Travelfish #495: The It Never Rains Then It Pours Edition
A wrap on stuff worth reading
Hi!
This newsletter is coming to you from Pemuteran in West Bali where I’m diving with my daughter and some friends for a few days. Lyla and I decided to ride here by motorbike from the south—in theory about a three and a bit hour ride (assuming Bali’s bonkers traffic is slightly less bonkers)—but luckily for Bali, and unluckily for us, Bali’s drought decided to break the day of our ride, which turned out to be four and a half hours, with three and a half of said hours in the rain.
Fun times! Did we have raincoats? Hell no. Upside, the diving has been fantastic and Pemuteran and Menjangan Island’s waters are the cleanest I think I’ve ever seen them—really pristine. Let’s hope that holds out once the rains really get going—no doubt on Wednesday when we ride home.
The pics this week are from both the ride and why it was worth it.
Cheers
Stuart
Fun times
Just three hours of this to go. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
⭐️ Story of the week
Significant Travel Trends For Autumn/Winter 2023 from Roadbook
📚 What I’m reading
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
🇲🇲 Burma
‘Hard To Breathe’: Myanmar Communities Forced To Live Among World’s Trash from Frontier Myanmar ($)
1,000 Days On In Myanmar, Are Things Changing? from Dari Mulut Ke Mulut
If you’re looking for relatively affordable travel insurance for your travels in Southeast Asia, take a look at SafetyWing. Their standard package (excluding travel within the US) for four weeks of coverage costs (according to traveller age):
18 to 39 from US$45
40 to 49 from $74
50 to 59 from $116; and
60 to 69 from $157
For more information, details on their policies and optional add-ons, please refer to the SafetyWing website.
🇰🇭 Cambodia
A Sanctuary For Elephants And Forests In Cambodia from Mongabay
Hydropower Dams Threaten Crucial Mekong Supply Chains, WWF Says from The Diplomat
Battambang Gastronomy Delights Unesco Creative Cities Network – First Cambodian City To Join List from Cambojanews
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
Cruise Ships Polluting UK Coast As They Ignore Greener Power Options from The Guardian
Editorial: How To Not Fall Prey To Greenwashing By Travel Companies from TravelAge West
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Rabies Is Spreading In Southeast Asia, Fuelled By Inequality And Neglect from Eco-Business
A Day On The Train: Connecting Central Java (2021) from Primagung Dary Riliananda
🇱🇦 Laos
Rebuilding Lives: Mrs On’s Story Of Resilience In Laos from MAG International
Planning a holiday in Southeast Asia and need a sim card? Why not pick one up upon arrival?
Indonesia
Telkomsel 4G Sim Card with 35 Gig of data for 250,000 rupiahMalaysia
Digi 4G Sim Card with 30 Gig of data for 35 ringgitSingapore
Starhub 4G Sim Card with 100 Gig of data for S$9.70
Thailand
DTAC Happy Tourist 4G/5G Sim Card with 15 Gig of data for 150 baht
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Malaysia Issues ‘Kill Switch’ Order To Cut Controversial Concerts from The Guardian
🇸🇬 Singapore
Of Prison Blocks And Condos from New Mandala
Inside The Mysterious Morning Exercise Rituals Of Bishan Park’s Elderly Singaporeans from Rice Media
Tradition In A Backpack from This Is Southeast Asia
🇹🇭 Thailand
Send Thailand’s Holy Bronze Men Home from Art Review
Inside Thailand’s Tractor Races from VICE (Video)
Many Islands Open For High Season, New Push For Kra Isthmus ‘land Bridge’, Opposition To Fisheries Deregulation, And More from Thai Island Quest
Lèse-Majesté Verdicts Reach 100 In Less Than Two Years from Prachatai
Young Thai Entrepreneurs Are Turning Their Ancestral Homes Into Chic Hotels And Restaurants from T&L
Looking for somewhere special in Penang?
Ad: Campbell House in Georgetown, Penang from US$72 per night. Click here for the details.
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Trash-Infested Beach Prompts Authorities To Take Action In South-Central Vietnam from Tuoi Tre News
Tan Hoa: Rising From Rural Hardship To Tourist Excellence from VietnamExpress
Hẻm Gems: It's Impossible To Resist Bún Riêu Cô Yến's Crispy Fried Tofu from Saigoneer
Three Days Away: Đà Lạt Pt.1 from Around The World In 80 Scrapes ($)
Driver By Day, Tiktok Star By Night: The Vietnamese Gig Worker Living A Double Life from Rest Of World
Random other stuff
5 Big Travel Lessons And One ‘Mistake’ From 50 Years Of Lonely Planet from The Washington Post ($)
We’ve Used Showers For Centuries. Why Can’t Hotels Make Them Easier? from The Wall Street Journal ($)
It’s Time To Limit How Often We Can Travel Abroad – ‘Carbon Passports’ May Be The Answer from The Conversation
The New Luxury Vacation: Being Dumped In The Middle Of Nowhere from The New Yorker ($)
Using Social Media For Your Holiday ‘Inspo’ Can Be Risky And Even Dangerous – Here’s Why from The Conversation
For China’s Jobless Young People, Hostels Are The Place To Be from The New York Times ($)
Why Travel Bucket Lists Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up To Be from AFAR
The Future Of Tourism: Bridging The Labor Gap, Enhancing Customer Experience from McKinsey & Company
No filter required
Those splotches are fish—not trash. What a refreshing change. Photo: Stuart McDonald.
Wednesday Deals recap
More Wednesday Deals still:
See you next week!
So that’s the wrap. I hope you are all in good health, and thanks for reading.
Cheers!
Stuart