Here at WoWasis, we’ve burned through many a pair of hiking socks. We’re not easy, either. We’re active in burning deserts, teeming jungles, and rubble-strewn urban streets and roadsides. Our socks have to be tough, have to wick away moisture, and provide a good deal of cushioning to avoid blistering. And they have to be […]
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WoWasis book review: ‘Common Core: Thais and Americans’ by John Paul Fieg
Westerners in Thailand who employ Thais know what a challenge that can be. And conversely, Thais working for Western expats often find relating to their direct reports is sometimes more difficult than the job itself. The beauty of John Paul Fieg’s A Common Core: Thais and Americans (1978, ISBN 0-933-662-80-7) is that it examines core […]
Read the rest of this entry »Why can’t bad-smelling foreigners smell themselves?
The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: Bad-smelling foreigners can’t smell themselves Dear Pa Farang, In a recent blog post, it seemed as though WoWasis ripped through the farang community, somehow saying that the majority of us smell bad. What wasn’t said was that many deodorants and anti-perspirants have […]
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 »Toilet Trucks in Bangkok: business is good when business is crappy
Need to go when you’re on the go? Then Bangkok Municipal Administration’s fleet of 31 toilet trucks can help. These aging green mobile giants sport four toilets and six urinals, and are used as public conveniences during protest activities and public events. Each truck contains 2,000 litres of water, enough for 500 flushes. Detritus is […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis Book review: Timothy Hallinan’s ‘Queen of Patpong’
How does one really judge the entertainment value of a book? Timothy Hallinan’s book in the Bangkok Fiction genre, The Queen of Patpong (2010, ISBN 978-0-06-167226-2), caused us here at WoWasis to ask, and here’s why. We finished this 312 page book, the latest update in the ongoing saga of travel writer Poke Rafferty and […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thai Prisons: Inside the belly of the beast via the ‘Thai Prison Life’ website
Bangkok’s Samut Prakan Prison One of the more fascinating museums in Bangkok is the Mahachai Prison Corrections Museum, but of course, prisons are only fascinating to those that aren’t living in them. We recently ran into a remarkable website run by Richard Barrow, who has befriended many prisoners in Thai prisons, most notably Panrit “Gor” […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Longstreets’ ‘Yoshiwara: City of the Senses’ of Tokyo
Yoshiwara was a district in Tokyo famous for adult entertainment options. Formalized in the 17th century, it thrived as a sex center until 1958, when prostitution was officially banned in Tokyo. Published in 1970, Stephen and Ethel Longstreet’s Yoshiwara: City of the Senses (no ISBN) is a history of the district, its culture, practices, and […]
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 […]
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