Travelfish #489: The Cebu edition

A wrap on stuff worth reading

Sep 25, 2023

Hi!

I’m not one to go on much about companies that I admire, but Patagonia is one such firm and I lead this week with a piece by them on what they’re trying to do.

For the first time in, checks watch, 13 years, I’m currently in a new country—the Philippines! Yes, finally. No, I’m not here to look at adding the country to Travelfish, instead, I’m here at the invitation of a fine company who I contract with. Their get-together though was for only four days, and I thought “Hell no,” so after some ticket adjustment, I’m here for three weeks cruising around Cebu by motorbike. My daughter is with me for the first week, then I have the rest to poke around myself.

Initial impressions: Cebu is beautiful, the food swings between delicious and ahhh not so delicious, and the people are some of the friendliest and most obliging people I’ve come across. They also like to sing, sing a lot, sing loudly, and on occasion, sing somewhat out of tune. At a mountain-top farm-stay the other day, 7am Roy Orbison renditions at eleventy million decibels were really a bit much.

Anyways, we’re down the southwest corner at the moment in Moalboal while my daughter gets her Open Water diving certificate, then some vrooming up the east coast, first to drop off Lyla at Cebu City, then to Malapascua off the northern tip—yes, I’ll be getting my money’s worth out of that motorbike.

Anyways, more on the trip soon.

Over on Couchfish, there were two paid pieces on Probolinggo, one on a bad day in a coffee field, and the other on a haunted house. On the free read side of things, I had some thoughts on a different approach destinations could take. I also launched a new Wednesday edition of the Travelfish newsletter looking at a few special spots to stay each week. If you missed it, you can read it here.

Cheers

Stuart

PS: If you’re a travel writer, Talking Travel Writing are running a survey at the moment and would appreciate your input.

Love Lechon

First meal off the plane in Cebu City. No complaints. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

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🇰🇭 Cambodia

Cambodia’s Thin-Skinned Princelings Are Forcing Newspapers Out Of The Country. It Isn’t All Bad. from The Diplomat
Traffic Fatalities Decline But Remain A Concern from The Phnom Penh Post

Did someone order a beach view?

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🌴 Environment

If Companies Had To Pay For Their Carbon Emissions, Nearly Half Their Profits Would Evaporate, Study Finds from Fortune
Revealed: Top Carbon Offset Projects May Not Cut Planet-Heating Emissions from The Guardian
Extreme Weather Is Forcing Redesign Of World’s Busiest Airports from The Japan Times

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Meet The Indonesian Volunteers Fighting To Save Their Coral Reefs from Blue Dot Diving
‘Do You Know How Many Followers I Have?’ Dodging Influencers In Bali from Traveller ($) [Ed: This is what happens when a newspaper is too cheap to pay for pics—the peak in the last photo is Abang, not Batur, plus the swing photo is taken nowhere near where the writer is talking about. Sigh.]
Why The Next Decade Will Be So Critical For Indonesia: It’s Not Simply About Getting Rich from Fulcrum
Rhino Numbers Rebound As Global Figures Reveal A Win For Conservation from The Guardian

🇱🇦 Laos

Fuel Company: Laos Could Face Renewed Fuel Shortages from The Laotian Times
An Automobile Guidebook For Tourists In Indochina From 1930 from Southeast Asia Library Group
Taking The Homegrown Way To Self-Reliance In Food from Reporting Asean

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