Travelfish #474: The rainy day edition
A wrap on stuff worth reading
Hi!
This week’s lead is a super interesting piece on elephants in Thailand—the story is in German, but Google Translate works pretty well on it.
I’m taking a break from Couchfish for a couple of weeks, so nothing new going on there. In case you missed last weeks’ newsletter, in it I mentioned that I’d dug out some tours to Southeast Asia from our partner TourRadar. Why? None of them involve domestic flights. See? It is possible! Scroll down the newsletter a bit for the list. I’ve picked one from each of a few countries, but TourRadar lists a bazillion—36,332 to be exact—though sadly with no means to filter out ones with domestic flights. Sigh.
In other news, I was chatting to my mate Mark Ord the other day, he’s written extensively for Travelfish in the past, and across the pandemic while I busied myself with Couchfish, he got involved with a website dedicated to piles of rocks—really old piles of rocks. The site, Beyond Angkor, currently covers 13,018 Khmer sites across Southeast Asia—no that’s not a typo, thirteen thousand and eighteen. They also have an active Facebook page that they share pics on the latest profiled sites and so on. So if Khmer monuments are your thing, you’ll want to check it out. Great stuff!
I’m out at the beach shack at the moment and it has been raining all day—what happened to dry season?! Anyways, pics are of the coming storms, which, when they arrive, seem to be heavier and more frequent than ever.
Cheers
Stuart
No Photoshop required
On the Bali to Lombok ferry one time it felt like the Earth was about to end. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
⭐️ Story of the week
The Elephant In The Room from Spiegel Abroad (story in German, but Google Translate works)
📚 What I’m reading
We Have Tired of Violence: A True Story of Murder, Memory, and the Fight for Justice in Indonesia by Matt Easton
🇲🇲 Burma
Myanmar’s Divided Art World Risks Leaving The Public Behind from Frontier Myanmar ($)
To Laugh Or Not To Laugh On Yangon’s Mean Streets from Nikkei Asia ($)
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.
🇰🇭 Cambodia
License To Log: Cambodian Military Facilitates Logging On Koh Kong Krao And Across The Cardamoms from Mongabay
Mind Your Language! Learning Khmer In Phnom Penh from Move To Cambodia
How Dams In China Are Destroying Livelihoods Downstream In Cambodia from SCMP ($)
Did someone order a beach view?
Ad: Salad Hut on Ko Pha Ngan’s beautiful west coast, from US$118 per night. Click here for the details.
🌴 Environment
The Money Behind The Coming Wave Of Climate Litigation from The Financial Times ($)
Eating Away Our Food: Ocean Acidification Impacting Fisheries In Southeast Asia from Fulcrum
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Bali’s New Rules For Foreign Tourists from Indonesia Expat
Bali Eyes ‘Quality’ Tourism As Island Lures Talented Nomads, Health Buffs After Turning Sour On Unruly Visitors from SCMP ($)
Award-winning Community Group In Sumatra Cleans Up Lake from Mongabay
🇱🇦 Laos
Photo Story: Where Temples And Rice Paddies Meet The Mighty Mekong River In Laos from National Geographic
Laos To Proceed With Seventh Mekong Dam Despite Impact Concerns from RFA
Looking for deals on organised tours **with no domestic flying**? Here are a few for Southeast Asia via Travelfish partner TourRadar. (Prices are in US$)
Cambodia
Cambodia Explorer (11 days, $920)Indonesia
Komodo Island Hopper (9 days, $1,196)Laos
North Laos by motorbike (7 days, $2,062)Malaysia
Sabah Highlights (7 days, $1,243)Thailand
Bangkok to the North (9 days, $1,130)
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Bajau: The Vanishing Seafarers Of Southeast Asia from The Diplomat
🇸🇬 Singapore
🇹🇭 Thailand
Phuket: The Epicentre Of Tourism Politics In Thailand from Asia Media Centre
To Understand The Culture Of Phuket, Slurp A Bowl Of Mee Hokkien from Sawasdee
A Town Full Of History from Bangkok Post
Looking for somewhere special in Penang?
Ad: Campbell House in Georgetown, Penang from US$72 per night. Click here for the details.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
103 Restaurants Shine In The Inaugural Edition Of The Michelin Guide Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, Including 4 Michelin Stars from Michelin Guide
Street Photos In 1973 Capture A Rebuilding Hanoi After Linebacker II from Saigoneer
The Muong Long Loop | Nghe An Motorbike Guide from Vietnam Coracle
Random other stuff
Backpackers At Heart, Holidaymakers On Paper from Astray
Prepare For Landing: Rethinking Pre-trip Traveler Communication from Rooted
How ‘Begpackers’ Became Some Of Asia’s Most Disliked Travelers from CNN
Largest Islands In Thailand from Nomadic Notes
On Travel Writing And Colonial Spells | Bani Amor from The End Of Tourism (Podcast)
In Defense Of Tourist Traps from The Washington Post ($)
Being Gay Is Illegal In Many Countries. L.G.B.T.Q. Travelers Are Going Anyway. from The New York Times ($)
Did I get wet? Yes.
Phnom Penh regulars will recognise this as an old pic thanks to the lack of ugly constructions on the far bank. 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