English-Thai/Thai-English dictionaries are essential for any frequent traveler to Thailand, and the best not only translate in both directions, but also have a third phonetic section that allows English users to take Thai spoken words and determine what’s being said. Two of the best are the ones by Mike Simpson and Benjawan Becker. They each […]
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The Isaan Way of Death: Buddhism in upcounty Thailand
Nit from Udon Thani’s grandmother died this week, and the family is planning for the elaborate death ceremony that accompanies most Isaan deaths in upcountry Thailand. She tells us a little about the ritual, a fascinating one for anyone interested in Buddhism and death in Thailand. “They always cremate the body,” she says. They can […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on the joys of Thailand
One thing I always have loved about living in Thailand is the sense of national pride. Thais love their country and most would never consider living any place else. I certainly agree that this is the best place on earth to live. I chose to retire here and I have enough money to live in […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Good Manner: How does a Westerner relate to a Thai death?
The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: How does a Westerner relate to a Thai death? Dear Pa Farang, Last month, a buddy’s girlfriend’s aunt passed away, and his girlfriend asked him for money, allegedly for the funeral. He paid, and went to the temple, where yes, there was […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on how (not) to behave at a party in Bangkok
Had a strange thing happen this week that reminded me just how stupid we can be when we drink too much and end up thinking with our little heads. I was invited to a very expensive and trendy Thai disco in the Ekamai section of Bangkok by a girlfriend who is a nurse at a […]
Read the rest of this entry »The Good Manner: He likes big milk [large breasts] too much!
The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: He likes big milk [large breasts] too much! Dear Pa Farang, I write for my sister, not for me. She is Thai lady, 26 years old, very smart, very pretty, with good heart. For two years, she have farang boyfriend. In beginning, […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis pioneers the use of travel-site GPS coordinates
Like most non-Western nations, the countries of Southeast Asia have loads of street addresses that don’t mean much to non-residents. It’s common for numbering schemes to stop as a street name changes, then start up again a few blocks away. Often, addresses on one side of the street have nothing in relation to those on […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Joseph Smith’s ‘Portrait of a Cold Warrior’
Perhaps the most telling element of Joseph Burkholder Smith’s compelling and controversial exposé of his life as a CIA agent, Portrait of a Cold Warrior: Second Thoughts of a Top CIA Agent (1976 ISBN 0-345-29839-X) is what amounts to something of an apology, although, as he states several pages later, he’s not exactly apologizing. He […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on gals both good and whacko
It was my first trip to Thailand. Actually, it was my first trip to Southeast Asia. I was 37 years old, had been to Latin America, North America and Western Europe but had yet to venture into the Far East. I can still recall that after 37 years of American women, I had pretty much […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Jonathan Kwitny’s ‘Crimes of Patriots’
Here’s a book about one of the great bank swindles of the 20th century, that touched countries as disparate as the U.S., Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Indonesia. And it touched them all in a big way. The bank was called Nugan Hand, named after its co-founders, lawyer Frank […]
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