Travelfish #446: News grazing

A few bite-sized distractions to keep you going.

Hi all,

Sihanoukville, forever a good news story (not) has knocked it out of the park recently with dreadful stories of scamming and slavery from the country’s armpit. I’ve added just a few. The read of the week is a good one on the costs of flying.

I took last week off for my birthday, so just the one new post on Couchfish (a free-to-read one). Back to regular scheduling this week.

Cheers

Stuart

Grazing #1

Hard to go hungry in Malaysia’s Kuala Terengganu. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

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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

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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, July 17, 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)

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⭐️ Story of the week 

• The Climate Crisis & Aviation’s Role from Stay-Grounded

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🇲🇲 Burma

• ‘I Stand by Our Decision’: Uk Envoy Forced Out of Myanmar from Frontier Myanmar ($)

• ‘Back to the Dark Ages’: the Regime’s Publishing Clampdown from Frontier Myanmar ($)

• Global Garment Brands Unable to Safeguard Labour Rights in Post-coup Myanmar from Tea Circle

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• APSARA Authority Repairs Almost-100-year-old Pagoda from Khmer Times

• From Industrial-scale Scam Centers, Trafficking Victims Are Being Forced to Steal Billions from VICE

• Inside a Scam from VOD

• Forced to Scam: Cambodia’s Cyber Slaves from Aljazeera (video)

• Angkor Park Residents Told to Remove Unapproved Constructions from VOD

• “Ghost Ship” Washes Ashore on Infamous Island During Rough Storm from UPI

Ad: Phnom Penh’s Penh House, from US$62 per night. Click here for the details.

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🌴 Environment

• Humans Need to Value Nature as Well as Profits to Survive, UN Report Finds from The Guardian

• How to Greenify All Aspects of Your Vacation from The Washington Post ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Indonesia’s Komodo Dragons Are Endangered. But Are Tourists Willing to Pay US$250, Instead of $10, to See Them? from SCMP ($)

• Counter-Polarisation and Political Expediency from New Mandala

• Mt. Rinjani Foothills’ Temperature Reaches 12 Degrees Celsius from Antara

• Amid Rising Pressure, Indonesia’s Sea-based Communities Adapt to Change from Mongabay

• Plantations Threaten Indonesia’s Orangutans, but They’re Not Oil Palm from Mongabay

🇱🇦 Laos

• Lao Power Officials Say No Danger From ‘Seepage’ at Nam Theun 1 Dam from RFA

• Laos to Increase Minimum Wage Starting August 1 in Response to Inflation from RFA

• Wild Elephants From China Wander Near Lao Border from The Laotian Times

• Laos Ordnance Disposal Money May Shrink from SEAGlobe ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Indonesia Imposes Temporary Freeze on Sending Migrant Workers to Malaysia from Reuters

• Malaysia One of the Most Hassle-free Countries to Visit Post-Pandemic from Bernama

• Wael Qarssifi: Everyone Saying What They Think, Out of Love, is an Act of Activism from Movable Worlds

• UMNO - Still Chasing 1mdb Cash and Letting Crooks Off the Hook from Sarawak Report

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Is Singapore Pursuing a False Climate Solution by Buying Mekong Hydropower? from SCMP ($)

• On 2022's Killing Spree and the Need for Action from We, The Citizens

• Like It or Not, Fried Fish-cricket Soup is Our Future from Rice Media

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Pegasus Spyware Found on Phones of Dissidents Involved in Mass Protests from Amnesty International

• Koh Samui Enjoys Return of World's Wealthy from Bangkok Post

• Tourism Fee to Hit All Foreigners from Bangkok Post

• Welcome to Durian Country from Bangkok Post

Ad: Bangkok’s Sala Arun from US$116 per night. Click here for the details.

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🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Vietnam’s Ecological Leninism from The Diplomat

• Vietnam Ministry Proposes Ending Stricter Oversight of Formosa Steel Plant from RFA

• At Saigon's Oldest Ornamental Fish Market, Fish Are Friends, Not Food from Saigoneer

• Drinking & Nightlife in Hue from Vietnam Coracle

• Cuéntame: the Longest Day of My Life from The Missive

Random other stuff

• Stolen Treasure Traders from ABC

• Move Over Unicorn Lattes, There’s a New Instagram Trend in Town: Normal-Looking Food from The Conversation

• Overrun by Influencers, Historic Sites Are Banning Tiktok Creators in Nepal from Rest Of World

• How Istanbul Became the Global Capital of the Hair Transplant from GQ

• Airline Seat Reservation Fees Are Evil, but is This How to Fix Them? from Elliott Confidential

• Newsroom Hypocrisy Needs to Stop from The Angry Editor

• How Do Travel Writers Afford to Travel?? from Be a Better Traveler

Couchfish (Free-to-read)

• Couchfish: Digital Nomad Visas Blah Blah Blah

Couchfish (Paid subscribers only)

• Couchfish Day 174: Meeting a Returnee in Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm (from December 2020)

• Couchfish Day 107: You Won the Battle, but the War is Not Over (from August 2020)

• Couchfish Day 59: Jars, Spoons and a Lunatic (from June 2020)

Grazing #2

A quick bowl in Thailand’s northeast. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

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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