Couchfish

A spoiler up front. Don’t panic, Nakhon Nowhere, in name anyway, doesn’t exist. Rather it is a play on a common prefix in Thailand for towns and provinces. In this case I mean an off–beat, less–visited spot. It doesn’t matter where you are in Southeast Asia, Nakhon Nowheres lie everywhere in plain sight. They’re the train stations that you pull up at on the way to somewhere that isn’t nowhere. The...

This week, something new—a podcast! I chat with Indonesian food guru Arie Parikesit about how Indonesia offers a continent’s worth of eating. Please click on the play symbol above to listen! Says Arie: “You have breakfast in Aceh, and then you will have lunch maybe in Bandung, you have Sundanese food, and then you have dinner in Bali or Lombok—you will feel like you are in three different countrie...

A few years ago, I was on a night ferry from Bali to Lombok. Depending on the weather conditions, the trip takes around four and a half hours. For much of the first half, Bali fades from view. For most of the second half, Lombok approaches. In both segments, as with the landmasses, a phone signal first fades, then rises. In the middle though, for a little under two hours, there is no signal at all...

Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm is two towns in one. Tháp Chàm to the west and Phan Rang to the east—they’re separated by the Phan Rang River. Around seven kilometres further to the east, on the beach front, lies Ninh Chữ. After jumping off the train on the Tháp Chàm side of things, it is to Ninh Chữ I direct my xe–om. Maybe it is because the name is a mouthful, or because the sights are not that enticing, bu...

The other day on paid–for Couchfish I wrote, talking about Ho Chi Minh City, that it was a “great walking city” . Many did not agree. Later, I tweeted “What is the most interesting/unexpected thing you found walking in a foreign city?” Unfortunately auto–correct on my phone, turned “walking” into “w*****g”. You can imagine the responses— they were not helpful . Just keep on walking. On the Kalaw t...

I’m seated on a red plastic chair, on the pavement, at 6 am. My small aluminium table has a condiments holder, a strainer and a roll of toilet paper in a pale blue dispenser. Sweat is already beading up on the back of my neck, my forehead, and my arms. I haven’t even started eating yet. Bình Tây market—pre–renovation. Photo: Stuart McDonald. The condiments include a screw top glass jar half full o...

What is it about rivers? The first time I set eyes on the Mekong was in Nong Khai , a provincial capital in Northeast Thailand. It was 1994 and the first bridge over the Mekong had just opened. From my riverside garden at Mutmee Guesthouse , I could look upriver and see it in the distance. Across the river was Laos. It, like neighbouring Vietnam was in the process of reopening to tourism. A seven-...

I wrote ages ago about when I learned to dive on the Togean Islands in Sulawesi, Indonesia. It had taken me years to work up the courage to learn, and that first breath underwater had me sold. Barely two years later, I stopped for good. In the intervening period I was lucky enough to dive Komodo —it was amazeballs. I found my dive log book today, and the last entry I have is for the Sugar Wreck of...

I wrote a few days ago about a “ single serving friend ” and a reader got in touch asking what I meant. They wrote “I can’t decide if you’re being snarky or affectionate, can you tell me what you mean?” The line isn’t mine—I borrowed it from the movie Fight Club . Edward Norton is sitting beside Brad Pitt on a flight and Norton describes Pitt as a “single serving friend”. When he goes to explain i...

A morning bus takes me from Hà Tiên to Rạch Giá , both the provincial capital and the most popular spot for boats to the islands. The town itself isn’t rich in sights of interest, but sometimes it is the people you meet that make a place memorable. As I’m not island–bound I dump my bag at a plain hotel and wander off for coffee and a bite to eat. The town is, like most seaside towns, pretty enough...

Says Wikipedia : “Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people on average are six, or fewer, social connections away from each other”. Watching the US election over the last 82 years, sorry, I mean four days, I’ve thought about this a lot—in a travel context. Six is a small number, but it gets big fast. In another life, I worked at the Australian embassy in Bangkok. In my role I met the A...

I’ve always been always baffled by the few international tourists Indonesia’s Java attracts. Of course there are few (if any), at the moment, thanks to Covid19 , but even pre–plague there were few. While it is popular with Indonesians, foreigners are few and far between. Why? There are exceptions of course. The capital sees a trickle of foreigners—more often than not, transiting elsewhere. Yogyaka...

