought she’d finally found her mother. She was wrong
“Reunited with her mother, My Huong began a new life with her family. But with one text message, 14 years later, she would discover it was all a lie.”
VIETNAM II: The peddler girl from Sa Pa who made it big
“There was once a time when she was just a dirty peddler on the street and a foreign couple let her into their hotel room to clean up and then join them to eat in a restaurant. A meal in a restaurant was something a poor H’Mong girl could not dream of.”
Travel writing
BURMA: Yangon’s rich diversity in seven delicious dishes
“But most Yangoners love a good curry served on a thali platter — usually a meat curry served with potato curry, daal and various chutneys and pickles accompanied by poori, dosa, roti or rice.”
CAMBODIA: The crime fiction of Phnom Penh
“And, it seems just lately, that Cambodian-set noirs are like buses—you wait around for ages and then several come at once.”
INDONESIA I: Travelling after the disaster of Palu
“All the beautiful places along the South-North-Route of Sulawesi were not effected by the disaster of Palu. The beautiful archipelago of Togian Islands, the area of lake Poso and the small town of Tentena, the North and the South are safe and did not get any affect of the earthquake nor the Tsunami.”
INDONESIA II: Indonesia home to 252 satay varieties
Please let us know when you have tried them all.
INDONESIA III: The tiny Indonesian village where dancing is a social currency
“A bad name is hard to shake off, but this slice of green hills and jagged peaks has been conflict-free and perfectly safe to visit since 2012. Wedged between the Gulf of Tomini and the unspoilt, rainforest-clad Togian Islands to the north, it’s an ideal point to break up the journey south to Tanah Toraja and its gory funeral rites, Sulawesi’s most famous attraction.”
MALAYSIA: Gunung Bagging looks to Malaysia
“There is very little information at the moment on a few of the lesser-known peaks here, so it is hoped that this list will provide some incentive for Malaysian hikers to explore new areas.”
OVERTOURISM: Queuing times cut from hours to minutes with new system
An interesting approach from Europe.
SINGAPORE: Keeping Pulau Ubin alive
“For Dr Chua Ai Lin, 44, executive director of the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS), the key to protecting what is Singapore's last remaining offshore island community is to keep it going as a living kampung.”
THAILAND: Northern Thailand food: 9 dishes every visitor needs to try
“You won't find coconut milk or curry spice in this obscure albeit toothsome rice noodle soup, the star of which is a dollop of paste formed from minced pork belly, fermented soybeans and dried chilies simmered in pork fat.”
TRAVEL: How smart airports are improving the flying experience
“At the other end of the flight lies another big travel gripe: waiting next to the luggage belt, not knowing whether your bag will actually appear. ”
TRAVEL II: Why the world’s flight paths are such a mess
“Pilots cannot just fly wherever they want. Apart from technical and practical matters like waypoints and the Earth’s natural jet streams, there are also man-made constraints such as political, legal and financial restrictions on airspace and flight paths.”
VIETNAM: Go fishing on land in Vietnam’s northern highlands
“In Ban Luoc Commune, many families engage in carp catching as a tourism attraction during the harvesting season.”
VIETNAM II: The Cafe Apartment at No.14 Ton That Dam, Saigon
Interesting site
Asia Uncovered
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Travel shot
Sunset at Nopphara Thara. Photo: David Luekens
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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