Travelfish #311: Muang Ngoi + Breaking the cycle + Overbooked

Everywhere is on the way to somewhere Hi all, This week we have new coverage for [Muang Ngoi]( and [Udomxai]( in northern Laos on the site. We’ve also a review of Elizabeth Beckers’ Overbooked and the soap box is about breaking the cycle of overtourism—yes, we’re all about too many people this week, though that is unlikely to be a problem in Muang Ngoi. On the forum, last week we added [a call out for some feedback](. We’re slowly working through each of our page templates, looking to see how we can make them more useful for you, dear reader. This week it's the transport page—if you’ve got any ideas or pet hates about what we do here, please let us know, either by posting a reply on the forum or just dropping us an email. We can take your thoughts on board before starting to shake things up. Thank you to those who have already made the time to leave some thoughts—much appreciated. 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](. Exclusive for Travelfish readers: Save an additional 7% at Agoda [Use promo code Tfishpromo »]( Soapbox Breaking the cycle Way back when, an old friend James Fahn (he was our next-door neighbour for much of the time we lived in Bangkok) wrote [A Land on Fire]( about the environmental consequences of the Southeast Asian economic boom. Within the 2003-published book, Fahn dedicates a chapter to the role tourism plays in all this, especially with a view to the Thai islands. Fahn writes: “The tourism blight ravaging Thailand has a very predictable life cycle: Promotion leads to encroachment and development, which is followed by pollution and decay. All too often, people notice only in the final stages, when it is usually too late to prevent the environment from being despoiled.” A few years earlier, I’d written in a 1997-published Thailand guidebook, which included [Ko Lipe]( an island in far southwest Thailand. At the time, there were three places to stay on the island. You could get a bungalow with a private bathroom for 100 baht. I wrote: “If you are looking for a tranquil piece of paradise, Ko Lipe is about as close as you are likely to get.” Today, some 21 years later, [Booking.com lists more than 70 places to stay]( on the same island (undoubtably dozens more cannot be booked online); you can pay [8,000 baht for a Jacuzzi Ocean View Suite](. Save the shape of the place, the island is largely unrecognisable to me—and I confess to feeling that little bit responsible for the mess by way back then telling everyone (well, the eight people who bought the book at least) to go there. I’m not trying to make this into yet another “you should have been here yesterday” style lament. But fresh from reading Overbooked ([see this week’s book review]( and with Fahn’s words above in mind, I wonder how one does work to break out of this cycle? What can we do to work to ensure that there will be islands like the Ko Lipe of 21 years ago available for the next generation of travellers to flop around on? Particularly as transportation infrastructure continues to improve, the remote becomes less so. Ko Lipe in the 1990s only had a boat service to the mainland every other day—today you can buy [door to door flight/train–speedboat packages from Bangkok]( among other places. At least for now, in some countries (Indonesia and the Philippines spring to mind) distance helps keep downward pressure on numbers, but this will change. Tourism development has the potential to be far smarter than it was two decades ago. As we see Thailand closing Phi Phi Leh for a short stretch this year, authorities are (very late to the game) switching on to the problem they face. But the environment is almost always already despoiled. Perhaps authorities need to take a more proactive stance, identifying potential Ko Lipes and setting up visitation limits and implementing long-term development plans. These need not include 8,000 baht a night resorts but rather work on promoting local ownership, management and wealth into the long-term growth of islands. Also, what responsibility should travel writers take for the mess? Should writers stop writing about truly fragile destinations? Or they could just leave it to the free market, in which case we should probably get Fahn’s words printed on T-shirts. What do you think? 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 »]( What we’re reading Overbooked: The Exploding Business Of Travel And Tourism by Elizabeth Becker Elizabeth Becker’s Overbooked is part reportage, part travelogue and part annoying—not all in equal measure thankfully—and remains a useful primer for the reader with an interest in [where the global tourism train is taking us](. Thank you Just a few quick words of thanks to businesses who have decided to advertise direct with us on Travelfish recently. If you know a business, small or large, who may be interested in advertising on the site, please send them our [One Page Media Kit!]( Other advertisers include [Asia Highlights]( offer tailor made travel through Vietnam, [Take Me Tour]( offer experiences with locals out of Chiang Mai, [Akha Kitchen]( offer Thai cooking classes in Chiang Rai, WWOOF Thailand [connect hosts and organic farm volunteers]( and VD Travel offer [trending itineraries across the region](. Featured Muang Ngoi With all this talk about overtourism, it is heartening to find places that remain, save electricity and a few flush loos, not unlike what they were like 20 years ago. One such place is [Muang Ngoi]( in northern Laos. Located midway up the Nam Ou river, Muang Ngoi is still, after all these years, only really reachable by boat (though a road is well on the way) and this isolation has kept it on a slow burn as far as development is concerned. This isn’t the land time stood still in though, and over the years, much attuned to the slow drip-feed of