Here at WoWasis, we are famous for wrecking clothes that are deemed unwreckable. We’ve been traveling with Alex Tilley’s durable, fashionable, and versatile T3 Tilley Hat for years. At $80 USD, it’s expensive for a cotton duck hat, but amortized over the two decades we’ve worn it, packed it, scrunched and crunched it, the damn thing […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Tours Treks Outdoors' Category
WoWasis travel clothing, accessories, and gadget reviews: why we field test
Here at the WoWasis Travel eStore, we like to rigorously test the items we promote. We wear them, use them, and beat the living hell out of them. We’ve had shirts shredded by African bush thorns, cameras sullied by Javanese volcanic dust, phones wrecked by falls. We even had a shirt destroyed by sulfuric acid fumes […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis travel clothing review: Eagle Creek Money Belt
Here at WoWasis, we wuz robbed. But the Eagle Creek All-Terrain money belt saved all our money, because the robber never knew it was a money belt. That’s why we recommend it, and here’s the story. Savvy travelers that we are, we still got a date-rape drug snuck into our beer at an outdoor ad […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis travel clothing review: EcoSox hiking socks
Here at WoWasis, we’ve burned through many a pair of hiking socks. We’re not easy, either. We’re active in burning deserts, teeming jungles, and rubble-strewn urban streets and roadsides. Our socks have to be tough, have to wick away moisture, and provide a good deal of cushioning to avoid blistering. And they have to be […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Kaowai & Robinson’s ‘In Grandmother’s House’
Visitors spending any time looking into the culture of Thailand will run into thousands of folk traditions and beliefs, and Thais are always impressed when a foreigner wishes to know more about them. Understanding these concepts is empirical, as one thing inevitably leads to another. We at WoWasis are still learning. And that’s why we […]
Read the rest of this entry »Travel by train from Bangkok to Vientiane, Laos
One of our WoWasis correspondents decided to take the train, rather than fly from Bangkok, Thailand to Ventiane, Laos. Here’s his brief report on the experience: Train from Bangkok was actually really good. It was great to be traveling old school again without the stress, pain and endless queueing at airports. First Class sleeper is the […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis and the Genographic Project: using DNA to discover your ancestors
Wouldn’t you like to know the migratory path your ancestors took to get to your part of the world? Here at WoWasis, we were curious about our own ethnic origins, and now we’re going to find out, through the Genographic Project, a joint partnership of the National Geographic Society and IBM. And it’s only going […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Harold Stephens’ ‘At Home in Asia: Expatriates in Southeast Asia’
Writer and sailor Harold Stephens sure gets around. He lied about his age so he join join the Marines and fight in the Pacific, was imprisoned by the Chinese communists, escaped on a junk, rode across Australia on a motorcycle, and built his own concrete boat, which split apart in a hurricane after seeing endless […]
Read the rest of this entry »Russia invades Thailand: Big-bellied shock troops wearing thong bikinis storm Thai beachfronts
An estimated 200,000 Russian and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) tourists have come to Thailand within the last 60 days, spurred by tourism incentives directed toward Russia by Thai tourist groups and agencies. Veteran travelers to Thailand have long noted a strong Russian presence in the seaside city of Pattaya, but large Russian tour groups […]
Read the rest of this entry »Vietnam tourists killed in Ha Long Bay boat tragedy
Twelve international travelers were killed this week in the sinking of one of Ha Long Bay’s ubiquitous “sleep-over” boats. The Truong Hai 06 listed precariously for several hours before finally plunging into the waters of the bay during the early morning hours as visitors were sleeping. Scores of these wooden boats take visitors on overnight […]
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