Travelfish #500: The Holiday Edition

A wrap on stuff worth reading                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more [Travelfish #500: The Holiday Edition]( A wrap on stuff worth reading Dec 12   [READ IN APP](   Hi! This week I’m leading with an interesting Al Jazeera piece on a slice of Malaysian (then Malaya) history from not that long ago. Well worth a read. Over on Couchfish, I had two pieces related to my beach shack out west, one about [how I found it]( and [what I’m trying to do with it]( then [I wrapped up the year for Couchfish]( I am today with the Travelfish Newsletter. Both will be back in your inbox in early January. Also in the final Couchfish edition, I announced [a 50% off forever deal]( on paid Couchfish subscriptions, so if you’re keen on a present for yourself (or someone else!) [you can sign up or upgrade your account here](. [This week’s newsletter is supported by]( of it as a new way to learn a language without picking up phrases like how to tell your neighbour there are a million cats in your house. Their coverage includes a bunch of Southeast Asian languages which I’ve outlined further down, or just click on the monkey above and find out for yourself—they’ve got both iOS and Android apps available—[and a free trial](. --------------------------------------------------------------- We’re on holidays through most of December and are in Bangkok at the moment. The photos this week are a couple of first impressions—always great to return to this joint! Best wishes to all for the remainder of this year, and seeya in 2024! Cheers Stuart When in Bangkok … Taking a quick spin around Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- ⭐️ Story of the week  - [No Justice: 75 Years After A British Massacre In Colonial Malaya]( from Al Jazeera --------------------------------------------------------------- 📚 What I’m reading - [Six Days: How The 1967 War Shaped The Middle East]( by Jeremy Bowen 🇲🇲 Burma - [Poisoning The Well: The Death Of The Bilin River]( from Frontier Myanmar ($) - [Myanmar Junta Under Pressure As Insurgents Gain Ground]( from France 24 (Video) --------------------------------------------------------------- One of the best way to get a little more out of your trip [is to learn a bit of the language]( and Ling helps you learn vocabulary and phrases to form meaningful relationships with people you meet along the way. Think of it as a bit like Duolingo, but without phrases like “There are one million cats in my house,” and best of all, Ling offer a bunch of Southeast Asian languages including: [Indonesian]( [Khmer]( [Lao]( [Malaysian]( [Thai]( and [Vietnamese]( With apps for both iOS and Android, it couldn’t be easier to grab a 7-day free trial [and start learning today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🇰🇭 Cambodia - [Decline In Fish Stocks May Affect Food Supply]( from The Khmer Times - [Far-Reaching Threats A Worry For Cambodian-American Journalist]( from VOA - [The Intractable Problem Of Land Grabbing In Cambodia]( from Equal Times Did someone order a beach view? [Ad: Salad Hut on Ko Pha Ngan’s beautiful west coast, from US$118 per night. Click here for the details.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🌴 Environment - [Southeast Asia Eyes Seafood Export Bounty As Sustainability Falls By The Wayside]( from SCMP ($) - [Climate Action: The Time For Incrementalism Is Over]( from Protecting The Future - [Kusu Island Fully Powered By Solar Energy, With Pulau Hantu To Follow Suit]( from The Straits Times - [Green Colonialism]( from Noema 🇮🇩 Indonesia - [Visiting Volcanoes Big Business In Indonesia But Safety In Spotlight After Several Eruptions Including Marapi]( from CNA - [The Best Light Show In Indonesia]( from This Is Southeast Asia - [Indonesian Queer Histories As Solace And Resistance]( from New Mandala - [Exposed: The Links Between Indonesia’s Deforestation And Xinjiang]( from Al Jazeera 🇱🇦 Laos - [Good Morning Vientiane: How The Laos Capital Is Quietly Brewing A Coffee Revolution]( from Adventure - [Laos Targets Global Audience For ‘Visit Laos Year 2024’]( from The Laotian Times - [Xaysomboun Greenlights Tourism Project For Pha Ka Tai Hill]( from The Laotian Times --------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, it’s the language monkey again. