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Food Festivals / Film Festival Travel / Exotic Cuisine / Southeast Asia Travel / New York City / → All Tags

Forget the Popcorn! Eat Pigs' Blood Popsicles at the NYC Food Film Fest

The NYC Food Film Festival combines two great things: food-related flicks and some tasty eats. The fourth annual event runs June 23 to 27, but the day to visit is June 24, which will feature the Southeast Asian Street Food Market, where you can nibble on delicacies like pig's blood popsicles. Doesn't that sound refreshing on a hot summer day?

The evening will feature movies that explore the region's cuisine and chefs will pair exotic eats with the food flicks. New York toque Brad Farmerie, of Public and Double Crown, will curate the food-filled festivities.

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Asia Travel / Airlines / Airline News / Travel News / Air Asia / Southeast Asia Travel / → All Tags

Boeing Thinks That In 20 Years, 41% Of Travel Will Be All About Asia

Boeing's forecasters have squinted into the future of airlines and come to basically the same conclusion that Disney came to when they made recent theme park decisions: the world's economic future lies in East and Southeast Asia, where the recession has been relatively mild and the population continues to skyrocket.

Not only does the airplane company expect Southeast Asia to account for tons of new demand, but they insist the region will account for a greater proportion of global demand. If you woke up today wondering what the future of aviation looks like, here it is:

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Travel Health / Disease / Southeast Asia Travel / → All Tags

New Malaysian Malaria: Monkeys and Mosquitoes To Blame

Travelers to Southeast Asia beware: there's a new strain of malaria in town. Researchers have recently figured out that the Plasmodium knowlesi strain of malaria, which used to be confined to Malaysian macaque monkeys, can kill humans too.

The especially nasty part about this new human strain of malaria is that doctors have a hard time recognizing it. Symptoms and disease progression look scarily similar to other less serious forms of malaria, so you might end up dead before the doctors realize they should've done something differently.

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Southeast Asia Travel Could Get Way Easier

The strong pros for visiting Southeast Asia (awesome food, beautiful countries, kind people, cheap) balance out its hardy cons (killer language barrier, suffocating climate, pricey plane travel). Soon, a coalition of countries will tip the scales in the favor of travelers--and we'll be booking our flights right quick.

Last week, delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam came together in Hanoi to talk about creating a five-country, single-visa tourism scheme. The reduction in costs and headaches for travelers will be close to immeasurable--and it's a savvy move for leaders who want to boost their tourism revenues. This means one price, one stamp and we can pass through all five countries with ease, no shady border crossings, no bribes and no giving up valuable passport space for stamps from other cool places.

The Cambodian and Vietnamese reps agreed to allow 14-day, cross-border travel for any of their citizens holding a passport. This part of the pact goes into effect December 4. Summit attendees also suggested a "travel card" that Southeast Asian businesspeople could use to travel, without needing any visa, to all five countries. Those of us not lucky enough to come from SEA may have to wait a little longer to collect our pass, but the Cambodia-Vietnam agreement is a show of good faith and an indication this plan has serious potential.

Related Stories:
· Subregional Summit Pushes Single Visa Scheme [news.cn]
· Southeast Asia Field Trip [Jaunted]

[Photo: graeme_newcomb]

Communist Travel / Cambodia Travel / History / Southeast Asia Travel / → All Tags

Stepping Behind The Iron Curtain Of The East

The countries of Indochina love themselves some communism. Laos and Vietnam are openly People's Republics, with red hammer-and-sickle flags lining the streets, while Cambodia fronts like a democracy. (Mao Zedong Boulevard and Josip Broz Tito Street in Phnom Penh hint at the country’s political ideology.)

In Laos and Vietnam, it seems every central square, statue and museum pays homage to the worker’s struggle in some form. Here’s a quick run-down of the reddest sites in the region:

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Train Travel / Trains / Southeast Asia Travel / → All Tags

Aussies Overhauling Cambodia's Railroad

War-torn, poor and corrupt Cambodia is sometimes thought of as the missing link in rapidly developing Southeast Asia. But at least when it comes to train travel, the designation might soon end.

