Travelfish #438: Gimme your best Italian
Don’t believe everything you read online
Hi all,
This week—on time … just!
This week’s read of the week is a great piece on paying attention when out for a good meal. I won’t spoil it, just read it—please.
Other bits I particularly enjoyed this week include the BBC video on Cambodia, a detailed look at some issues that may be holding back the full potential of Balinese coffee, and a piece on eating Penang—there’ll be something similar on Couchfish in the next few days!
The Singapore geometry story is amazing, and I can’t believe I’ve added a story about that bloody waterfall at Changi. In Thailand, the puppet story is a good read, while in Vietnam I loved the photos of the Cham people celebrating Ramadan—what a beautiful part of the country. The top read in Random Other Stuff is a thought-provoking video—well worth your time—and I’d love to see a Southeast Asia version of it.
The photos this week, are from West Bali, where I’ve been spending some time on something … more details on that … sometime in the future.
Cheers
Stuart
West Bali 1
What is rural Bali without a plastic bag? Photo: Stuart McDonald
Vaccinations snapshot
The following chart is per capita—not total numbers. The dark green bar is the one that matters—it represents the percentage of the eligible population that are fully vaccinated. You can see a full-size and interactive version of the chart here.
Source: Our World in Data
Travel summary
So where is open and where is closed? This chart by Hannah Pearson at Pear Anderson summarises the state of play in the region as of Sunday, May 15, 2022. If you’re after a detailed weekly report on the region, Hannah’s report is the absolute business. To receive Hannah’s report in your email mailbox every Sunday you can sign up here (it is free!). This is my go-to report for where things are at in the region. If you have any queries or suggestions about how the chart could be improved, please drop her a line via the Pear Anderson website here.
Source: The Impact of Covid-19 on the Southeast Asian Tourism Industry (PDF)
⭐️ Story of the week
Google: “Best Italian Food Italy” from The Reflection Point
🇲🇲 Burma
Environment Ignored as Myanmar Struggles With Coup from The Third Pole
Hungry and Homeless: IDPs in Rakhine Just Want to Go Home from Frontier Myanmar ($)
Chronicle of a Coup: June 24, 26 & 27, 2021 from Tea Circle
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Cambodia Returning the Gods from BBC (Video)
Biologists Buoyed by Discovery of 4-metre Endangered Stingray in Cambodia from Reuters
Sihanoukville Pays the Price for Heavy Reliance on Chinese from Bangkok Post
The Friday Wives: How a Quiet Picket Grew to Push for Change in Cambodia from The Guardian
Roar on the River: A Torrent of Sand Shores Up City’s Rise from VOD
Forestry Official Says Phnom Tamao ‘Out of His Hands’ from VOD
Recycling the Remnants of War from SEA Globe ($)
🌴 Environment
Sustainability and Security Concerns Feed Southeast Asia’s Rice Conundrum from SEA Globe ($)
🇮🇩 Indonesia
How Bali’s Bars Defied the Pandemic from Epicure
The Macbethian Tragedy of Indonesian Democracy from New Mandala
Balinese Coffee: Where to From Here from Oil Slick Coffee
🇱🇦 Laos
Laos Sees Over 2,000 Visitors After Full Reopening from The Laotian Times
New Expressway to Link Hua Phan Province With Vietnam from The Laotian Times
Laos Reopens to International Tourists, With Jason Rolan from The South East Asia Travel Show
Lao Economy Grinding to a Halt as Fuel Crisis Deepens from The Diplomat
🇲🇾 Malaysia
An Indulgent Weekend in Penang: 3 Days in George Town, Malaysia from Thai Spicy
So how do you compare different travel insurance companies? Read a comparison of Insured Nomads, SafetyWing and World Nomads here.
🇸🇬 Singapore
The Geometric Beauty of Singapore’s Social Housing Tables – in Pictures from The Guardian
Self-radicalised Singaporean, 29, Detained Under ISA, Had Wanted to Take Up Arms Abroad from The Straits Times
When You Reduce the Malay Community to a Caricature, Progress Ceases from Rice Media
An Anthropological Investigation of Jewel Changi from Rice Media
🇹🇭 Thailand
It’s Not All Full Moon Parties on Thailand’s Koh Phangan from The South China Morning Post ($)
So Close Yet Worlds Apart from Bangkok Post
Life in the Shadows from Tales of the Orient
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Only Over 3% of Children Can Swim in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province from Tuoi Tre News
“It’s Nhậu or Never, Come Eat and Drink With Me...” from A Story From Connla
How Châu Đốc's Chăm Muslim Community Celebrates Ramadan from Saigoneer
Vietnam’s Whale Worshippers from Aljazeera
Random other stuff
Out of the West from Copper Views (Video)
What Our Writers Read, Watched and Listened to Before Their Big Trips from The New York Times ($)
Is the Vibe Right? Check First Through Google Maps from The Times ($)
Witch Panics Killed Thousands Throughout History from National Geographic
Rethinking Self-censorship in Southeast Asia’s Media Landscape from New Mandala
Finding Utopias Where We Can: On Hopeful Living as Resistance from LitHub
Couchfish (Free-to-read)
Couchfish (Paid subscribers only)
West Bali 2
What is seaside Bali without a doggo? Photo: Stuart McDonald
See you next week!
So that’s the wrap. I hope you are all in good health and weathering Covid19 as well as possible.
See you next week,
Stuart