Not many of us could have afforded to steam from the west coast of the United States to Hawaii aboard the S.S. Lurline, Matson Lines’ luxurious floating palace. Nor on her sister ships the Matsonia, Mariposa, Malolo, or Monterey, either. By 1970, it was all a moot point anyway, as comparatively inexpensive air travel killed […]
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WoWasis book review: Early exotic air travel to Hawaii: ‘The History of Pan American’s Flying Boats’
We here at WoWasis have all see those pictures of those magnificent flying boats leaving to Hawaii, the Golden Gate Bridge or the Bay Bridge in the background. And we wondered: what was it like to fly in them? What services were offered? How much did a flight cost? Can we still see them in […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Art of the Aloha Shirt,’ indispensable for collectors
Every casual guy, it seems, loves aloha shirts from Hawaii, and that includes your WoWasis review staff. They’re not typically all that expensive, and cotton and rayon fabrics hold up well with many wearings (not so, unfortunately, with Tommy Bahama silks — even with mild washing, we’ve found they tend to rip apart by the […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Bataan Death March: Mario Machi’s ‘Under the Rising Sun’
One of the most infamous incidents in World War II was the Bataan Death March, in which the Japanese military force-marched 60,000-80,000 Allied and Filipino prisoners along a 60 mile route. Along the way, thousands of prisoners died, bayoneted or shot by Japanese soldiers, or victims of wounds, disease, or malnourishment. And Mario Machi, an […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Aloha Attire,’ a handsome history of Hawaii’s fashion trade
Hawaii’s apparel industry encompasses more than aloha shirts, and the whole story, including women’s fashion, is told informatively by Linda B. Arthur, in her highly informative Aloha Attire: Hawaiian Dress in the Twentieth Century (2000, ISBN 0-7643-1015-1). We here at WoWasis loved the book. The author focuses on four traditional garment types worn in Hawaii, […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis toilet product review: The Swash bidet toilet seat that keeps ‘em coming back for more
Here at WoWasis, we’re pretty well known for our bathroom plumbing product reviews, from Thai toilet hoses to heated, pulsating toilet seats from Asia. Geez, we’ve even shown you how to wash your butt on a 747 jet airplane! But we gotta tell ya: after installing the Brondell Swash 300 toilet seat at the WoWasis […]
Read the rest of this entry »A media giant flees Bangkok: farewell to photographer Nick Nostitz
Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, isn’t always an easy place for the working press. The latest to depart the Land of Smiles is noted documentary still photographer Nick Nostitz, who was recently roughed up by thugs associated with the PDRC (People’s Democratic Reform Committee). He was rescued from that fracas by Thai police, but has […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Dean Barrett’s ‘Pop Darrell’s Last Case’
Veteran Bangkok-based author Dean Barrett is always full of surprises. In addition to his Thailand beat, he’s been a New York-based dramatist, lived in Hong Kong for 17 years, and he’s served as a Chinese language specialist for a branch of the Department of Defense. Somehow, just about all of that has made in into […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thai Bargirl Lek describes the book of Genesis: Just when you thought you knew your Bible
Veteran Bangkok novelist Dean Barrett recently quizzed bargirl Lek on the beginning of the world. It turns out that this college-educated beauty had the whole thing sussed out. We here at WoWasis are printing her explanation, which we assume will soon be a major element in every Thail university’s science curriculum. And you get to […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Duch, the Khmer Rouge King of Torture. ‘The Master of Confessions’ by Thierry Cruvellier
It’s tempting to stop reading about the reign of terror in Cambodia, led by the Khmer Rouge. The major statistic, an estimated quarter of the nation’s population murdered, is well-known. It’s the why of it that leaves us here at WoWasis, along with the rest of the world, perturbed. That’s where French author Thierry Cruvellier’s […]
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