Travelfish #320: New Thailand itineraries + Surat Thani + Advice for hotels

Everywhere is on the way to somewhere Hi all, This email newsletter is coming to you from Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, where Stuart is soaked and tired after biking in the rain. He did manage a great morning cycling around Chau Doc, followed by some boating through a bird sanctuary. After that though, the weather closed in, and, well it kinda sucked. Who ever said travel is anything but highs and lows?! This week we have a new itinerary on the site which is going to have you Thai island lovers filling out your leave forms before you get to the end of this email. Four weeks from Phi Phi to Lipe—could life be much harder than that? [Read on for the skinny](. Indonesia’s Lombok is unfortunately still shaking, with the death toll surpassing 400, we have more details on it in the news section, but it is important to stress that while considerable portions of the north and west of the island have been badly affected, much of the rest of the island is largely business as usual. Please consider carefully before cancelling or re-routing your trip—as Stuart says in the Telegraph piece linked to below, Lombok needs you. Stuart’s Soapbox is on a simple thing hotels can do better—and he isn’t talking about his shower. Good travels Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew Support Travelfish! If you'd like to chip in (if you haven’t already) for using the site, we'd love you to sign up for a year-long subscription for just A$35. [See more here](. Soapbox Advice for hotels I'm traveling in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam at the moment (don’t listen to the naysayers, Vietnam is great!) and am currently staying in Chau Doc, a small town close to the Vietnam Cambodia border. As far as foreign tourists are concerned, Chau Doc is on the map (unlike many Delta towns) for the primary reason that you can get a speedboat from here upriver to the Khmer capital of Phnom Penh—a terrific way to enter the city. So for almost everyone, it is an overnight stay only. Other guests where I am staying were bemoaning that they had only allowed a single night here. They only realised their mistake thanks to the very comprehensive guide to the surrounds the guesthouse has in every room. It isn’t guidebook–standard, but rather is perhaps a dozen printed–out pages in a loose–leaf folder outlining some of the activities you can do. There are photos and a small map, and both the owner and staff are able to answer any questions about the hows, whats and whys. Best of all, the information isn’t presented as an in to sell you a tour. There are a couple of bicycles you can grab for free–I rode 60km today, my legs are still aching—and they can arrange a scooter (or a guide) if you wish, but they're not skimming on the price, they’re just providing you with the service. From a hotel or guesthouse’s point of view, this is SO smart. Yes, some of what they mention in their brochure is probably also in guidebooks and on TripAdvisor or whatever, which I’m sure some people read, but all of it isn’t. It is smart because aside from having people write about it in their email newsletters as an example of what hotels should do (cough cough), it encourages their guests to stay longer—even one more night has to be a win—and from the guests’ perspective it gives them something more to experience in an unadulterated fashion. So, as I know quite a few guesthouses get this newsletter, if you don’t already have something like this in your place, start working on it today. It doesn’t need to be the length of the Communist Manifesto, hell if you don’t want to stick a loose leaf folder in every room, then put something on the wall in the foyer. And (this is important) get your staff in on it. Get them to go check out these sights and attractions themselves (hotel excursion for everyone!) so that they’re able to answer guest questions confidently off the back of their own experiences. Accommodation is getting more and more competitive and this is a really straightforward thing to do that is so win win I’m amazed it is so rare to see. So if you’re visiting Chau Doc, do swing by [Murray Guesthouse]( (it is solidly in the flashpacker bracket at between $30 & $40 a night) and be sure to set aside a few days—in the meantime I’ll get something onto Travelfish soon! Good travels Stuart Premium members only: Book a round the world with [roundtheworldflights.com]( (must travel from the UK via Asia, Australia, New Zealand AND the Americas) and get £30pp off your trip. Offer valid for departures to December 2018. Log in to the Member Centre on Travelfish now for your coupon code and [start designing your own round the world trip »]( Featured Surat Thani Take a straw poll of frequent travellers to Thailand asking them their least favourite town in the country and we’re willing to wager [Surat Thani]( will be one of the most frequently cited. But, you know what? They’re wrong. Yes Surat can be a pit it all you want to do in transit to or from the Silly Islands of Samui, Pha Ngan and Tao, and the travel agent is lying to you and you’re getting shuffled from one crappy cafe to another and the bus is coming “soon” .... Yes we have all experienced that Surat Thani at some stage or another. But, you know what, there is another Surat Thani. Slow down. Step one, check into a hotel ([there is no shortage in Surat](. Step two, peel off your fishermen pants and head down to the night market, or any number of the other excellent eateries in the town. Surat Thani is justifiably [famous for its eating]( we’re not talking traveller cafes with their dishwater green curries here—we’re talking the real deal. As with almost any Thai town, there are interesting temples to visit, but Surat Thani also offers a great opportunity to go [boating on the Tapi River]( and those with time on their hands, can enjoy a traditional homestay on the same river—how much more removed from Ko Samui could you get?! To the north you have the meditation centre at [Wat Suan Mokkh]( then [Chaiya]( (more temples) and then a seaside village worth checking out (with yet another homestay option). To the south, well, start with [Khanom and Sichon]( great! You need more? [Read more about Surat Thani here](. Travelfish partners [Browse the internet safely]( When we travel we always use TunnelBear VPN to secure our browsing. This reduces the risk from dodgy WiFi networks and idiotic ISPs who inject ads into our browsers. Use the internet safely with TunnelBear. TunnelBear offer a free 7-day trial or use it selectively and enjoy [500meg of data per month for free](. News from the region BURMA I: Myanmar officially opens Indo-Myanmar land border, special land entry permissions abolished [Big news!]