The renewed emphasis on enforcement of Thailand’s lese majesté laws, which are used to prosecute individuals accused of insulting the royal family, is a topic on the front-burner of Thailand’s press these days. In a talk given by veteran Thai political observer Thongchai Winichakul (currently professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin), […]
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7 Andaman Sea dive spots remain closed In Thailand, as coral under recovery
Your WoWasis diving team has found Thailand’s Andaman Sea to be a prime scuba area, but one that has seen so much activity in the past few years that corals are being damaged. Coral bleaching and impact destruction are continuing problems, so Thailand’s National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department closed 18 dive sites in […]
Read the rest of this entry »New Bangkok 5-star hotel to be razed in building dispute?
One of our favorite topics here at WoWasis is building scams in Thailand, so we just couldn’t resist what we think may be the juiciest story this week: the plush, new Aetas Bankok Hotel and Conference Center has been ordered to be demolished, because it’s in violation of a municipal code. Here’s the story: In […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits My Spa: a therapeutic, non-sexual massage in the heart of Bangkok
Though you might not believe it, judging by Bangkok’s reputation as the soapy massage capital of the world, therapeutic, non-sexual massages do exist, and we found a great one in the heart of Bangkok, one minute from the Asok BTS Skytrain station. My Spa, located on the 3rd floor of the Times Square shopping complex, […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bangkok street stall thugs endangering pedestrians and shop owners alike
One of the most common complaints we at WoWasis hear from people living near the intersection of Sukhumvit Soi 3 is the illegal proliferation of stalls selling the usual tourist “junk,” running from So 3 to roughly Soi 15. The stalls are on both sides of the sidewalk, making the sidewalk virtually unusable for foot […]
Read the rest of this entry »5 rules to hiring a car & driver in Asia: avoid these mistakes and you’ll have a great time
(Also read our post on avoiding scams in Sri Lanka) As much as we love to drive ourselves in Asia, occasionally we here at WoWasis find it necessary to hire a car and driver. Sri Lanka was one such country that pretty much required it. Our GPS unit was virtually useless, as the roads aren’t […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bangkok’s abandoned rails get new life for food cart transport
Here at WoWasis, one of our most popular posts is about Cambodia’s bamboo train, which makes use of abandoned rails and cars made from army tank wheels. As we found out this week, Bangkok’s not far behind in determining new uses for abandoned railroad tracks. It’s been years since any train rolled down the tracks […]
Read the rest of this entry »Get a great Bangkok Wat Pho massage without going to Wat Pho
Massages at Bangkok’s Wat Pho are famous, but many Thais and westerners elect instead to go to the One Pho Original Thai Massage around the corner, where the prices are a bit better, all masseuses are Wat Pho trained, and the lines are shorter. In addition, it’s closer to the Thai Tien pier. And it’s […]
Read the rest of this entry »French silicone breast implant scandal thought not to include SE Asia
The scandal involving French implant company Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP)’s use of substandard, industrial silicone for breast implants concerns potentially tens of thousands of women in at least half a dozen European countries. So far, it appears that none of these implants, which reportedly are prone to rupturing, were distributed in Southeast Asia. As reported […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on comparisons between Thailand and the U.S.
Sitting in one of my favorite bars with a mate last night, we were discussing our various methods of charming the opposite sex and satisfying our disgusting animal urges. My mate happened to mention that when making love to a woman “doggy” style he often attempts to enter another pleasure zone in that general region, […]
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