The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Clothing Accessories Gadgets' Category

What’s with my Thai broken toilet seat?

The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: My new Thai broken toilet seat Dear Pa Farang,  Greetings from California.  I go to Thailand several times a year, and am proud to say that I’ve plumbed a Thai toilet hose into my bathroom here in the States.   Recently, at a […]

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Apartment Asian Massage Parlors (AAMP) in North America: how masseuses create a home in a motel

In earlier posts, WoWasis described the nuances of the AAMP (Apartment Asian Massage Parlor) scene in North America,  and defined a list of commonly used AAMP acronyms.  Although a number of these women live and work out of their own apartments, many do not. So how do they instantly create a homey environment in a […]

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WoWasis product review: Garmin nuvi 1350 LMT GPS Navigator

Here at WoWasis, we were early adopters of GPS technology, and probably the first travel site to include GPS coordinates for many of the out of the way and hard to find places to which we travel. But our trusty Garmin GPS III Plus, which we’d had for 13 years had been all over the […]

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Sculptural furniture from Taiwan that’s standing Asia on its ear

Here at WoWasis, we’ve found great art in so many far-flung areas of the globe that seemingly nothing surprises us anymore. Artists and artisans can’t create without that secret sauce called “artistic temperament,” so they live where they want and damn all converntions. Which brings us to Kan Hsin-Yi of Taiwan. He lives in a […]

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WoWasis on fashion: a great-looking environment-friendly bikini from Aqua Green

Here at WoWasis, we’ve been championing natural fiber clothing and accessories for some time. Travel socks made from bamboo, for instance, are the ones we always use at home and on the road.  Eco fashion is now a buzzword making the rounds, and designer Linda Loudermilk has crafted a bikini that is totally “green,” in […]

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5 travel tips from WoWasis on avoiding getting robbed overseas

Compared to most Western countries, we here at WoWasis feel Asia is pretty safe. Most travelers can go just about anywhere, any time, and not have to be constantly looking over their shoulders. Nevertheless, travelers not practicing basic security measures are leaving themselves open to the occasional theft. So here are some things to keep […]

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WoWasis field test review: a durable travel watch & calculator that will never be stolen

Here at WoWasis, we like to think we dress well when we travel, but we like to look cheap, too. Cheap enough that criminals won’t target us for robbery when we’re far from the police. Some folks like to wear Rolexes (even fake ones) and gold jewelry when they travel to countries with low average […]

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Shop at the new WoWasis Spycraft eStore for exotic covert gizmos & goodies

A number of WoWasis visitors comprise folks who’ve dealt in covert ops, detective work, and general surveillance, and sometimes don’t find it all that easy to find well-working trade goods. Our WoWasis Spycraft eStore is the answer. But it’s not just for ops folks, either. If you’ve ever accidentally locked yourself out of a rental […]

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Apple unlocks the iPhone 4 for international travelers

Part of the reason we here at WoWasis carry the cheap but reliable Nokia 1280 phone is that it’s cheap and reliable. It also is feature-poor. It does, however, work in every Asian country because it uses a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card, which you insert into the phone. You buy a different SIM card for […]

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WoWasis travel field test review: the incredible Plantronics .Audio 480 USB headset

Here at WoWasis, we tend to use stereo headphones a lot, for either Skype calls from around the globe, or listening to language instruction CDs. And you know how much we love miniaturization. We want everything small, durable, and light. That’s why we fell in love with our (soon to be discontinued) Plantronics .Audio 480 […]

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