The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Thailand' Category

WoWasis product review: Thai language flashcards make learning the alphabet a snap

By western standards, the Thai alphabet isn’t easy. Actually, by anyone’s standards, it’s tough. We here at WoWasis found learning the Arabic alphabet comparatively easy. But not Thai, with its 44 consonants, and 32 vowels and vowel combinations. That’s why we love the “Learn Thai” flashcards made by Lanna Innovation Company, Ltd. You can buy […]

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Pa Farang on hotel scams overseas

The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s scam unveiled: Why am I paying unadvertised hotel “fees”? Dear Pa Farang, Recently, I stayed at one of Bangkok’s better hotels. I headed out to dinner and a night on the town, came back around 1 pm with an acquaintance, and we were […]

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Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee’s Top Ten Rules for keeping a Thai bargirl as your girlfriend

WoWasis correspondent Khun Lee’s Top Ten Rules for keeping a Thai bargirl as your girlfriend: I have written often in this column about the different aspects of going with both pay-for-play gals and regular gals.  Certainly there are arguments for the merits of both, and many guys enjoy a playboy’s life in Thailand pursuing both […]

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WoWasis book review: ‘The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Drug Trade’ by Alfred W. McCoy

The first edition of Alfred McCoy’s The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Drug Trade was written in 1972 and was updated in 1991 and 2013. It has an amazing longevity, and has been cited numerous times in other works. As a plethora of researchers have discovered, the book, although nearly 50 years old […]

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WoWasis book review: 22 Fascinating Walks in Bangkok by Kenneth Barrett

Bangkok is one of the world’s most fascinating cities, particularly when you can get into her inner essence. It’s tough to do, though. The Skytrain floats above it, traffic is usually a mess, and then there’s the heat. We here at WoWasis have always found walking to be a pleasure in Bangkok, especially if you […]

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Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on tough Thai bar girl honesty

WoWasis correspondent Khun Lee on the honesty of selected Thai bar girls: I don’t know about how other guys feel, but I have always thought that sex should be fun and reduce stress instead of increasing your stress level.  Heck, it is the one activity I normally enjoy that takes me away from all the […]

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WoWasis book review: Asian Godfathers, powerful, influential, dangerous business barons in Asia

For those of us who frequently travel to and do business in Asia, it becomes increasingly important to understand who the major players in the business world are, and how they have traditionally operated. Two books we here at WoWasis have reported on before are Martin Booth’s The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the […]

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Thai tattoos, WoWasis book review: ‘Thai Magic Tattoos: the Art and Influence of Sak Yant’

Three books on Thai sak yant tattoos have recently been published, but Thai Magic Tattoos: the Art and Influence of Sak Yant (2013, ISBN-13: 978-616-7339-21-4) by Isabel Azevedo Drouyer is the finest among them, due in no small part through the photographs of René Drouyer. Two other books, written by veteran authors Joe Cummings and […]

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WoWasis book review: Do-it-yourself adventures in Southeast Asia by Harold Stephens

The problem with many adventure travel books is that the layperson can’t easily replicate the travels discussed in them. This is not the case with veteran adventure writer Harold Stephens’ Return to Adventure Southeast Asia, with Amazing Thailand as the Hub (2000, ISBN 0964-2521-6-3). As experienced travelers ourselves, what fascinated us here at WoWasis is […]

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Remembering Carol Hollinger: ‘Mai Pen Rai,’ her book on Thailand, revisited

So here’s perhaps the biggest tragedy that can befall a writer. You write your first book, and later critics will opine that it’s better than any book ever written on your subject. Readers love it and it’s still talked about and read 50 years after it’s published. But you die before you ever see it […]

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