Travelfish newsletter Issue 329 : Railay + An ode to Hanoians (also, don’t break an ankle)
Hi all,
This week we have new coverage on the site for Railay Beach in southern Thailand. We had planned to have more online, but we’re running a bit behind schedule. Please see the Soapbox below to learn why.
Good travels,
Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew
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Soapbox
An ode to Hanoians (also, don’t break an ankle)
It was late in the afternoon, the day before my trip to Vietnam for a planned two-week motorbike trip, and I was riding my mountain bike home having just purchased a full face helmet for the trip.
Racing around a corner, I smashed into two Indonesian tourists who were crossing the road, all three of us were knocked to the ground, but thankfully save what seemed to be a few cuts and bruises, we were all ok. Smiles and apologies all round, we made our respective ways off.
My ankle was sore and I assumed I’d sprained it. I did the last of my pre trip packing (including buying my travel insurance) and called it a day. The next morning, groggy at a 4am wake-up for the flight, my foot was real sore, but I figured I’d just cram it in the boot and get some anti-inflammatories when I got to Hanoi.
Some two flights later I got to my hotel, took my boot off, and the foot sure as hell didn’t look nor feel too good. At the prompting of the chemist (who thought I had gout) and a friend who is an emergency nurse I went to hospital the next morning to get it looked it.
The ankle wasn’t sprained. It was fractured. Major bummer. In a cast for two weeks and on crutches for eight. When I asked the doctor if I could still ride a motorbike, he laughed. He laughed hard.
Because the accident happened in Indonesia (where I live) my travel insurance doesn’t cover it, and my private insurance has a very high excess, so that was a non-starter also. With a flatbed business class ticket coming in at about $1,000 one way to get home, it was cheaper to set up camp in a hotel in Hanoi and wait till the cast is off. So that’s what I’ve done.
While I love Hanoi, to be honest it is not a city best seen on crutches. On my second day on crutches I was knocked down by a laundry laden motorbike, and the next day the cast broke, meaning I needed to go back to the hospital to get a new one.
Happy days.
But, there’s always a silver lining to experiences like this, and in this case it was the Vietnamese people. For every step of my unexpected sojourn in Hanoi there has been a local stepping forward to help me across the road or offer me a seat to rest. The friend who dispatched a mate to help me out for hospital visit one. The man volunteering to leave his family in the hospital waiting room and guide me through the complicated processes for getting the cast redone. Or the hotelier who suggested I cancel my reservation and go stay at his home so his wife could cook be real Vietnamese food. Or the staff downstairs who are forever offering to go get me food and drinks. I could go on. It’s been truly humbling, the Vietnamese people have been, without fail, helpful and caring every limp and hop of my travels.
And while I’m really bummed at being bed-bound instead of on a motorbike in the mountains, this experience alone has made the trip worthwhile, just in a different way to what I expected. And anyways, the mountains will be there when I return.
Good travels,
Stuart
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Featured
Meet Railay Beach
Generally for somewhere to only be approachable be boat it needs to be an island. Not in the case of Thailand’s Railay Peninsula, sticking into the water like a hitchhiker’s thumb, wrapped in some delicious beaches and some of the best climbing not just in Thailand, but the world.
Have a float. Photo: David Luekens
And yes, excepting a parachute assault, the only way there is by boat.
For years this isolation kept development tapped down and while things have grown considerably and there are some uber luxurious places to stay, the area retains a boho hippy meet travelling family vibe, with plenty of places to stay and no shortage of activities.
Evening lightshow. Photo: David Luekens
Indeed for many first time visitors, they stumble across on a day trip from Ao Nang, returning only to grab their bags and move over to Railay to stay. This isn’t the most affordable of Thailand’s beachside locales, but it is certainly one of the most stunning. While some of the midrange digs are of seriously debatable value, there are some crackers, both for lovers with money or those who need little more than a swinging hammock and a green outlook.
Vast limestone cliffs tower above most of the beaches, beckoning climbers from around the world who clamour up the faces to enjoy vistas over the surrounds—views which still (and most likewise will always) belong to only those who can make the climb. And while many of the climbing routes are indeed for the more advanced practitioner, there are also plenty of schools where you can indulge your inner Spiderman for the first time.
Phra Nang can be pretty. Photo: David Luekens
Off the cliffs and in the water, the four main beaches which ring Railay range from mediocre to utterly sublime, but all are approachable on foot (tides allowing) meaning you can spend days here wandering from one beach to another. Tire of the beach, then hop on a boat for an island tour to some of the surrounding offerings, or grab a kayak and go solo to see what you can find. Be sure to pull up at Phra Nang cave shrine beforehand to make an offering for smooth going on the waters.
So if you’re in a rush you might find yourself here on a daytrip from more popular Krabi town or Ao Nang, but Railay deserves a night or three—if you can swing it.
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News from the region
BURMA I: Militia groups in Muse: Swagger and impunity
“That cooperation does not seem to be forthcoming. Asked why the authorities allowed illegal activities to take place in downtown Muse, he said they were unable to enforce the law because the land plots used for casinos and brothels are under the control of militia groups. Further complicating matters is the fact that the militias are part of the Tatmadaw, and appear to carry out illegal activities with its tacit approval.”