travellers, electricity, running water and 3G/WiFi coverage have slowly arrived in the village. These modern comforts aside, the main past time remains swinging in your hammock [from your guesthouse veranda]( while watching the Nam Ou slide by. The slightly more energetic can grab a bicycle or do a guided walk to outlying villages or some caves, while the positively energetic can avail themselves of the [two substantial viewpoints]( which you can climb to. Otherwise, set yourself up for a [steady diet of banana pancakes]( and slow days by the river—think of it as a holiday from a holiday—you’ve earned it. [Read more about Muang Ngoi here](. Travelfish partners [Liveaboard]( offers online bookings, detailed write-ups and reviews of live aboard operators across Southeast Asia. Liveaboards are available for booking in [Burma]( [Indonesia]( [Philippine]( [Thailand]( and more. News from the region BURMA I: Myanmar builds repatriation camps devoid of Rohingya returnees “Of the nearly 700,000 people, mostly civilians, who fled Myanmar’s violent crackdown on Rohingya insurgents last year, [only a tiny number]( — mostly minority Hindus — have returned. ” BURMA II: Burma’s crimes against humanity went unpunished. No wonder it’s at it again. “The Tatmadaw, as the military is known, feels free to pursue this genocidal policy because it has suffered virtually no consequences for what human rights groups and senior U.N. officials describe as [blatant crimes against humanity]( BURMA III: Officials to reopen some Bagan pagodas to climbing tourists “ “We have not decided yet how many people will be allowed to climb on the selected pagodas,” he said. “It will depend on the results of experts’ study of the strength of each pagoda [that we selected for this year]( ” INDONESIA I: How Indonesia’s lax smoking laws are helping next generation to get hooked “In short, Indonesia has [a big problem with tobacco](. In particular, the government needs to urgently do more to protect children, since they’re not experienced enough to make well-informed choices. ” INDONESIA II: Sultan of Yogyakarta: A feminist revolution in an ancient kingdom “ “But you know it's [always been women]( that hold the real power in Javanese households,” Bimo says with a smile.” SOUTHEAST ASIA : Asia’s appetite for endangered species is relentless “The brutal economics of extinction leads to two conclusions. Those holding valuable stocks of a particular creature have little interest in saving it in the wild. And it pays to generate new demand and supply. Both conclusions [favour well-organised international criminal syndicates]( THAILAND I: Whale that died off Thailand had eaten 80 plastic bags “If you have 80 plastic bags in your stomach, [you die]( THAILAND II: City Hall continues “cancelled” river boardwalk plan City Hall is pushing for construction of concrete walkways along the Chao Phraya River [even though the government dropped the controversial idea]( an opponent of the project said Monday. THAILAND III: Severe flood warnings put 61 provinces on high alert “He said a depression over the South China Sea and a strengthening southwest monsoon in Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf of Thailand [would result in rain]( including heavy downpours in some areas, in the North, Northeast, Central Plains and the South .” TRAVEL SAFETY: Man stuck in Cambodia after motorbike accident If you are going to ride a scooter, [get a license](. VIETNAM I: A sea of garbage: trash engulfs Vietnam’s coastline “Mai Cat Vong, head of the management board of the local Minh Loc market, said drifting trash is constantly around, but “[locals only make the situation worse]( by throwing their household waste directly into the sea.” ” Travel writing AIR TRAVEL: Was there an apocalypse while I was asleep at the airport? “The only people who live in Australia are those who came to Australia and couldn’t face the trip back. [I’m actually one of those people]( CAMBODIA: Cambodia’s islands “On this episode we’ll explore Cambodia’s emerging beach scene, [where to go and how to get there]( LAOS: Boost sustainable coffee production in Laos “This coffee project will train poor farmers to increase their yields, produce higher quality coffee, and connect them with international markets, helping them lift their families out of poverty. By diversifying farming practices, families will also develop skills to plant and grow other crops and [improve their overall nutrition]( MOUNTAINS: Mount Taranaki: will the New Zealand peak’s ‘living person’ status bring respect? “ “Rubbish being dropped, people standing in sacred spots and, worse still, people defecating on it; [these have become real issues]( ” This is something Indonesia could do with its volcanoes like yesterday. THAILAND: Scenes of 19th century Siam revived at the National Gallery “Admission is free. [The exhibition runs through July 28]( at the National Gallery. The museum – housed in a building that was once the Royal Mint – is located on Chao Fa Road near Sanam Luang. It opens 9am until 7pm from Wednesday through Sunday.” VIETNAM I: Documenting Hanoi’s postwar evolution “Mr. Crawford, who said he’s “[interested in everything]( photographed a varied cast of characters, including circus performers, business owners, bicyclists and doctors.” VIETNAM II: The high roads: Ha Giang→Ba Be Lake→Cao Bang “There are several different route options for riding between Ha Giang, Ba Be Lake (in Bac Kan Province), and Cao Bang; all of which are stunning, but [none of which are particularly straightforward](. In this guide, I’ve mapped three routes that connect the extreme north with the northeast.” Interesting site Asian Family Tree A gift for the traveller [who has everything else](. Travel shot [Meet downtown Muang Ngoi. Photo: Cindy Fan] Meet downtown Muang Ngoi. Photo: Cindy Fan 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](