A Few Words From Me
Some good news from the Mekong to start with, and it’s been a while since I could write that sentence with a straight face. In Kratie, up in Cambodia’s northeast, the Irrawaddy dolphin count is heading the right way, and after writing in August about the Laos side of the border, where the last dolphins at the Four Thousand Islands were lost in 2022, it’s a genuine pleasure to report the opposite. Up the river in Vientiane, the Lao capital is working out how to persuade people to stay for more than a night or two, with new heritage routes, evening attractions and a new travel app, which feels well timed, with this Sunday’s World Tourism Day given over to digital tools, and I’ll be curious to see whether any of it keeps people in the city rather than on the first bus or train out. On the accommodation front, Park Hyatt’s first resort in Vietnam, on Phu Quoc, is finally taking bookings, around seven years after it was first announced (I’ve known kitchen extensions run to a tighter schedule), and I’ve taken a closer look at what its green credentials really amount to, which is the question I’d want answered before handing over US$700 a night. And in Bali, a new study suggests years of coral planting off Sanur haven’t stopped the decline while the wastewater keeps flowing, though tourism, when handled properly, could still be part of the answer. One practical note before you read on: there’s no issue next Thursday, so the next Unmasked Weekly lands on 8 October. In the meantime, Thailand’s national parks are beginning to reopen after the rains, with Phu Kradueng first on 1 October, and there’s plenty in this week’s ‘What’s On’ section to plan around. As always, you’re welcome to drop me a line with any news and developments you’re noticing on the ground; otherwise I’ll see you in a fortnight.
This Week in Southeast Asia
Cambodia’s Mekong Dolphins Are Coming Back, and You Can See Them
For the first time in a generation, the Irrawaddy dolphins of the Mekong have a trend line worth celebrating. Cambodia’s Fisheries Administration and WWF put the population at 118 in April, after the sixth calf of the year was spotted at Kampi pool in Kratie province, with no deaths recorded over the previous 16 months. Independent reporting from the river puts the figure at a little over 100, down from around 200 in the late 1990s, so treat the exact number with some caution, but every recent count points the same way.
One of roughly 118 left in Cambodia’s stretch of the Mekong, and a number that is finally rising.
Kampi is a 60-metre-deep stretch of river and one of three deep pools where the last Mekong population survives, and local boat drivers take visitors out to see them every morning. That matters, because tourism money gives riverside families a reason to want the dolphins alive, rather than tangled in gillnets. It’s a sharp contrast with the Laos side of the border, where, as we reported in Issue No. 21 of Unmasked Weekly, the Four Thousand Islands lost their last dolphins in 2022.
Kampi sits around 16 km north of Kratie town, an easy tuk-tuk ride, and boat trips go out from the pool itself. Go early, when the river is calm and the light is soft, and choose a boatman who keeps his distance and cuts the engine when a pod surfaces. The best sightings tend to come to those who sit quietly and wait.
Park Hyatt Phu Quoc Finally Takes Bookings. How Green Is It?
Park Hyatt’s first resort in Vietnam is now taking bookings for stays from 1 March 2027, around seven years after it was first announced with a 2022 opening in mind. The resort covers around 160 acres at the southwestern tip of Phu Quoc, with 1.7 km of coastline, 114 rooms and suites, 54 pool villas and entry rates from around US$700 a night.
Its green credentials, as the resort itself describes them, include a zero-leakage waste system, rainwater harvesting, low-water landscaping and an organic farm supplying its kitchens and spa. None of that is independently certified yet, and Phu Quoc has spent the past decade absorbing one large resort after another, on an island where much of the land sits within a national park and UNESCO biosphere reserve. A resort of this size can tread lightly, but the proof comes after opening, not in the launch material. If I get the chance to review it, I’ll tell you what I find.
If you’re tempted, the resort is about 30 minutes by road from Phu Quoc International Airport, and reservations are open through Hyatt. Before you commit, ask two questions: which sustainability certification the property is working towards, and how its waste and water systems will be audited once guests arrive. A resort confident in its answers will be glad to give them.
Vientiane Wants You to Stay Longer, and Now There’s an App
Vientiane has a problem most capitals would envy: visitors like it, they just don’t stay. The city welcomed more than 2.2 million visitors last year and beat its revenue target, yet most leave after one or two nights, and the city’s new tourism plans are aimed squarely at changing that.