CAMBODIA I: Low-cost sonar kits are helping Cambodian villages prepare for floods
“Tepmachcha — it’s the Khmer name for the fish form taken by the Hindu god Vishnu to warn of a flood — is an example of how global technology manufacturing can be used to solve incredibly local problems.”
CAMBODIA II: Cambodia’s high-rises, slavery and climate change
“Although illegal under domestic law and the international treaties Cambodia is a signatory to, tens of thousands of debt-bonded families, the report says, "extract, mould, and fire clay in hazardous conditions".”
CAMBODIA III: China brings casino boom to Cambodian town – but doom to local businesses?
“Hundreds of family-owned businesses have put up the shutters in the past year. Many were evicted because the landlords preferred to lease properties to Chinese businessmen, who can afford to pay up to five times more.”
INDONESIA I: Between dreams and anxiety
“In 2017, some 11,000 school children failed to take their national exams because they were married—80% of them were girls.”
INDONESIA II: Bali beauty pageant signals renewed anti-LGBT crackdown
“Lini Zurlia, an Indonesian queer activist who works for the regional LGBT organization ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, said this was not first LGBT event to be canceled in Bali. Many public events for the Straits Games, a sports event for the gay community from across Asia, were canceled last year after pressure from certain quarters, she said.”
INDONESIA III: Why Indonesia is right to limit NGOs post-disaster
“To those who are trying to frame this as foolhardy, or a political decision due to upcoming elections, issues of sovereignty, or a move to protect Indonesia’s apparently fragile sense of nationalism, there is a real need to take a step back.”
LAOS: SK E&C’s attempts to cut costs led to design changes that resulted in collapse of dam in Laos
“The document acquired by Kim made reference to cutting US$19 million in construction costs through alterations to the dam’s format and materials and adjustments to its slope, as well as delaying the scheduled April 2013 start of construction to pressure other investors into covering financial costs and secure an advantage in negotiations on incentive bonuses for completion ahead of schedule.”
MALAYSIA: After landslide, activist loses faith with Penang’s ‘sleeping’ authorities
“Meenakshi said despite pledges of “super strict” enforcement promised by the state over the planned 70km of elevated roads around the island, today’s landslide showed it was simply not capable.”
THAILAND I: BMA to give Khao San vendors footpath access from 6pm to midnight
“The decision to allow some vendors to remain on the footpaths was partly to promote tourism and stimulate the economy, Deputy Bangkok Governor Sakoltee Phattiyaku said on Wednesday.”
THAILAND II: Thailand immigrant crackdown eyes ‘dark-skinned people’
“But rights groups warn that refugees and asylum seekers who transit through Bangkok en route to a third country for resettlement are also being ensnared in the latest police operation as they lack legal protections.”
VIETNAM: Residents living inside Hue Imperial City to be relocated next year
“4,200 households with approximately 20,000 residents currently living inside Hue Imperial City will be relocated starting from 2019 as part of the preservation and renovation project of the historic site. Most of the residents are working class and blue-collar workers who have been living in makeshift houses and poor conditions for 50 to 70 years.”
Travel writing
BAD HOTELS: 23 hotel design fails that need to go down in history
The author of this piece needs to come work for us, as we’ve seen far worser than these ;-)
BREAKFAST: Breakfast has resisted globalisation, until now
“Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dress and location, outside Tiffany’s, might be unconventional, but approach to breakfast – an early morning pastry, eaten alone and on the go – is thoroughly common.”
BURMA: A journey down Myanmar’s Chindwin River
“The river is usually the main mode of transport for local communities to travel and move goods to other parts of Myanmar, particularly in the rainy season when heavy rains wash away dirt roads.”
CULTURE: Stop stigmatizing cultural appropriation
“That’s a little clunky, but it does capture something important. Culture is something humans acquire. It is not a concrete endowment of our biology.”
ENVIRONMENT: Why Southeast Asia and Australia’s coral reefs became so rich in species
‘ “People say the Caribbean is a garden, whereas the Central Indo-Pacific is a jungle,” said John Wiens, a professor at the University of Arizona.’
SINGAPORE: Unexpected wildlife haven
“The legend is that the last wild tiger on the island was shot under the billiards room at the Raffles Hotel in 1902.” Oh Singapore.
THAILAND: Dark snaps
“Made infamous by David Lean’s 1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and more recently The Railway Man, the railway has become a byword for war crimes. But many Thai visitors remain unaware of the true story behind its construction.”
TRAVEL: Six random insights from Henry Rollins’ 2018 Travel Slideshow
“If you have a list of things you want to do, destinations — Tokyo, Paris, Budapest, Istanbul — just get it done. Get your passport, get the stamps in there, and go.”
Interesting site
North Vietnam
Looks like an interesting and independent travel website for travel in northern Vietnam.
Travel shot
Railay parking lot. 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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