Bali quake!

A wrap on interesting Southeast Asia travel-ish stuff I’ve come across since last week. www.travelfish.org/newsletter/n... Title photo by @faineg.bsky.social Some hard yards there Faine!

“...learning is all about making your travels intentional—learn about the place & let that learning determine your intentions. By all means source your travel intelligence from wherever works for you, but use that to inform your own learning rather than replace it. www.travelfish.org/couchfish/ne...

Travelfish #555 The Paving Over Paradise Edition A wrap on interesting stuff I’ve read over the last week or so (yes, sorry, late again). www.travelfish.org/newsletter/n...

“Facts are important.” Really thoughtful discussion between @barackobama.bsky.social and @hcrichardson.bsky.social about the rise of social media and its impact on liberal democracy. Particularly from around the 25 minute mark. youtu.be/EM9B8Qin9ac?...

Missing person in Bali, last seen around Padang Padang late August. Deets & pics in post below. 🙏 LI post here: www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonc...

Never ceases to amaze and embarrass me the contempt some Australian tourists have for the police here in Bali. Also, ahhh, wear a helmet and they won’t pull you over idiot.

Nice to be included in this roundup of thoughts on overtourism. Thanks Meera Dattani for the invitation. 🙏 adventure.com/overtourism-...

Travelfish #554 The Dodgy Tour Company Math Edition. Probably should have slipped an “allegedly” into the title, but anyways a wrap on interesting SE travel and other random stuff I’ve come across over the last week. www.travelfish.org/newsletter/n...

Couchfish: Carefree or clueless? “A final point. When a travel experience goes sideways, and your name is trending for all the wrong reasons, you’re also imposing yourself upon a destination and its people for all the wrong reasons. www.travelfish.org/couchfish/ne...

Personally I prefer it if the wings are taped back on out of sight of boarding pax.

Beef noodle queue. Hard no.

Always a pleasure to be back in KL.

Strange, error-ridden piece on the mess that is Bali. indonesiaexpat.id/outreach/obs...

"We cannot control what Google posts or says," the post added, "and we will not honor the Google AI specials." Lolz futurism.com/local-restau...

Travelfish #553 The Bad Borders Edition: A wrap on interesting Southeast Asia/travel/Less Bad Travel/other random stuff I’ve come across over the last week, including an excellent three-part series on the Cambodia-Thailand border drama by @dluek.bsky.social www.travelfish.org/newsletter/n...

“The research added the most profitable eco-lodges were foreign-owned, with much of the tourist spending flowing to overseas travel agencies, food imports or profits repatriated abroad.” Shocked I say. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

What is less bad travel? www.travelfish.org/couchfish/ne...

Journalists across the world have no problem selling out one of their own colleagues to do the bidding of a genocidal state. Endless shame on you all. Screen grabs from @newscord.org on insta

Nice to be home.

Tell me you’re in Finland without telling me you’re in Finland.

Achievement unlocked. Now to get home!

Budapest sure knows how to build a train station.

So some American tourist just bailed me up for a five-minute photo shoot near the Blue Mosque because he wanted some photos of a “True Turkish”. I’m wearing Kyrgyz cap, a Khmer krama, and a shirt from H&M. I don’t speak Turkish. My god my head.

Good morning Istanbul.

Almost three hours into 4.5 hour fast train trip from Ankara to Istanbul and the woman beside me has been on a single phone call for the entire trip. Who the hell has 3.5 hour phone calls?

Travelling with a plane spotter is great for comments like “Hey Dad, this plane is 22 years old and here’s a list of everyone who owned it”. www.planespotters.net/airframe/air...

Just 11 hours to go. Next stop Tashkent, then Tbilisi, Georgia.

The Aral Sea is quite something.

So that’s dinner sorted.

Through not moving your feet but simply pivoting your body, it’s straightforward to record alternative views of the same moment in travel space. On the Samarkand to Khiva night train, Uzbekistan.

Light it up.

Bought two Eurail passes day before yesterday. 20% off sale announced today. Ooppps.

Late light. Bukhara.

A few happy snaps from Bukhara

New digs. Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

Interesting that Yandex suggests you get the bus when traffic heavy. Nice.

Puts cold weather whining to bed.

Hi Tashkent.

Made it to the Aktor Pass. What a place. Just 8 million hours to the car.

A few more happy snaps, Song Kul to Kazarman to Osh.

A few happy snaps from the last few days from Kochor to Song Kul to Kazarman in Kyrgyzstan. Absolutely fab.

Back in range.

And we’re off!

Up in the hills behind Bishkek. Ate a bit while there.

Western border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan closed. Not ideal.