The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Museums & Art Galleries' Category

The tuk-tuk driver took me on a wild goose chase in Bangkok

The Good Manner: Advice on Thailand from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: The tuk-tuk driver took me on a wild goose chase  Dear Pa Farang, I agreed to pay a tuk-tuk driver 50 baht to go to a temple. Instead, he drove us around to two different gem shops.you to gem shops, and finally […]

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WoWasis visits Polonnaruwa, home of Sri Lanka’s monumental rock carving masterpieces

  Polonnaruwa, roughly a two-hour drive east of the ancient city of Sigiriya, is famous for its monumental rock-hewn Buddha images, but also boasts remains of some finely-designed palace and religious structures as well. Declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 1982, the site is extensive, best traveled by auto or bicycle. The ruins are […]

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WoWasis visits Sigiriya: Sri Lanka’s answer to Machu Picchu

Most western visitors looking for the South Asian experience travel to India. In doing so, though, they run the risk of missing out on Sri Lanka, home to the amazing World Heritage site of Sigiriya. This site comprises a series of foundations, walls, terraces, waterworks, and frescoes, leading up to the remains of a rock-top […]

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WoWasis visits Taiwan’s Customs Museum in Taipei

One of Taipei’s more curiously odd museums is the Customs Museum. It sits in the highly secure Customs Building, so like we did here at WoWasis, you’ll need to call for an appointment. You’ll be given a tour of the museum by a uniformed customs official, and ours clearly enjoyed leaving the desk and pointing […]

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WoWasis explores Taiwan’s rich indigenous aboriginal culture

Taiwan’s presence in the high technology world has given it an aura of modernity that somewhat masks the fact that it has an extraordinary richness and diversity of aboriginal peoples. These diverse tribes are all part of the Austronesian language group, which spans an incredible distance, from Madagascar to Easter Island, and Taiwan to New […]

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WoWasis visits Taiwan’s Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines in Taipei

The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines is located one block away from Taipei’s  National Palace Museum, and is a must for visitors wishing to learn more about Taiwan’s indigenous aboriginal peoples, which include the Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Sediq, Thao, Truku (Taroko), Tsou, and Yami (Tao) tribes. It was […]

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WoWasis visits Taiwan’s National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung

Although it’s not the easiest place to find (see our GPS coordinates below), we here at WoWasis think the National Museum of Prehistory in the southeastern Taiwanese city of Taitung is definitely worth a visit in you’re in the area. The building itself is gorgeous, designed by noted architect Michael Graves, and the displays are […]

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WoWasis visits the Taiwan Theater Museum in Ilan (Yilan)

Just a few km south of the northeastern Taiwan city of Jaosi is Ilan (Yilan), home of the Taiwan Theater Museum. Formally opened in 1990 as the Taiwanese Opera Museum, its exhibits include artifacts relating to Taiwanese and Beiguan Opera, and Puppet theatre. In the opinion of your review team here at WoWasis, the puppets […]

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WoWasis visits Taiwan’s National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium

Visitors to Taiwan’s southern-tip Hengchun Peninsula should be certain not to miss the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium. Here, you’ll see a vast, colorful array of corals and the fascinating creatures that inhabit the reef area, as well as a wonderful collection of sea animals that to a large extent, swim around you, […]

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WoWasis visits Taiwan’s Yingge Ceramics Museum

Located roughly 30 minutes outside of downtown Taipei, the Yingge Ceramics Museum, located in New Taipei City, is well worth the visit. Housed in a dynamic glass-concrete-steel building, the museum houses some 2,000 pieces of pottery, many of which are remarkable. The history of pottery making in Taiwan is ancient, the quality outstanding. Permanent exhibitions […]

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