The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'By Country' Category

Thailand-Cambodian military skirmish damages historic Preah Vihear temple

Sophomoric saber-rattling on the part of Thailand and Cambodian politicians has escalated to military forces battling over a 4.6 square kilometer patch of disputed territory has damaged the historic 11th century Preah Vihear temple (also known as Khao Phra Viharn), according to Thai army sources reported in the Bangkok Post.  This small patch of earth […]

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Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on obese western women and shameless Thai ladies

Recently I have started to think that perhaps I need to work on my people skills.  Now, I have to say that I have never been the most diplomatic guy, and one of the things that I love about living in Thailand is the total lack of political correctness that is so pervasive in the […]

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Broken computer in Bangkok: Where do I fix it?

Sooner or later, one of your electronic gizmos will go on the fritz while you’re in the tropics. Here at WoWasis, our USB thumb drive went out while we were in Bangkok.  It stores all our backups, and we wanted to preserve some of the data on it before buying another drive. We were referred […]

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WoWasis comes clean: What’s a Thai soapy body-to-body massage? How does it work, and where do I get one?

My goodness, did we get some responses to our recent men’s spas in Thailand and soapy massage and museum on same day blog posts! Many of those writing were curious as to how these soapy body-to-body massage spas are operated, and how they can get one. We’re going to tell you how these soapy massage […]

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Why is my limousine hot pink? Of Thai birthdays, Buddha hand positions, and colors

Even casual visitors to Thailand have told us here at WoWasis that they’ve noticed a seeming color clash at practically every step.  Here’s a house painted hot pink and yellow.  A Bangkok taxi cab is green and yellow. A shop has red and green walls, but it’s not Christmas. Somewhat subtler are the sculptures of […]

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Thai taxes: how are those roads and hospitals paid for in Thailand?

One day a few years back, one of us here at WoWasis had to go to a hospital in Thailand on an emergency basis. We got all stitched up, and paid nothing. Why? Here’s another question: why are Thai roads so damn good? (Compare them with the Philippines, which has some of the worst roads […]

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WoWasis cruises Thailand’s River Kwai: a confluence of indolence and history

WoWasis is on a 4 day river tour on one of Asia’s most storied rivers, accompanied by a cold beer as the sun begins to set. The boat we’re on is the RV River Kwai, a beautifully appointed river craft. The first inland cruise ship in Thailand, this newly-built colonial style river cruiser is based […]

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Thailand’s Railway of Death: 250 tough miles to Burma on the River Kwai

The Thailand-Burma railway, built from June 1942 through October, 1943, spanned a distance of 250 miles, running from Nong Pladuk, Thailand to Thanbuyuzayat, Burma. A number of books, both fact and fiction, have been written on this legendary and ill-fated railway, built on the backs and contributing to the deaths of thousands of slave laborers […]

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WoWasis book review: Pierre Boulle’s ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’

Here at WoWasis, we’re not averse to reviewing an older book, especially one that was written a couple of generations ago.  It’s well past its original buzz, which, in the case of this book, includes a major motion picture as well. Fact is, many in today’s generation haven’t read it. And it’s timeless. We just […]

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Thailand’s elephants: making paper from poop

Your WoWasis research team has uncovered a new way of making paper, and elephant dung provides the material. Taking a tour or trekking by elephant has been a favorite of western travelers to Thailand for decades. These sure-footed, gracious, and well-tempered animals can take you on a ½ hour to 1 hour walk through the […]

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