The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Thailand' Category

WoWasis book review: Jerry Hopkins’ ‘Romancing the East’

We’re old fashioned, those of us here at WoWasis. We like books that have left room to include a few blank pages at the end. Author Jerry Hopkins, one of the more prolific writers of the last few years, has written a compelling book that lacks those blank pages. It’s called Romancing the East: A […]

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Bangkok Fiction writers interviewed live by Keith Nolan

Keith Nolan’s a hard guy to miss if you’re around the Bangkok music and writing scene. He’s at the sound board every Sunday afternoon for the jazz jam session at CheckInn 99 on 1/1  Sukhumvit Soi 33, between the Asok and Phrom Pong BTS stations. He also has a regular gig as a blues keyboardist […]

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“Just go home and make another daughter!” Thai court officials tell murdered woman’s mother

Here at WoWasis, we’ve found that most murder stories in the Thai press have real gems buried deeply inside. But even we were shocked when unnamed Thai officials invoked their interpretation of Theravada Buddhism while making a helpful suggestion to the parents of noted crime victim Hannah Witheridge. According to the Bangkok Post, sister Laura […]

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Legendary Thai tourism official charged for corruption, now on hot seat

In an event that many thought would never happen, former Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Juthamas Siriwan will be indicted for allegedly accepting Bt60 million in bribes, as reported by The Nation. She has been ordered to report to Thai authorities within two weeks. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has considered asking her to […]

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Noose tightens on Thai press freedoms with press conference cancellation in Bangkok

People who thought things would be easier for members of Thailand’s domestic and foreign press after the coup of May, 2014 may be re-evaluating their positions. The NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order), who now runs the government, cancelled a discussion that was to be held at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCCT) on June […]

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WoWasis Banned Book review: Thailand, ‘A Kingdom in Crisis’ by Andrew MacGregor Marshall

The most talked-about topic in Thailand is also the least talked-about. The controversy on succession plans revolving around the eventual death of King Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej is something everyone discusses, but only in private. To do so in public invites a prison sentence under Thailand’s draconian lèse-majesté laws. As Andrew MacGregor Marshall points out […]

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Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on what to look for in a Bangkok woman

From the ever-controversial WoWasis columnist Khun Lee: I was out having fun on the town with a male Thai friend the other night, and I casually asked him what personality characteristics a Thai man looks for when sizing up a Thai woman’s attractiveness as a potential partner. I was really just wondering if in general […]

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WoWasis book review: ‘Americans In Thailand,’ a comprehensive history

If you’re like us here at WoWasis, you may very well be scratching your head, wondering why anyone would buy a book on a subject seemingly as narrow as the contributions of the citizens of North America to a country in Asia. We loved the book through. And think you will, too, especially if you […]

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A media giant flees Bangkok: farewell to photographer Nick Nostitz

Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, isn’t always an easy place for the working press. The latest to depart the Land of Smiles is noted documentary still photographer Nick Nostitz, who was recently roughed up by thugs associated with the PDRC (People’s Democratic Reform Committee). He was rescued from that fracas by Thai police, but has […]

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Thai Bargirl Lek describes the book of Genesis: Just when you thought you knew your Bible

Veteran Bangkok novelist Dean Barrett recently quizzed bargirl Lek on the beginning of the world. It turns out that this college-educated beauty had the whole thing sussed out. We here at WoWasis are printing her explanation, which we assume will soon be a major element in every Thail university’s science curriculum. And you get to […]

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