Travelfish #479: The old photos edition
A wrap on stuff worth reading
Hi!
This week I’m leading with a cracking story on tourism in the Financial Times—it seems their paywall is turned off on the story at the moment, so go read it now!
In a request seemingly designed for travelling readers of the tabloid web, the New York Times wants to know all the dumb stuff you did while travelling—please do help out.
Last week Travelfish turned 19, so over on Couchfish I looked back over those 19 years, considering what I wouldn’t change—and what I would—if I was mad enough to start a travel website today. There’s also some hints to slowly-coming changes on the main site in the piece.
With those 19 years in mind, the pics this week are a bit old, from back travelling in Laos in the pre-Instagram years. Please excuse the quality—they’re from slides.
Cheers
Stuart
Slow travel
Taken on Nam Ngum Reservoir in 1994, where we spent a stretch doing nothing while waiting for a visa for Vietnam. Divers with chainsaws were still logging the flooded forest—was quite bonkers. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
⭐️ Story of the week
Tourists Are Back. Is It Time To Tell Them To Stay Away? from The Financial Times ($)
📚 What I’m reading
Kopi Dulu by Mark Everleigh
🇲🇲 Burma
Seeing Hands: Yangon’s River Divers from Frontier Myanmar ($)
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
Cambodia Records This Year’s Fifth Irrawaddy Dolphin Calf In Mekong River from The Laotian Times
Forests In The Furnace: Cambodia’s Garment Sector Is Fueled By Illegal Logging from Mongabay
Did someone order a beach view?
Ad: Salad Hut on Ko Pha Ngan’s beautiful west coast, from US$118 per night. Click here for the details.
🌴 Environment
Hiding In Plain Sight: The Missing Trillions For Climate Change from World Bank Blogs
Inside “Greenhushing”: Why Companies Are Going Green Then Going Quiet. from The Washington Post ($)
Water, Water Everywhere… from Around The World In 80 Scrapes
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Indonesia Investigates Leak Of Visa Data From 9 Million Foreigners from Vietnam Express
Don’t Be A Bogan: 11 Ways To Be A Better Tourist In Bali from The Sydney Morning Herald ($)
In Pictures: In The Islands Of Indonesia, The Tradition Of Sasi Laut Reaps The Rewards Of Sustainability from The Guardian
🇱🇦 Laos
Scenery Of Nam Ngum Lake In Vientiane, Laos from Xinhua
Looking for deals on organised tours **with no domestic flying**? Here are a few for Southeast Asia via Travelfish partner TourRadar. (Prices are in US$)
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, $1,130)
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Gatekeeping Gawai from From An Equatorial Lens
Malaysia Seeks Proposals To Revive High-speed Rail Project With Singapore from The Business Times
Woman Nabbed Over Baggage Scam At KLIA from The Star
Who Is Jasmine Loo? from Sarawak Report
🇸🇬 Singapore
Six Underrated Highlights Of Singapore Most Visitors Miss from The Sydney Morning Herald ($)
How A Brutal POW Camp Became An Idyllic Island Paradise from National Geographic
🇹🇭 Thailand
Down But Not Entirely Out In Bangkok from Dari Mulut Ke Mulut
Ban Khun Samut Chin, Thailand’s Coastal Village Swallowed By Rising Sea Levels from Green Network Asia
Looking for somewhere special in Penang?
Ad: Campbell House in Georgetown, Penang from US$72 per night. Click here for the details.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Suspends Trial Operation Of Waste Treatment Plant from Tuoi Tre News
A Closer Look At Half-Century-old Dam Market In Nha Trang from Vietnam News
Bach Ma National Park Nature Immersion Essential Guide from Slow Travel Hue
Tourist Boats In Ha Long, Lan Ha Bay Struggle Due To Local Travel Ban from Vietnam Express
The Crumbling Mekong Delta from Vietnam Weekly
Vietnamese Braised Claypot Fish from Singapore Noodles
Dark Side Of “A Tourist’s Guide To Love” from Nikkei Asia ($)
Random other stuff
Contending With 50 Years Of The Tourist | Dean MacCannell from The End Of Travel (Podcast)
Overtourism And What To Do About It from The Global Jigsaw
A Practical Journey To Sustainable Travel from Asian Trails
In Search Of The Next Big Wave, Surfers Are The Surprising Travel Trendsetters Of 2023 from Wealth Of Geeks
The 675km Hiking Trail Through The Heart Of Jordan from Much Better Adventures
Don’t Let Them Hijack Regenerative Tourism from Argophilia
Is A Big Trip With Your Toddler Worth It? What Memory Experts Say. from The Washington Post ($)
Culturetrip Sold To CEO And Is Now Trying To Sell Itself After Failing At Everything Else from Skift
Jim Butcher Reviews Against Decolonisation: Taking African Agency Seriously By Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò. from CIEO
Vang Vieng … really
Vang Vieng in 1994. It was … a bit sleepier. 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