Travelfish #470: The A.I. Flick

A wrap on stuff worth reading

Hi!

Apologies for there being no newsletter last week—I came down with Covid.

This week’s lead is on Phú Quốc Island in Vietnam, and the disaster area it is rapidly becoming—if it isn’t already. A truly sad state of affairs.

Also this week I’d like to highlight this video titled “The A.I. Dilemma.” At a little over an hour, it is a bit of a long watch, but I’d say it is one of the most important videos I’ve watched in a very long time. For all the whining (mine included) on AI not respecting copyright and so on, that is the least of the concerns with it.

My four-part series on sustainable tourism and travel writing wrapped up the other week over on Talking Travel Writing. You can see the first one here, the second ($), the third ($) and the conclusion here ($). If travel writing is your thing, you can sign up for either their free- or paid-newsletters via the prompt below.

Over on Couchfish, I published the second part of my three-part series on travelling sustainably in Vietnam—you can read the first part here.

I’m back from Singapore—thanks for the Covid fellas—and after a week flat on my back I’m up at my beach shack to catch-up on stuff. It will be back to the regular programming on Couchfish from tomorrow onwards. This week’s pics are from my shack—who doesn’t like a bit of typing by the sea?

Cheers

Stuart

Early morning back yard views.

That’s Batukaru on the horizon. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

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⭐️ Story of the week 

• Vietnam’s Biggest Island Long Held Onto A Seductive Image As The Country’s “last Paradise.” Then Came The Clubs, A Casino, And A Safari. from Insider

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📚 What I’m reading

• To The Lake by Kapka Kassabova (Still—hey, I’ve been diving!)

🇲🇲 Burma

• In Kachin’s Icy Mountains, The Search For A Coveted Fungus Heats Up from Frontier Myanmar ($)

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Looking to book your transport online when you’re on the road in Southeast Asia? For Vietnam, look no further than Baolau. For the rest of the region, 12Go should be your first port of call.

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🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Damning Evidence Emerges In Cambodian Monkey Smuggling Case from RFA

• Elephant Who Lost Foot In Snare Trap Receives Prosthetic In Touching Video from Newsweek

• Small Farmers In Limbo As Cambodia Wavers On Tonle Sap Conservation Rules from Mongabay

Ad: Phnom Penh’s Penh House, from US$70 per night. Click here for the details.

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🌴 Environment

• Reimagining A Greener Tourism As Travelers Demand Sustainability from ADB SEADS

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• The World’s Best Rainforest Guardians Already Live There from The Washington Post ($)

• Bali Governor Wayan Koster Mulls Putting Cap On Tourist Arrivals from Coconuts Bali

• Indonesia Considers Tourist Tax To Curb Bad Behaviour In Bali from The Guardian

🇱🇦 Laos

• ‘I Don’t Want More Children To Suffer What I Did’: The 50-year Fight To Clear US Bombs From Laos from The Guardian

• Lesser Known Laos With Jason Rolan from Travel Talk Asia

• The Massive Stone Jars Left By Ancient Giants: Lao’s Plain Of Jars from The Archeologist

• ‘Don’t Criticise The Government Unless You Want To Disappear’ Lao Activist Survives Shooting from SEA Globe ($)

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Looking for deals on organised tours? Here are a few for Southeast Asia via Travelfish partner GetYourGuide.

Cambodia
Up to 15% off a full-day trip Angkor Wat’s Kulen Waterfall.

Indonesia
Up to 15% off a tour to Merapi, Borobudur and Prambanan.

Malaysia
Up to 10% off a bicycle tour of Kuala Lumpur’s old city.

Thailand
Up to 30% off a 4-hour tour of Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Vietnam
Up to 50% off a one-day Hạ Long Bay tour.

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🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Penang’s Massive Reclamation Project Gets EIA Green Light from New Straits Times

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Terraforming Singapore: Is The Future Made Of Sand? from Kontineltalist

• We Can’t Help But Root For The Illegal Roasted Chestnuts Hawker from Rice Media

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Book Review: Fiction Debut Exposes Dark Side Of Thailand from Nikkei Asia ($)

• How A Two-week Kayaking Adventure In Thailand Teaches You To Slow Down And Enjoy The Moment from SCMP ($)

• Gems Of The Northeast from Bangkok Post

Ad: Bangkok’s Sala Arun from US$73 per night. Click here for the details.

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🇻🇳 Vietnam

• A Thirst For Sand from Mekong Eye

• Meeting Vietnam’s Climate Financing Challenge from World Bank

• Traveling Vietnam By Train from The Washington Post ($)

• 23 Differences From South To North Vietnam from Vietnam Coracle

• In The Heart Of HCMC, Seeking One Place That’s Permanent from This Is Southeast Asia

Random other stuff

• Why You Shouldn’t Try To Travel Like A Local from The Cairo Dispatch

• Astrotourism In Southeast Asia from Fulcrum

• How To Make Sure Your Travel Dollars Actually Benefit Local Communities from AFAR (This is a mixed bag of advice, but does have some good tips)

• A World Heritage Designation Can Be A Blessing, Or A Curse from The New York Times ($)

• The Awe You Experience While Traveling Is Actually Good For You, Science Says from Robb Report

• Best And Worst Border Crossings In Southeast Asia (In My Experience) from Nomadic Notes

• The Travel Destinations That Want Tourists To Stay Away from Time Out

• The True Cost Of A $12 T-shirt from The New York Times ($)

Don’t ask about the rooster

Yes, that’s the company car parked out front. 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.

Cheers!

Stuart