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🇲🇾 Malaysia - [Taking The Boat To Historical Fort Margherita]( from Borneo Bulletin - [What You Need To Know About Malaysia’s Digital Arrival Card]( from CNA 🇸🇬 Singapore - [Peace Centre: A Doomed Mall’s Last Hurrah]( from Rice Media - [The Hawker Spots Singaporeans Think Deserve More Love]( from Rice Media - [A Thosai Deep-Dive: Part I]( from Singapore Noodles 🇹🇭 Thailand - [Visiting Thailand Solo: A Safety Guide For Female Travelers]( from I Am Koh Chang - [‘Carmageddon’ In Phuket, Cleaning Up Loi Krathong, Remembering Tak Bai, And More]( from Thai Island Quest - [Tourism Vs Conservation: The Controversial Cable Car Plan Dividing Thailand]( from Thai PBS - [Is Thailand’s Favourite Fish On Its Way Out? How Insatiable Appetites Put ‘Pla Tu’ Mini-Mackerel In Peril]( from SCMP ($) - [Wai Chaek Beach]( from I Am Koh Chang Looking for somewhere special in Penang? [Ad: Campbell House in Georgetown, Penang from US$72 per night. Click here for the details.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🇻🇳 Vietnam - [Hẻm Gems: Hủ Tíu Mực Ông Già's Squid Game Is To Die For]( from Saigoneer - [PM Wants New International Airport Built In Red River Delta]( from VNExpress - [My Favorite Food Is Vietnamese Spring Rolls]( from Brent And Michael Are Going Places Random other stuff - [The Case For Slow Travel And Slow Reading In A Fast-Paced Society]( from Those Who Wander - [Fewer Than 10 Tourists A Day: Welcome To Timor-Leste]( from Adventure - [What Is Dark Tourism?]( from The Week - [What Makes A Trip Memorable: Your Destination Or Your Travel Companion?]( from The Washington Post ($) - [U.K. Ad Watchdog Bans 3 Airline Ads Over ‘Greenwashing’ Claims]( from Skift Always skip the ABF. Khao soi for two in the bowels of Bangkok’s Chinatown. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday Deals recap [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand]( Dec 6 [Wednesday deals: Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand]( [Hi all, Sorry, it has been a bit between emails! This week I have three picks on Thailand’s Ko Pha Ngan—a great choice for your Christmas holidays. For each pick, I’ve looked up some prices on our partner Agoda, and listed them along with—as always—the direct contact details for each place. That way you can compare and figure out what works for you.]( Read full story [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Singapore]( Oct 18 [Wednesday deals: Singapore]( [Hi all, You know when you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before and you open the interwebs search for “hotels in …” and you get eleventy billion results? No? Please tell me your secrets! So where are we off to for the fifth edition? Crazy expensive]( Read full story [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Penang]( [Stuart McDonald]( · Oct 11 [Wednesday deals: Penang]( [Hi all, You know when you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before and you open the interwebs search for “hotels in …” and you get eleventy billion results? No? Please tell me your secrets! So where are we off to for the fourth edition? How about my favourite place in Malaysia to stuff face—]( Read full story [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Huế]( Oct 4 [Wednesday deals: Huế]( [Hi all, You know when you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before and you open the interwebs search for “hotels in …” and you get eleventy billion results? No? Please tell me your secrets! So where are we off to for the third edition? How about my favourite city in Vietnam,]( Read full story [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Phnom Penh]( [Stuart McDonald]( · Sep 27 [Wednesday deals: Phnom Penh]( [Hi all, You know when you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before and you open the interwebs search for “hotels in …” and you get eleventy billion results? No? Please tell me your secrets! With this in mind, last week I started a new edition of the Travelfish newsletter]( Read full story [Wednesday Deals]( [Wednesday deals: Bangkok]( [Stuart McDonald]( · Sep 20 [Wednesday deals: Bangkok]( [Hi all, You know when you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before and you open the interwebs search for “hotels in …” and you get eleventy billion results? No? Please tell me your secrets! With this in mind, I’ve started a new edition of the Travelfish newsletter which will be sent every Wednesday. In it, I’ll select three places, across a range of bud…]( Read full story See you next year! So that’s the wrap. I hope you are all in good health, and thanks for reading. Cheers! Stuart Travelfish weekly newsletter is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Travelfish weekly newsletter that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments. [Pledge your support](   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2023 Stuart McDonald Bali, Indonesia [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()