WoWasis drove to Wulai, only 40 minutes south of Taipei. The trick, once we got there, was finding the Atayal-run Wulai Aboriginal Cultural Village. Wulai is a village noted for its hot springs, and there are plenty there from which to choose. The Atayals, who run the cultural village across the river, are one of […]
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WoWasis goes shopping: 54 exquisitely crafted ethnic Vietnamese ceramic figures
Going to Vietnam and want to bring back something truly unique? And inexpensive, too? We were thrilled with the exquisitely-crafted tiny ceramic figurines detailing each of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, crafted by the Minh Long 1 company. Each figure, which is 2 ½ inches tall by 1 inch wide, details a female representative of her […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘History of the Mongol Conquests’ by J.J. Saunders
In this relatively short (191 pages) but powerful narrative, J.J. Saunders makes an effective argument that the series of Mongolian invasions of Europe and Asia, beginning in the early 1200s, was a major factor in shaping both European culture and Asian religions for centuries to come. The History of the Mongol Conquests (1971, ISBN 0-8122-1766-7) […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Sarawak’ photos by Hedda Morrison
Hedda Morrison, who died in 1991, was the wife of Sarawak district officer Alastair Morrison. During her 20-year stay in Sarawak, she was able to accompany her husband on official journeys through the country, detailing, through writing and photographs, the lives of tribespeople. Her book Sarawak (1957) is an indispensible record of northern Borneo before […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Kaowai & Robinson’s ‘In Grandmother’s House’
Visitors spending any time looking into the culture of Thailand will run into thousands of folk traditions and beliefs, and Thais are always impressed when a foreigner wishes to know more about them. Understanding these concepts is empirical, as one thing inevitably leads to another. We at WoWasis are still learning. And that’s why we […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis introduces Krasue, Thailand’s most feared ghost
Thailand is a country obsessed with ghosts, known as phii. Here at WoWasis, we’ve learned never to joke about them, because joking about them is considered to bring on bad luck to the speaker as well as all listeners. And never joke about a ghost before your girlfriend enters the shower, especially at night: everyone […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis and the Genographic Project: using DNA to discover your ancestors
Wouldn’t you like to know the migratory path your ancestors took to get to your part of the world? Here at WoWasis, we were curious about our own ethnic origins, and now we’re going to find out, through the Genographic Project, a joint partnership of the National Geographic Society and IBM. And it’s only going […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Kyaingtong (Keng Tung) Burma
Welcome to Kyaingtong (Keng Tung), a rambling hillside city in the Shan State, close to numerous tribal villages. It’s the center of the Khün tribal culture, filled with nice examples of colonial architecture, and has only been open to tourism since 1993. The Khün people, whose traditional dress consists of horizontally-striped longhis and jackets with […]
Read the rest of this entry »Top 5 sights in Luang Prabang, Laos… the most beautiful city in Southeast Asia?
Tour Luang Prabang now! Here are WoWasis, the gorgeous Laotian city of Luang Prabang gets our vote as the most beautiful city in Southeast Asia. This oasis surrounded by hills, with more than thirty temples to visit, sits in a serene setting next to the Mekong River. The city has only 16,000 people, is easily […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis’ Philippines Bookshelf: Tribal books from the Luzon Cordillera
Two significant books regarding tribal groups in the northern Luzon Gran Cordillera area recently caught our eyes here at WoWasis. They’re both valuable for scholars as well as travelers, and are available at the bookstore in the Bontoc Museum, if you happen to be traveling in the area. Masferre: a Tribute to the Philippine Cordillera […]
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