Travelfish #448: Vietnam On Two Wheels
A great site turns ten, plus a week of procrastination
Hi all,
This week I’m leading with a nice piece on Vietnam Coracle celebrating ten years of being online (and on two wheels). I had a coupla coffees with the site’s founder Tom a few years back in HCMC, and it has been great seeing the site go from strength to strength. Well done! If you’re Vietnam-bound and prefer to be on two wheels, his site belongs in your bookmarks. In honour of ten years, the pics this week are from Vietnam—on two wheels!
A minor content note, I’ve removed the vaccination and state of Asia charts for now as the needle isn’t moving much on that front. If/when the situation changes, I’ll reinstate them.
Cheers
Stuart
Altitude
Getting a bit of air in Dien Bien. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
⭐️ Story of the week
10 Year Anniversary of Vietnam Coracle from Vietnam Coracle
🇲🇲 Burma
Four Executions from Dari Mulut Ke Mulut
Dengue Worsens Under the Junta’s Watch from Frontier Myanmar ($)
Myanmar Junta Extends State of Emergency from The Irrawaddy
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Police to Inspect All Foreigners’ Housing to Combat Human Trafficking from VOD
Rise in Thai Air Routes to Siem Reap Fuels Travel Hopes from The Phnom Penh Post
Sambor Prei Kuk Temples Analysed from The Phnom Penh Post
Ad: Phnom Penh’s Penh House, from US$62 per night. Click here for the details.
🌴 Environment
How Climate Change is Washing Away Precious Evidence of Our Distant Past from The Conversation
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Fire Razes 94 Buildings on Gili Trawangan from Bali Discovery
Bali Airport Has Become a Nightmare With Up to Five Hours Immigration Lineups! from Loyalty Lobby
Bali Immigration Denies Over Five-hour Lineup at Ngurah Rai Airport from Antara
Cultivating the World’s Largest, Stinkiest Flower is No Small Task from National Geographic
Why Delivery Drivers Tried to Sew Their Lips Shut in Indonesia from Rest Of World
🇱🇦 Laos
Laos-China Railway Proposes Standing Tickets from The Laotian Times
Wildlife Sold Openly at Markets in Vientiane Capital from The Laotian Times
‘Hungry River’ Phenomenon to Blame for Severe Erosion of Mekong River Banks in Laos from RFA
🇲🇾 Malaysia
“We Thought It Was a Shooting Star”: Uncontrolled Chinese Rocket Fragments Seen in Malaysia from The Guardian (Video)
Where Has Jho Low Stashed His Cash? from The Sarawak Report
The New Island City of Malaysia from Nomadic Notes
He Got Away With Robbing a Bank. Here’s How to Hold Him Accountable. from The Diplomat
🇸🇬 Singapore
Honor the Dead at Haw Par Villa’s First-ever Spirits Festival from Coconuts Singapore
Changi Prison Turns Into a Slaughterhouse from We, The Citizens
The Secrets to Cooling Down, According to Singaporeans With No Air Conditioners from Rice Media
🇹🇭 Thailand
Thailand Sees Hopes of Achieving 7-10 Million Tourists Arrivals in 2022 After It Breaks 3 Million in July from Thai Enquirer
Into the Sea from Bangkok Post
Thailand Tunes In and Turns On from Asia Sentinal
Thailand Tiger Rescues Hold No Guarantee of Safety from SEA Globe ($)
Ad: Bangkok’s Sala Arun from US$116 per night. Click here for the details.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Vietnam’s ‘Coral Grave’ at Nha Trang Bay a Wake-up Call on Climate Change Destruction from SCMP ($)
Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-war Camp from Saigoneer
Trouble for Vietnam's New Passport from Vietnam Weekly
Random other stuff
Tourist Traps in South-east Asia: Fake Orphans and Floating-market Scams from The Straits Times ($)
Fleets of Airbnbs in Region Run by Management Companies, Out-of-town Owners from The Traverse City Record Eagle
Barcelona Targets Cruise Ships in Its Latest Fight With Tourists from Bloomberg ($)
Visiting Venice? Make a Reservation and Be Ready to Pay. from The New York Times
The West Hasn’t Got a Clue About Bamboo from The Financial Times ($)
Couchfish (Free-to-read)
Couchfish (Paid subscribers only)
Layering
Somewhere in Son La. 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