Travelfish #456: New Year, new travels
Holiday done. Let the work begin.
Happy New Year all,
This week I kick off with a piece a little out of left-field, about a great walk done well. Would be fab to see some of this sort of thing gaining ground in this part of the world.
Over on Couchfish, the itinerary series for paying subscribers got underway again, with a final piece on Bukit Lawang and surrounds. If it keeps raining here in Hội An, there will be another piece for paid subscribers out tonight!
For free reads, there are two to choose from—both Vietnam focused. One is on the benefits of taking a wander and the other, some ideas on ways to help people stay longer in Huế. Elsewhere, still on Couchfish, one last plug for my series on “rethinking travel”—the links to each piece are below.
As you may have guessed, I’m in Vietnam at the moment, and the pics this week are a couple from Huế and Hội An.
Cheers
Stuart
Rethinking Travel
Couchfish: National Chocolate Milk Day (World Tourism Day)
Couchfish: Nice Tourism (Sustainable Tourism)
Couchfish: The Benevolent Lie (Responsible Tourism)
Couchfish: The Year Is 2006. The Town Is Luang Prabang (Pro-Poor Tourism)
Couchfish: Zoom in to the Red Plastic Chairs (Slow travel)
Couchfish: The Petro-bourgeoisie (On flying)
Couchfish: Reality Check (On tour companies)
Couchfish: Follow The Money (On where the money goes)
Couchfish: Foundations Matter (On Community Based Tourism)
Couchfish: The Writing On The Wall (Travel writing)
Couchfish: Taking A Long Term View (A conclusion—finally!)
Hi Huế
Huế is a pretty place at night. Photo: Stuart McDonald
⭐️ Story of the week
The Austere Beauty Of Egypt’s Long-Distance Hiking Trails from The New York Times ($)
📚 What I’m reading
The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise Of The East India Company by William Dalrymple (Yes, still reading it—is long!)
🇲🇲 Burma
Junta Tightens Its Grip On Charities Helping The Dead And Dying from Frontier Myanmar ($)
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Cambodia Seeks UNESCO World Heritage Status To Protect A Mekong Biodiversity Hotspot from The Diplomat
Law Enforcement Key To Save Mekong Dolphins From Extinction from Kiripost
Historic Building Preservation A Boon For Battambang History Buffs from Phnom Penh Post
Upstream Dams Are Drowning Cambodia’s Protected Flooded Forest from The Third Pole
Ad: Phnom Penh’s Penh House, from US$70 per night. Click here for the details.
🌴 Environment
In Vietnam, The Mighty Mekong’s Banks Are Crumbling As Illegal Sand Miners Run Riot from SCMP ($)
They’re One Of Earth’s Rarest Reptiles. But These Crocodiles Are Bouncing Back. from National Geographic ($)
🇮🇩 Indonesia
In A Corner Of Java Live The Amish Of Indonesia from The Economist ($)
🇱🇦 Laos
Ambition, Concern Drive Lao-China High-Speed Rail Project from Nikkei Asia ($)
Laos Gears Up To Welcome Chinese Tourists from The Laotian Times
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Reviving Sleepy Town from The Star
🇸🇬 Singapore
Morning Runs By Kallang from Mekong Review
🇹🇭 Thailand
A Personal Journey Around Thailand’s Lesser-known Muslim South from CNT
Thailand To Drive Up Number Of International Visitors To 80 Million Over The Next Five Years from Pattaya Mail
Ad: Bangkok’s Sala Arun from US$73 per night. Click here for the details.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
The 31 Essential Restaurants In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from Eater
Excitement Turns To Frustration In Sa Pa After 20 Years from VNExpress
Vietnam Struggles To Quit Coal As Renewable Energy Faces Hurdles from China Dialogue
Random other stuff
Trying To Live A Day Without Plastic from The New York Times ($)
Riding The Rails In Southeast Asia from KhiriTravel
Nate Thayer, Journalist Who Landed Pol Pot Interview, Dies At 62 from The Washington Post ($)
The Ten Best Books About Travel Of 2022 from Smithsonian Mag
Hi Hội An
This will not be my last bowl. Photo: Stuart McDonald
See you next week!
So that’s the wrap. I hope you are all in good health, and thanks for reading.
Cheers!
Stuart