Travelfish #465: The Last Tourist

Fodder for your Day of Silence.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 [Open in app]( or [online]() [Travelfish #465: The Last Tourist]( Fodder for your Day of Silence. [Stuart McDonald]( Mar 21   [Save]( [▷  Listen](   Hi! This week the lead piece is my review of The Last Tourist—a tourism related film that is finally seeing a wider circulation. Last week on paid Couchfish, I had a couple more Jakarta pieces—one on some [flooding]( and [a sightseeing one](. On the free side of things, I looked (yet again) [at Thailand and its tourism goals]( and also ran a review of The Last Tourist, which I’m plugging as the read of the week (link below), not so much for my review but to highlight the film, which is probably worth watching. [Nyepi]( kicks off in Bali tonight, so a couple of pics of rare moments of silence this week—if you’re reading this in Bali, enjoy the lack of racket! Cheers Stuart Pura Lempuyang—not a horde in sight. One of Bali’s busiest tourist sights, empty. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- ⭐️ Story of the week  - [The Best Of Intentions]( from Couchfish --------------------------------------------------------------- 📚 What I’m reading - [Columbus: His Enterprise Exploring The Myth]( by Hans Koning (still!) 🇲🇲 Burma - [Should Myanmar Be Declared A Failed State?]( from The Diplomat - [Exploitation And Abuse Await Rural Migrants Pouring Into Cities]( 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 - [The 10 Best Places To Visit In Beautiful Cambodia]( from Lonely Planet - [Tiktok’s Viral Monks Are Clashing With Buddhist Authorities]( from Rest Of World - [Damn Fine Coffee! Where To Find It In Phnom Penh]( from Move To Cambodia - [“Floating Toilets” Help Cambodia’s Lake-Dwelling Poor]( from AFP - [Cambodia Relocates Angkor Wat Communities In Controversial Tourism Touch-Up]( from Skift [Ad: Phnom Penh’s Penh House, from US$70 per night. Click here for the details.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🌴 Environment - [Bearded Pigs A ‘Cultural Keystone Species’ For Borneo’s Indigenous Groups: Study]( from Mongabay - [Plastic Bags Are Leaving Their Mark On The Deep-Sea Floor]( from Hakai 🇮🇩 Indonesia - [Two Acquittals And One 18-Month Sentence In Indonesia Soccer Disaster]( from The New York Times ($) - [Bali Immigration Office Urges Netizens To Cool It With Making Problematic Foreigners Go Viral]( from Coconuts Bali 🇱🇦 Laos - [Discover Why Laos Is The World’s Next Great Foodie Destination]( from National Geographic (2019) - [Burning, Logging Rife In Phou Khao Khouay National Park]( from The Laotian Times --------------------------------------------------------------- Looking for deals on organised tours? Here are a few for Southeast Asia via Travelfish partner GetYourGuide. CambodiaUp to [15% off a full-day trip Angkor Wat’s Kulen Waterfall](. IndonesiaUp to [15% off a tour to Merapi, Borobudur and Prambanan](. MalaysiaUp to [10% off a bicycle tour of Kuala Lumpur’s old city](. ThailandUp to [30% off a 4-hour tour of Bangkok’s Chinatown](. Vietnam Up to [50% off a one-day Hạ Long Bay tour](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🇲🇾 Malaysia - [Mabel Ho: “I Still Flirt With The Idea Of Leaving. But That Dream Plays To A Different Tune Now.”]( from Movable Worlds 🇸🇬 Singapore - [Policy Proposals To Fix A ‘Hollow City’ Like Singapore]( from Rice Media 🇹🇭 Thailand - [Thai Tour Guides Fret Over Return Of Chinese Interlopers, Asking: Who Gains From Mass Tourism?]( from SCMP ($) - [Jusk Nok! Bangkok Cycle Tours]( from Low Season Traveller (Podcast) - [Digital Art Meets Animal Conservation In Thailand]( from Outlook Travel Mag - [T.I.D.: Mu Ko Adang & Ko Khai]( from Thai Island Quest ($) [Ad: Bangkok’s Sala Arun from US$73 per night. Click here for the details.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🇻🇳 Vietnam - [Phường 19 (Binh Thanh Edition)]( from A Story From Connla - [The Slum In The Heart Of Saigon]( from VNExpress - [In Unprecedented Slump, No Beachfront Properties Sold For 2 Months]( from VNExpress - [Vietnam’s Coffee Culture Survives 10 Years Of Starbucks]( from Nikkei Asia ($) Random other stuff - [Can ChatGPT Plan Your Vacation? Here’s What To Know About A.I. And Travel.]( from The New York Times ($) - [How Tourism Can Better Invest In Women]( from Uncornered Market - [The Metaphoric Rise Of Overtourism And Why We Should Stop Using The Phrase]( from Geography Directions - [Can Regenerative Travel Revolutionize Southeast Asia’s Tourism?]( from Asia Sustainable Travel - [In Maluku I Feared, Then Faced Swimming And The Sea]( from This Is Southeast Asia If rays of sun were noisy. A morning walk in Sidemen—no traffic, no people, nothing. 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 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]( [Share](   Read Travelfish weekly newsletter in the app Listen to posts, join subscriber chats, and never miss an update from Stuart McDonald. [Get the iOS app]( the Android app]( © 2023 Stuart McDonald Bali, Indonesia [Unsubscribe]() [Start writing]()