Currently, the national railroad’s cars chug along rickety rails at a sluggish 18 miles per hour. And riding the train carries about the same risk of death as hopping the NYC subway in the 1980s. Now, an Australian rail company is planning to purchase and overhaul the system, renovating the cars and adding new lines. Right now, long stretches of missing track prohibit train travel throughout the country except for trips between Battambang and Phnom Penh, and even then, the lumbering, open cars are subject to robberies.

The 30-year contract will split profits between the Aussie firm and Cambodia’s government, and the upgrades should be complete within three years. Seems like an optimistic time line for a country still fumbling around with its attempts try Khmer Rouge cadres for crimes they committed in the 1970s, but if the project works, maybe by 2050 Cambodia will have its own Danube Express.

Related Stories:
· Ailing Railway Set for Upgrade [Phnom Penh Post]

[Photo: mattames]

Temples / Southeast Asia Travel / World Heritage Sites / Culture / UNESCO / → All Tags

Thailand and Cambodia Talk It Out in China

On the list of people we're glad we're not--after Bristol Palin and Guy Ritchie, natch--comes Thai premier Somchai Wongsawat. The masochist voluntarily agreed to lead Thailand amid unprecedented government protests.

If the burning streets of Bangkok aren't enough to worry about, now the guy has to deal with a potential war with neighboring Cambodia. Last week, fighting erupted along the countries' border over this UNESCO World Heritage temple that both claim to own.

Now, Somchai will again sit down with Hun Sen, Cambodia's 20-plus-year strongman prime minister, for another attempt at a truce. Both men headed to Beijing today for the talks. Looks like hosting bilateral talks is China's way of reminding the world its post-Olympics city still exists.

Related Stories:
· Somchai and Hun Sen Meet in China [Bangkok Post]
· What Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting About? [Jaunted]

[Photo: daylife.com]

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Temple Troubles: Thailand and Cambodia Fight On

It was back in July that we first mentioned the temple trouble between Thailand and Cambodia as they fought over the newly UNESCO Heritage-listed Preah Vihear temple on their disputed border. And we thought it'd all be over soon and we could put this place back on our want-to-visit list.

Not so. Since then, there have been more protests and even a short skirmish between Thai and Cambodian soldiers that left three people injured. Landmines have also caused a few injuries.

This week, the two sides finally sat down for a chat again. But the only result seems to be that Cambodia has told Thailand it has to get its troops out, and the Thais have said they're staying there to do more mine clearance work. Which means that planning a visit to the gorgeous Preah Vihear will have to stay on our "postponed" list.

Related Stories:
· Cambodia, Thailand Resume Talks on Border Spat [AFP, via Google]
· What Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting About? [Jaunted]
· Cambodia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mofaitsontdm]

Temples / Southeast Asia Travel / Google Maps / World Heritage Sites / Culture / UNESCO / → All Tags

What Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting About?

For more than a week, the Southeast Asian neighbors have been locked in a standoff that the Cambodian Foreign Minister has called an "imminent state of war." But what about? Some kind of temple? Exactly.

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Southeast Asia Field Trip / Southeast Asia Travel / → All Tags

SEA Field Trip Wrap-Up: Khorb Koon for the Memories

Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.

Southeast Asia is a land of contradictions--pristine and filthy, welcoming and conniving, conservative and hedonistic, archaic and progressive. In other words, we loved it!

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SEA Field Trip: Finding the Khmer Rouge

Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.

After travels through Thailand and Vietnam, we visited Cambodia. Though all three countries can claim their share of strife, Cambodia is still reeling from its trauma. The country struggles to recover from the 1970s genocide of millions of its citizens.

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Southeast Asia Field Trip / Southeast Asia Travel / Memorials / Attractions / Tourist Attractions / Museums / → All Tags

SEA Field Trip: HCMC's War Memorials

Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.

Are we talking about the same war? You don't know the history of the Vietnam War until you've learned about the "struggle against American aggression" from the tour guides at Ho Chi Minh City's Reunification Palace.

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