Travelfish #472: The Amazing Edition

A wrap on stuff worth reading

Hi!

This week’s lead is on digital nomads—yes, it goes over some well-trodden material, but there’s some new thoughts in there too—well worth a read. The Intercept piece on should-be-war-criminal Kissinger (in the Cambodia section) is also very readable.

Over on Couchfish, I had two Java pieces for paid subscribers—one on a delicious dish and another on a not so delicious piece of writing. Free subscribers received a piece earlier today with some thoughts on tourist quotas and why I think they might not be a good idea.

In kind of but not totally unrelated to travel news, my mate Mike Sowden, author of the very aptly named Everything Is Amazing newsletter, is running a 50% off promo. The deal gives you access to all of his ahhh considerable archives, for US$30 per year. His material is a little hard to explain—imagine gazing at Reddit through Alice’s looking glass, or better still read his latest piece—or this earlier one. You can sign up (for free or paid), via the button below or this link. The deal runs out at midnight tonight—I’m assuming that is a UK midnight Mike—so be quick.

On topic I guess, the two pics this week are kind of amazing.

Lastly, if you’re in the UK, you may have seen promos for The Last Tourist doing the rounds—if you’re after a review of it, my thoughts are here.

Cheers

Stuart

Not a horse nor a pony

Pygmy seahorse on a dive I did in North Bali recently. Note, it is smaller than my thumbnail. Photo: Intrinity Divers.

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⭐️ Story of the week 

• When Digital Nomads Come To Town from Rest Of World

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📚 What I’m reading

• On The Java Ridge by Jock Serong

🇲🇲 Burma

• The Optimistic Farmer from Sampan Travel

• Two Years Of Turmoil: Myanmar’s Fog Of War from The Diplomat

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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

• Blood On His Hands from The Intercept

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

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🌴 Environment

• Can Biodiversity Funds Help Investors Protect Wildlife? from The Financial Times ($)

• Almost 400 Species Discovered In Greater Mekong Region – In Pictures from The Guardian

• Capturing Carbon With Machines Is A Failure—So Why Are We Subsidizing It? from Resilience

• Asia’s 10 Major River Systems At Risk Because Of Climate Change, Says Report from RFA

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Indonesia Invites Saudi Travelers To Explore Tourism Destinations Beyond Bali from Arab News

• Blowing Up In Sumbawa from The Lombok Diaries

• West Papua Rebels Threaten To Shoot New Zealand Pilot If Independence Talks Denied from The Guardian

🇱🇦 Laos

• When A Temple In Southern Laos Was A Major Hindu Pilgrimage Centre from Scroll

• Thailand/Laos: Investigate The Killing Of Lao Refugee And Put An End To Transnational Repression Of Human Rights Defenders from Human Rights Watch

• As Laos Develops, Can It Make Space For Wild Elephants? from SEAGlobe ($)

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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 Bans Almost All Short-Term Rentals On The Island from Free Malaysia Today

• Ravaged By Deforestation, Sabah Belatedly Turns To Birdwatching Tourism from Asia Sentinel

• Contemporary Life Lessons From An Ancient Rainforest from Nikkei Asia ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Singapore Win! Asia’s Official Capital Of Cool from The Financial Times ($)

• Why A Bad, Classist Take About ‘HDB People’ On LinkedIn Is Extra Awful from Rice Media

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Southern Thailand’s “Insurgency Express” from The Diplomat

• T.I.C.D.: Samut Coasts (Part I: Samut Songkhram & Samut Sakhon) from Thai Island Quest ($)

• T.I.C.D.: Samut Coasts (Part II: Bang Khun Thian, Samut Prakan & Chachoengsao) from Thai Island Quest ($)

• Two Influencers Charged With Royal Defamation Over Notorious Lazada Advert from Prachatai

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

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🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Ethnic Minorities Help Save Vietnam’s Rare Medicinal Plants from Mekong Eye

• Ho Chi Minh City Sees Multiple Hotel Closures Amid Weak Demand from Tuoi Tre News

• Vietnam Pressures TikTok To Censor More Content Or Face A Ban from Rest Of World

• The Story Of Salt & Pepper (And Wallace Terry) from A Story From Connla

• In Hanoi, The Vietnam Museum Of Nature Is An Inquisitive Child’s Heaven from Saigoneer

Random other stuff

• Skyfi’s Satellite Image Confirms Massive Clothes Pile In Chile’s Atacama Desert from Skyfi

• What I Learnt On A “No Fly” Journey From Switzerland To The Arctic from Adventure

• He’s Just Visited Every Country In The World Without Flying from Exploresweb

• Disrupting The Cycle Of “Inspirational” Content And Inappropriate Traveler Expectations from Rooted

• Four Questions Destinations Should Ask About Tourism from The Travel Foundation

• The Future Of Sustainable Travel Is Family Travel. Here’s Why. from Parents

• AI Shouldn’t Decide What’s True from Nautilus

• What Path Should Global Tourism Take? from Tourism’s Horizon

• Eating With Other People’s Families from Movable Worlds

Amazing taste

There is no such thing as too much khao soi. This one in Chiang Mai. 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