Travel Newsletter: 11 Aug 2023
Travel Newsletter: 11 Aug 2023
Mentawai Islands, the Albanian Riviera, A.I.-generated guidebooks, travel pre-smartphone, and more travel reads.
Hello from Lake Toba. I’ve been here for over a week now, and I got to see that this beautiful little place gets a surge of weekenders, and then it goes quiet during the week. I’m recharging my proverbial batteries here before heading to the Big Durian.
Here is this week’s assorted travel reads.
Travel reads
• Last call for a surfers’ hideaway
“A tiny island chain in Indonesia has achieved mythical status in the surfing community. Here come the resorts.”
The Washington Post has made an interactive article about the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra. I plan to visit West Sumatra in a separate trip.
• Dancing till dawn on the Albanian Riviera
“A weeklong music-and-wellness festival on the beach is just one reason visitors are now flocking to a country that was sealed off to the world for decades.”
Good to see Albania getting mainstream attention, but I wonder how long it will take for publications not to mention the past troubles. I’ve become attuned to this after still seeing “it’s been x years since the war” in articles about Vietnam.
“In a world threatened by housing and climate crises, people from all over North America are choosing a life on the road to reclaim their freedom, security, and dignity.”
• Remember what it was like to travel pre-smartphone?
“As a member of Gen Z, I’ve always had a device. I asked my mom and others to tell me about how they went on adventures without one.”
• The underrated joy of asking for directions
• Kazakhstan: A road trip through the nation's immense landscapes
Or, “Trying to walk in American cities”.
• A new frontier for travel scammers: A.I.-generated guidebooks
• How Anthony Bourdain changed fate of 'banh mi' stall in Vietnam's Hoi An
• See Tokyo metro's futuristic live-translation screen for foreign tourists
I write an "auto-fiction travel blog". Yes, that is a thing. These recommendations are very helpful!
The Albanian Riviera! I've often looked at Albania from across the sea (from Greece) and thought about how strange it is; one country being a tourist attraction/trap, its neighbour still troubled by its turbulent past.
But this summer, I've noticed a shift – people posting from Albania on Instagram, travel magazines writing about it and now this. I wonder if it's inflation that's forcing people to go there, or if it's the over-tourism of places like Greece, Italy, and France that now makes Albania appear appealing. The nature seems breathtaking and I see the appeal. Of course I'm curious to go myself, but I agree with you, it's a peculiar experience to go for a holiday in places where people only recently suffered greatly. I used to feel same in Berlin, where you can see the bullet holes in the walls of your hotel.