The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Transportation' Category

WoWasis book back in time: ‘Kon-Tiki’ by Thor Heyerdahl

Veteran WoWasis readers are aware of our penchant for reviewing books on Asia and the Pacific, especially older classics. Why? For one thing, younger readers may have missed them. And Boomers and Gen Xers might not have read them either, although they’ve certainly heard of them. Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft is […]

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WoWasis book review: The Lurline, when exotic luxury sailed the Hawaiian seas

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 […]

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Mahachai rural train: The best thirty cent tour of Bangkok money can buy

OK, we here at WoWasis actually paid thirty-two cents. And it’s greater Bangkok we’re talking about. Nevertheless, the thirty cent tour of the countryside of Thailand aboard the train to the town of Mahachai takes you through scenery that’s hard to find in the city of Bangkok these days. The round-trip train ride takes about […]

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WoWasis product review: leak-proof in-flight travel bottles that (honestly) don’t leak

If you’re like us here at WoWasis, you’ve become damned sick and tired of your checked or carry-on liquids leaking out of your small travel bottles, then having to wash a whole bunch of stuff to get it all clean again. The biggest villain in this crime story is the airplane. As pressure changes, liquids […]

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Simplifying travel and costs in the Galapagos Islands: a WoWasis travel review

Veteran WoWasis readers know that when we travel, we try to make life simple. Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands aren’t that simple to plan  because there are so many of them, and so many ways to see them as well. There are some 125 islands and rocks, and by our count, seventeen of them are visitable either […]

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Planning on taking a “Last Minute” Galapagos cruise to save money? Here’s how.

Are you planning on taking a “Last Minute” Galapagos cruise to save money? If so, here are some things you should know about finding and securing a Last Minute Cruise in the Galapagos Islands. Buying a Last Minute Cruise is a great way to save money on your Galapagos cruise. Unfortunately, many people think if […]

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WoWasis art review: Ceramic murals in Buenos Aires’ subte subway stations

Buenos Aires is notable for its street murals and wall graffiti art, but some of the finest ceramic art can be found in her subway, or subte (for subterráneo) stations. Begun in 1913, the system comprises 6 lines and 83 stations, and rides cost five pesos (62 cents USD). While nearly all stations have art, […]

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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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Japan’s bullet train-air fare wars a bad portent to California’s high speed rail success?

Although California voters recently approved a high speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles, it appears to be slowly unhinging as a result of mounting labor costs as well as the inability to predict how many people will actually use the system. Japan, who produced the first national bullet train system (Shinkansen) is […]

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