Authorities have grouped four inner routes around slow travel and heritage, taking in That Luang and Wat Sisaket, Patuxay and the Presidential Palace, the Mekong riverfront around Nam Phou and the night market, and the city’s weaving and arts communities. Three outer routes run into Sangthong, Hadsayfong and Pakngum districts, including the Phou Phanang protected forest. Alongside them, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched Lao Travel on 18 September, an app for booking accommodation, transport and other services.
Much of the rest is still at proposal stage: light shows at Patuxay, cultural performances on the riverfront, and a single-ticket city pass modelled on Angkor and Hoi An. I’d happily see the city pass arrive first, because Vientiane rewards the unhurried visitor, as we found when we made the case for slow travel in the Lao capital, and a pass would make a third night an easy decision. Wattay International Airport is a short drive from the centre, and the Laos-China Railway connects the city with Luang Prabang.
Bali’s Sanur Reefs Are Still Declining Despite Years of Coral Planting
Sanur is one of the places where Bali’s beach tourism began, and it’s now the subject of an uncomfortable finding. A study published in Ocean & Coastal Management found the reefs off Sanur moderately to severely degraded, despite years of coral planting and artificial reef building, and Mongabay’s report on the research explains why: restoration has tackled the symptoms while the causes, sediment running off the land and wastewater flowing into the sea, have carried on.
Sanur’s jukung carry snorkellers out to the reef, which makes where their skippers drop anchor matter more than any amount of new coral.
The researchers also point to overlapping authorities and slow decisions, and to tourism’s own footprint: swimmers standing on coral, boats mooring on the reef, and wastewater from tourism businesses. Earlier research recorded a 38% fall in coral cover across Bali’s tourism centres between 2010 and 2023. And yet most of the people interviewed believe tourism could help pay for a fix, provided part of the money genuinely goes to the reef.
Sanur sits on Bali’s southeast coast, a short drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport, and its calm, shallow water makes it an easy snorkelling spot. Choose an operator that ties up to mooring buoys rather than dropping anchor, keep your feet off the coral, and don’t be shy about asking where a business sends its wastewater. Bali’s IDR 150,000 tourist levy, paid through the official Love Bali portal, is meant to help fund environmental protection, and it’s fair to expect some of it to reach the reef.
What’s On
This Week
Binh Ngo Mid-Autumn Festival – Hoi An, Vietnam | 23-26 September
Hoi An’s old town is at its most atmospheric for Mid-Autumn, and Da Nang’s official festival calendar lists lion dances, the Thien Cau dance competition, traditional feast displays and lantern parades through the heritage streets, with the full moon itself falling on 25 September.
World Tourism Day Celebrations – Dili and Pante Macassar, Timor-Leste | 27 September
Timor-Leste marks World Tourism Day with showcases of local food, crafts, music and community tourism in the capital and in the Oé-Cusse enclave, and the country’s official events calendar is worth a look if you’re in Dili, since the Dili International Film Festival opens the same week.
Coming Up
Phu Kradueng National Park Reopens – Loei, Thailand | From 1 October
One of Thailand’s classic climbs reopens after its rainy-season closure, and the park’s 2026-27 season runs until 31 May, with ascents permitted from 6am to noon and two routes, including the sunrise walk to Pha Nok Aen, requiring a park staff escort.
Pchum Ben – Cambodia | 10-12 October
Cambodia’s ancestor festival ends its fortnight of temple offerings with a three-day national public holiday, when families head back to their home provinces, so expect quiet cities, busy roads and pagodas full of offerings if you’re travelling then.
Phuket Vegetarian Festival – Phuket, Thailand | 10-18 October
Nine days of processions, fire-walking and jay (strict vegan) street food centred on Phuket Town’s Chinese shrines, free to watch, and with Old Town rooms filling early it’s worth checking the day-by-day procession schedule before you book.
Worth Reading
If the Sanur story has you wondering what else the region is doing to keep its reefs alive, our look at Thailand’s coral cryobank covers one of its more ambitious backstops: Thailand Is Freezing Its Coral Reefs. Here’s Why That Should Matter to Every Diver in Southeast Asia
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