Tag: Malaysia

Travel Tips

Southeast Asia Does Not Have One Wet Season. It Has Eleven Timetables, and Most Visitors Read the Wrong One

A country-by-country guide to travelling the region from October to December, from the flooded central coast of Vietnam to Timor-Leste’s whale season Bangkok is wet again. This week the city’s drainage department reported standing water on five main road sections, and the Thai Meteorological Department expects isolated heavy to very heavy rain across the central

October 10, 2026

Wading birds foraging in the mudflats of Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Định

Conservation

Malaysia and Vietnam Just Added Six Parks to an Exclusive List. The Badge Is the Easy Part.

Six new ASEAN Heritage Parks were declared this week. What happens to them next depends on money nobody has fully worked out how to raise. There is a particular kind of conservation news that reads as an unambiguous win right up until you ask the second question. The first question, the one that made headlines

September 12, 2026

Telok Pandan Kecil bay framed by sandstone headlands, Bako National Park, Sarawak

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 25 | 10 September 2026

A Few Words From Me… Malaysia and Vietnam did something rather good for the region this week, six new names added to the ASEAN Heritage Park list between them, Bako and Lambir Hills among them. That sounds like the sort of thing that only matters to committee minutes until you realise Bako is a place

September 10, 2026

A boatman steering a small wooden boat with an outboard motor across calm lake water toward a forested island

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 24 | 3 September 2026

A Few Words From Me… Money keeps surfacing as the theme this week, or rather the question of where it actually ends up once it’s left your hand. Marriott Bonvoy’s new partnership with the orangutan foundation in Perak is about as clean an example as you’ll find: scan a QR code at check-in in Malaysia

September 3, 2026

coracles on a sandy beach in Da Nang, Vietnam with early morning mist hanging over the sea

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 23 | 27 August 2026

A Few Words From Me The biggest story coming out of the region this week is the weather itself. Green season brings a wash of colour to the region yet it can also prove to be a wash out, with lives disrupted through incessant rain that brings flooding to low-lying areas. Laos is dealing with

August 27, 2026

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 21 | 13 August 2026

A Few Words From Me Lampang doesn’t get that much attention – even from people like myself who’ve spent years in Thailand. This week its lac-dyed textiles earned official protected status, the same kind Champagne has, which feels overdue in the best way, a craft that could easily have been left to fade (no pun

August 13, 2026

Kuala Lumpur skyline at sunset with Petronas Towers and modern developments reflecting Malaysia's appeal for long-term luxury residency

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 16 | 9 July 2026

Around the Region I’m not going to lie, the durian museum that just opened in Kuala Lumpur isn’t tempting me onto a flight this week. I don’t find the notoriously pongy fruit as intrusive as some, but I did once convince myself that there was a gas leak in the apartment (which isn’t connected to

July 9, 2026

A derelict French colonial villa near Kep, Cambodia, the kind of ruin Knai Bang Chatt's own buildings once were. Image by Adam Jones

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 15 | 2 July 2026

Around the Region Hello from Europe, where I’m currently trading Bangkok’s humidity and incessant rain for a rather more restrained kind of summer, though I won’t pretend I don’t miss the smell of a night market and being able to grab a bite to eat from a street stall at 9pm. Westerners do have stricter

July 1, 2026

the view over Luang Prabang from Mount Phousi

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 14 | 26 June 2026

Around the Region We’re well into the wet season here in Bangkok and the city has settled into its slow, sweaty rhythm. The roads are always busy but the streets are much quieter, the afternoon rain is reliable, and anyone who knows Southeast Asia knows this is actually a good time to be paying attention

June 25, 2026

Aerial view of a white sand beach and turquoise water at Koh Kong, Cambodia, with traditional wooden fishing boats and palm trees

Newsletter

Unmasked Weekly – Issue No. 12 | 12 June 2026

Around the Region Regular visitors to this region will understand that Southeast Asia’s natural environment is under more pressure than ever, yet the people working to protect it are making measurable progress. We attempt to champion the good, while recognising the bad. This week Thailand has announced a sustainable development plan for one of its

June 11, 2026