Travelfish #442: The River of Kings ...
... has a trash problem.
Hi all,
This week, I’m leading with an interesting read on the challenges of waste on Thailand’s Chao Phraya River. The photos this week are on topic, though you can’t see the trash.
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It was a quiet week on Couchfish, due to my needing to finish a university assignment. Just the one new post. Back on track this week.
Cheers
Stuart
River cruising
Cruising upriver on the Chao Phraya. 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 is 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, June 19, 2022. To receive Hannah’s report in your email mailbox every Sunday you can sign up here (it is free!)
Source: The Impact of Covid-19 on the Southeast Asian Tourism Industry (PDF)
⭐️ Story of the week
Following the Waste That’s Choking the Chao Phraya from The Third Pole
🇲🇲 Burma
“I Had to Cut Off the Head, Bro” from RFA (Content Warning: Violence/Death/Torture)
“Nothing Called Freedom” from Human Rights Watch
Resistance Forces Reject Junta’s Call to Surrender from Myanmar Now
Myanmar’s Junta ‘Block or Censor’ Everything, Journalists Say from VOA
Myanmar Is Open, but Is It Safe to Visit? from Travel Weekly Asia
🇰🇭 Cambodia
For Cambodian Women, Equality Starts in the Home from The Diplomat
Unique Slab Found in Angkor Thom from Khmer Times
Cambodia Risks 'Consequences' if China Uses Naval Base from NikkeiAsia
Solving Cambodia’s Waste Sorting Issues from Cambodianess
Debt and Land Degradation: Lake Farmers’ Plight from Cambodianess
Family to Retrace Brother's Sailing Journey to Cambodia Before His Murder by Khmer Rouge from ABC
Meeting Mendeleev from Mekong Review
Soldiers Rip Up Community’s ‘Forest of Loving Kindness’ from VOA
🌴 Environment
Can Carbon Markets Help Tackle Climate Change? from The Third Pole
Land Grabs and Conservation Propaganda from Africa Is A Country
‘Fortress Conservation’ Violently Displaces Indigenous People from Grist
Climate Denial’s Racist Roots from Atmos
How Will Climate Change Impact Cold-water Corals? Mostly Through Food Loss, Study Says from MongaBay
For Happy the Elephant, Personhood Is Yet Another Cage from CounterPunch
The Lunar Sea from Hakai (2017)
Burning Planet: Why Are the World’s Heatwaves Getting More Intense? from The Guardian
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Overrun by Hotels, Resorts, Bars, Bali’s New Travel Hotspots Fall One by One to Uncontrolled Development on West Coast from SCMP ($)
Editorial: LNG Terminal in South Bali from Bali Discovery
SDGs in North Sumatra: Climate Action, Peace, Justice, and Institutions from New Mandala
🇱🇦 Laos
Mekong River Commission Unveils Technology to Monitor River's Water Quality and Fish Migration from The Star
Domestic Tourists in Laos Lured Away by Renewed International Travel from The Laotian Times
Laos-China Railway – A Review of the Vientiane to Boten Train from Nomadic Notes
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Vehicles Outnumber People in Malaysia from New Straits Times
Mandatory Death Penalty to Be Abolished from Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia’s ‘Mystery Hybrid Monkey’ Could Be Result of Habitat Loss from The Guardian
Ad: Looking for an affordable travel insurance policy? Consider SafetyWing.
🇸🇬 Singapore
Singapore Is Facing a Dengue Fever 'emergency' and Peak Season Has Only Just Begun from ABC
Singapore, if All Chairs Were Ergonomic from Rice Media
Singapore’s Urban Farming Heights Cast a Shadow Over Traditional Agriculture from SEAGlobe ($)
🇹🇭 Thailand
Bangkok's King of Clubbing Plots Fresh Projects from NikkeiAsia ($)
Elephant Welfare in Thailand: a Growing Ethical, Political, and Cultural Concern from The Isaan Record
Central Bangkok Redevelops Around New Green Heart from NikkeiAsia ($)
Cannabis Tourism: How a New Travel Trend Is Taking Off from The Conversation
Thai Insurers Sink Into Bankruptcy Due to Covid Claims from Nikkei Asia ($)
Recalling Bangkok's Dark Side from Bangkok Post
Behind the Story: Mailee Osten-Tan on Reporting on Gender Confirmation Surgery in Thailand from Longreads
Thai Monks Who Drink and Their Lay Supporters from Fulcrum
🇻🇳 Vietnam
For Adventurous Families, a Bespoke Motorbike Tour in Vietnam from The Wall Street Journal ($)
Dam Tre Bay | Con Son Island from Vietnam Coracle
Mi Hu Tieu: A Man Named ‘New’ Sells Old Noodles from Vietnam Life
Hanoi Invests 1.3 Billion VND to Restore Relics from Nhan Dan
Nha Trang Scrambles to Save Coral Reefs From Bleaching from Viet Nam News
In a D6 Hẻm, Saigon’s Last Remaining Broom-Making “village” from Saigoneer
Can the Mekong Delta Be Saved? from Vietnam Weekly ($)
Random other stuff
How Yoga Carries Its Own Legacies of Violence from LitHub
Can the Age of Middle East Train Travel Return? from The National
200 Years of Frankenstein from The Marginalian
Our 15 Favorite Summery Novels for Summer Reading from LitHub
Seven Stowaways and a Hijacked Oil Tanker: the Strange Case of the Nave Andromeda from The Guardian
How Refugees Leading City Walking Tours Helps Increase Their Sense of Belonging – New Research from The Conversation
Confronting Privilege, Identity and Guilt Trips | Dr Anu Taranath (Beyond Guilt Trips) from The End of Tourism (podcast)
“The Pandemic Was the Best Thing to Happen to Travel” from Travel Weekly
Rethinking Prison Tourism from The Marshall Project
Couchfish (Free-to-read)
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Late light, riverside
Sun sets over the Chao Phraya, from Loy La Long in Chinatown. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
See you next week!
So that’s the wrap. I hope you are all in good health, and thanks for reading.
See you next week,
Stuart