In Vietnam, the middleman is king, which means that the pricing on most tour packages varies on how much the vendor thinks you can pay. For example, we were quoted $87 for a one-day tour to the Mekong delta, from our upscale hotel on Dong Khoi Street. The same tour cost $7 (not a mis-print!) […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Crime Scams & Espionage' Category
WoWasis Book review: Timothy Hallinan’s ‘Nail Through the Heart’
One of the gripes voiced by veteran readers of Bangkok Fiction is that the common plot of western man-meets-bargirl has become so hackneyed that it’s really served its time, and should either be upgraded or retired. We’ve started to feel the same way about its replacements, the girl gets trafficked or children are molested by […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bangkok’s Central World burns: were protesters paid to commit arson?
That’s a mighty sobering video of the burning of Central World, Asia’s second largest shopping complex. Especially interesting is the cheering of the red shirts as Central World burns at 2:35 into the video, applauding no doubt the hundreds, maybe thousands of jobs lost at the center to middle and lower middle class workers who […]
Read the rest of this entry »Beware underage girl and Bar bill padding scams in Angeles City, Philippines
Two scams have been identified as becoming more and more common in Angeles City these days. The Underage Girl scam represents a significant con that can cost you plenty. The Bar bill padding scam is an annoyance that unfortunately can get you beat up and in the hospital. Here’s how they work: 1) The […]
Read the rest of this entry »Classic scam in Manila, the calesa carriage rip off
A scam has been going on for years near the waterfront in Manila with regard to taking a tour in one of the quaint two-wheeled horse carriages called calesas. We wanted to see first hand how it worked, and it was a classic! Before we tell you how the scam works, here are a few […]
Read the rest of this entry »Is harassing Western shoppers the new Vietnamese national sport?
Let’s operate from a basic premise. We shop because it’s fun, whether it’s as simple as the excitement of acquiring something new, or the joy of learning something from the object or service obtained. To a very large extent, elements within the Vietnamese character are so pervasive and predictable, that shopping in Vietnam is pretty […]
Read the rest of this entry »Shoplifting scam at Bangkok’s airport nabs unsuspecting tourists
Allegations of an elaborate and expensive extortion scam operating out of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport have shaken Western visitors. England’s Sunday Times reports that in this scam, visitors are allegedly accused by airport shop owners of shoplifting, are arrested, detained, and “encouraged” to pay a hefty bribe to be released, which can amount to $13,000 USD. […]
Read the rest of this entry »$30,000 Pedophilia NGO scam: if allegations are true, who’s watching the Watchers?
Concomitant to the meritorious work being done by international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in rooting out pedophilia, allegations are surfacing that innocent Western male travelers in Cambodia are being unfairly accused of having sex with minors, with uncomfortable and dangerous legal consequences. If the allegations are true, this may prove to be an elaborate extortion scheme […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis Recommended books on Laos: The Lao Bookshelf
Laos is as under-reported in literature as it is in the Press, so there are relatively few books particular to the country, compared to those pertaining to its neighbors in Thailand and Vietnam. Here are a few that we at WoWasis recommend as worthy of your attention. Non-Fiction Kay Danes’ prose is a bit twisted […]
Read the rest of this entry »Remembering the wild sexual world of writer Cleo Odzer
Comparatively few WOWasis women readers browse Thai bookstores in search of books relating to Thai adult-themed nightlife, but those who do are often surprised to find a well-researched book on the life encountered on Patpong Road, expat writer Cleo Odzer’s Patpong Sisters (ISBN 1-55970-372-5). Odzer held a Ph.D. in anthropology, and spent three years living the […]
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