( BURMA II: Myanmar blogger battles bias with beauty campaign “Win Lae Phyu Sin started with tutorials on make-up filmed in a bedroom shared with her sister, [posting them on Facebook]( before offering classes.” INDONESIA: Lombok's lesson: Time for disaster-sensitive tourism “Clearly, we are unable to support tourists in a time of disaster. Tourism has flourished rapidly but we lack awareness of disaster mitigation. Multistory hotels have been built, but they are [probably not earthquake-resistant](. Worse, they may lack building safety standards and the authorities may have never inspected them.” INDONESIA II: Is Lombok safe to visit – and will its vital tourism industry recover? “If I had a trip planned next week, I’d be going to Kuta instead – but it’s certainly not time to cancel your trip to Lombok,” he said. [“This is when Lombok needs you.”]( INDONESIA III: Children living on Indonesia's coast get free goggles to enjoy - and save – precious reef “In a country suffering from chronic maritime waste, the minister hopes the initiative will encourage young Indonesians to appreciate their reefs, and in turn [inspire them to protect their marine environment]( INDONESIA IV: Death Toll from Earthquake Near Indonesian Island Tops 430 “The 6.9-magnitude quake, which struck off the waters of the northern part of Lombok island on August 5, [killed 436 people]( and forced more than 350,000 people to flee their homes.” LAOS: Survivors Recount Horror of Laos Dam Collapse “‘When the water came, it came quick like a tsunami and people were scared,’ he said, adding that the initial surge through his village was at least a meter high. Keosuvanh said the floodwaters [destroyed 95 percent of the homes]( in the village.” MALAYSIA: A river restored breathes new life into Kuala Lumpur “[Much of the criticism has quieted](. The River of Life project, well on its way to being finished in 2020, appears to have skittered past the current political disruption.” PHILIPPINES: How much trash is too much? [We have found the answer](. THAILAND: In Thailand, ‘Obesity in Our Monks Is a Ticking Time Bomb’ “When researchers began studying Thai monks’ dietary habits, [they were baffled](. The monks consume fewer calories than the general population, but more of them are obese.” Travel writing ELES I: How ethical is the elephant ‘sanctuary' you're visiting? A good collection of [recommended operators]( at the end of the story. ELES II: The Elephant Men “Myanmar is believed to be home to perhaps the [second-largest population of wild elephants]( after India. There are some 5000 elephants employed in state-owned logging enterprises, and about as many roaming free.” BURMA: The Majesty of Crossing Myanmar on Colonial-Era Trains “I don’t use the word ‘swaying’ lightly – many avoid Burmese trains due to their reputation for [rocking as much as the horse-drawn carriages]( that still bump down dirt roads in the countryside.” Yup! LAOS: Laos Food – 12 of The Best Laotian Dishes You Need to Eat “In this blog post, I’m going to share with you [12 authentic Laos foods]( that you don’t want to miss trying.” STUFFING FACE: Sambal, a Pungent Reminder of Home and Hardship “Most immigrants I know desperately miss their mother or grandmother’s cooking, and [yearn for recipes that were never documented]( THAILAND: Thai duo’s hilariously quirky food review videos celebrate Bangkok’s rich food scene “But now and again Hoy Salah does show some emotion. Whenever his taste buds tingle from dishes such as stir-fried pad thai or steamed crab roe with milk, he slaps the table and throws his head back with [his eyes closed in ecstasy]( TRAVEL WRITING: The Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer Plenty of [food for thought]( for aspiring travel writers. VIETNAM: Do You Eat Dog? “Because of how the West has obsessed over the practice as a foreign taboo, having a nuanced conversation about dog meat in mixed company [is a challenge]( Interesting site Saigon Pix Into Saigon? Into Instagram? [Here’s an account to follow](. Travel shot [There is plenty of sand on Ko Muk. Photo: David Luekens] There is plenty of sand on Ko Muk. Photo: David Luekens Till next time [Sam and Stuart.] That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia. Travel light! Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team [( You're receiving the Travelfish newsletter because you signed up at Travelfish.org. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe Instantly](. Make sure you're getting our emails! If you're a Gmail user and would prefer your Travelfish newsletter in your Primary in-box rather than Promotions, just drag this email from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab, and click "yes" when it asks if you want to do that for all of our emails. Better still, [read this newsletter online.]( [Disclosure]( | [Privacy]( | [Unsubscribe]( We want travellers to love Southeast Asia as much as we do. 9 robinson close, hornsby heights, nsw 2077, AUSTRALIA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](