The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Food & Dining' Category

Why rice is fueling the latest Bangkok protest

Regarding the series of beefs the 100,000 street protestors occupying Bangkok are voicing today, perhaps the most difficult for westerners to grasp is the rice pledging fiasco.  Here are the salient issues simplified, from a WoWasis perspective. Traditionally, Thailand has been a major world exporter of rice. Wanting to raise the price by lowering the […]

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WoWasis tours Unknown Bangkok and the Thonburi Klongs

If you’re like us, you just get those days where you want to see a half day of great stuff, get on the water a bit, then spend the rest of the afternoon having a beer and beating the heat. We just finished taking a tour in Bangkok that gave us just that. The Unknown […]

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Dunkin’ Donuts blackface poster in Thailand raises ire with NGO Human Rights Watch

Dunkin’ Donuts Thailand is being called on the carpet by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) for creating an advertising poster showing the CEO’s daughter in blackface, advertising a “charcoal donut.” Blackface comedy has been a staple in Morlam shows all over Thailand for decades, but it seems that the venerable doughnut institution crossed the […]

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Why is my expensive Thai hotel is ripping me off with a 10% dining-in service charge?

The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s scam unveiled: My expensive Thai hotel is ripping me off with a 10% dining-in service charge Dear Pa Farang, I routinely stay at one of the top Western hotels in Thailand, and eat frequently at its top restaurant.  Each time, a 10% “service […]

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Not optimized for westerners: an afternoon wasted in Kibune, Kyoto, Japan

The tiny mountain village of Kibune, a half-hour north of Kyoto, Japan, sounds great in the guidebooks. It sits next to a mountain stream, and people eat at restaurants that consist of platforms nestled next to the steam.  The traditional dish is cold noodles dipped in a local sauce. Sounds wonderful and idyllic, doesn’t it? […]

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Why a balding, smoking, middle-aged white guy may be the new sex symbol in Japan

You can quote us here at WoWasis: Japan is different. Waaay different. By western standards, middle-aged white guys aren’t worth much, sexually or commercially. Ask yourself: how many older western guys are spokespersons, or models, or mage logos for anything hip? Can’t name one? Neither can we. Receding hairlines aren’t very popular: guys are paying […]

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Farewell to Bangkok’s Washington Square by Dean Barrett

One of Bangkok’s most treasured entertainment zones, Washington Square on Sukhumvit, has been plowed under. It was a haven for GIs, spooks, writers, oil workers, and drinkers. Bangkok author Dean Barrett has written a fine tribute to Washington Square, reprinted here as it appeared in the April, 2013 issue of After Dark Magazine.             Molly […]

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WoWasis visits the Irish Rover bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Here at WoWasis, we just love used bookstores. And here’s a great one we discovered in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s called the Irish Rover Bookstore and Café, and sure enough the personable proprietor, John McCoy, is Irish. Here’s what he has to say about his bookstore: “There are many Chinese tourists here this year. In […]

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WoWasis introduces the colorful street stall vendors of Bangladesh

A poor country by economic standards, Bangladesh is rich in both the color and breadth of its internal commercial enterprises. It’s never more apparent than when visiting street stalls, with riots of color at every turn. It could be bread, fruit, textiles, or tools, but Bangladeshis have an eye for design and color as they […]

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WoWasis Bangladeshi restaurant review: The Casuarina at the Naz Garden Hotel, in Bogra, Bangladesh

Here at WoWasis, we don’t do many restaurant reviews. There are too many, and too many websites doing that. It’s rare that we rave about a dining experience, but we’ve just got to tell you about this one because it was so unique. It’s the Casuarina restaurant located in the Naz Garden Hotel in the […]

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