Buenos Aires is notable for its street murals and subway art, and this artistic consciousness has spread to her graffiti-covered walls, especially in the streets of the San Telmo neighborhood, south of Avenida de Mayo. This ad hoc art is not always welcomed, but every blank wall is fodder for artists and amateurs alike. What’s […]
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WoWasis toilet product review: the Bidematic, an Argentine toilet hose contraption that just doesn’t work
The Thais, Japanese, and Koreans all have magnificent ways to keep clean after using the toilet. As reported here earlier at WoWasis, Thais typically use toilet hoses, while Japanese and Koreans use electric toilet seats that are essentially high tech bidets. Here at WoWasis, we love them, because we consider toilet paper to be Barbaric, […]
Read the rest of this entry »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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Eternal Harvest, unexploded ordnance dangers in today’s Laos
The numbers are staggering. As Karen Coates, author of Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos (2013, ISBN-13 978-1-934159-49-1) states, “To this day, Laos remains, per capita, the most heavily bombed country on earth. All told, the U.S. military and its allies dumped more than 6 billion pounds of bombs across the land—more […]
Read the rest of this entry »Fall colors and sharp sun angles thrill photographers in the old city of Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay
The small city of Colonia Sacramento, 170 km northwest of Montevideo on the Rio de La Plata, is deservedly known for its Colonial architecture, and is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. We here at WoWasis found it to be laid back, easily walkable, and a hidden gem. Come autumn, especially during the week when it’s […]
Read the rest of this entry »The buxom ghost ‘La Fantasma Pechona,’ Argentina’s vengeful femme-fatale
Argentina’s most famous ghost (fantasma) isn’t talked about much in public, but she’s feared everywhere in that South American nation. She is the ghost most likely to cause a marriage to fail. The act of merely mentioning her name is said to be fraught with the prospect of connubial disaster. She’s also the reason Argentine […]
Read the rest of this entry »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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Iban Dream’ Borneo Headhunting Fiction by Golda Mowe
Malaysian author Golda Mowe has written one of the more outstanding books we’ve encountered, the beautiful, at times shocking, and endlessly fascinating Iban Dream (2013, ISBN 978-981-4423-12-0). Through 288 pages, Mowe weaves an Iban fantasy that encompasses Dayak rituals, myths, and realities. First, a little background. Visitors to the Sarawak state in Malaysian Borneo will […]
Read the rest of this entry »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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