Sorry for the radio silence over the last couple of weeks. Have been very ill will some kind of faux–dengue that comes and goes. Hopefully I’m back on track now! Malaysia’s Perhentian islands sit off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. They’ve long been popular for offering some of the cheapest diving in Southeast Asia. There are two islands, Perhentian Besar (Big Perhentian) and Perhentian Kec...

Readers may recall a piece I wrote in July about when we offered our daughter as a bribe to an immigration officer. No? You can read it here . At the time we were on our way to Kep for a wedding, and while the wedding was the main reason, close behind was the fresh crab. Crab shacks. Photo: Mark Ord . At the time, Kep’s fresh crab scene was a shadow of what it is today . Little more than a collect...

The first time I headed overseas, all the talk at the travel doctor was about malaria . There were daily, weekly and monthly pills to consider, and of course a chunk of dosh. In all my travels I could count on one hand the number of travellers I’ve met who have caught malaria. Dengue fever on the other hand ... Random photo from Sidemen, Bali. Photo: Stuart McDonald. Over the years I’ve had dengue...

Decades ago, I was in Thailand on one of my six month trips and two close Australian friends had joined me for a stretch. They’d never been to Southeast Asia and the whole joint kind of blew them away. At one stage, we were staying on Haad Salad, on the west coast of Ko Pha Ngan . The beach was less developed at the time and there were only two places to stay. One afternoon, it was that magic hour...

It doesn’t matter if you’re travelling, or at home, everyone eats. If you’re at home, think about the meals you have had over the last few days. What does what you ate and drank say about you, your culture and the country you are living in? A CNN video on Hanoi Street Food Tours. I’m Australian, so Vegemite (not Marmite!) is on my list. The salty black paste would be a feature in the diets of many...

There’s no Southeast Asian city that has a larger place in my heart than Phnom Penh. Over time it has played home to my highest highs and lowest lows—etched into who I have become. The city punches well above its weight for a place I only lived in for two years, and have visited a dozen or so times beside. But that’s Phnom Penh for you. There’s always another storm on the way. Photo: Stuart McDona...

Every now and then in my travels I stumble upon a spot that is so perfect—for me—that I think I never want to leave. Then I meet the people behind it, people who manage to make the perfect even moreso, and I know I never want to leave. Kepa Island , a smudge on the map, off the western tip of Alor , part of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, is such a place. Exploring Alor. Should have put in a lon...

When you inspect hotels for a living, there are two grand truths. First, you’ll have the privilege to visit some amazing properties. Second, you’ll have the opportunity to see places that are memorable for the wrong reasons. I’ve inspected thousands of resorts, hotels and guesthouses. I don’t know how many I’ve stayed in—at least a thousand or two. Some I never wanted to leave. Others I couldn’t g...

I met Kate * in Battambang , a city in Western Cambodia. She was, I guess, in her late forties, and had lived her life in Vancouver, Canada. We got talking at a breakfast cafe and shot the breeze about Battambang and what we liked and disliked. I asked her if she was travelling alone, and she said no she wasn’t alone—she was travelling with her daughter. Take the leap. Kids goofing off in Battamba...

We’ve all been there. A spectacular feat of traveller idiocy on Facebook or Twitter watched through half–closed fingers. Thinking no no no ... nooooooo what are you thinking?! Watch out for yellow phone boxes. Photo: Stuart McDonald. All I can say is I’m glad there was no such thing as social media when I was travelling in my twenties. Here are ten of my favourites. Laos: The University connection...

To be honest, it feels like one hundred years since I started the daily entries for Couchfish. This being the one hundredth I thought I’d look back to highlight some of the entries I’m happy with. Counting the free Couchfish posts (Diversions and Friday afternoon), I’m up around the 130 post mark now. As such I’m pulling from all for this collection—and this is a free to read for all post. I’ve ma...

Sometimes a good diversion is a side–trip or a weekender, other times it is a way to break up a longer trip. Châu Đốc , just shy of the Vietnamese Cambodian border falls into the latter category. The second largest centre in An Giang province (Long Xuyên is the capital), Châu Đốc is far more than a simple overnighter. The town has been welcoming travellers ever since the river border crossing open...

As with diving , I took to climbing volcanoes later in life. My first attempt, climbing Agung on Bali was a failure. Rinjani, on Lombok, almost killed me. Before I get on with this tale, I’d just like to mention a crowdfunding campaign running on behalf of Katni Wati , the founder of Rinjani Women Adventures , of Senaru in Lombok. On the Agung climb, there were three of us plus a guide. At around...