The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Archive for the 'Street Talk' Category

“Just go home and make another daughter!” Thai court officials tell murdered woman’s mother

Here at WoWasis, we’ve found that most murder stories in the Thai press have real gems buried deeply inside. But even we were shocked when unnamed Thai officials invoked their interpretation of Theravada Buddhism while making a helpful suggestion to the parents of noted crime victim Hannah Witheridge. According to the Bangkok Post, sister Laura […]

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Noose tightens on Thai press freedoms with press conference cancellation in Bangkok

People who thought things would be easier for members of Thailand’s domestic and foreign press after the coup of May, 2014 may be re-evaluating their positions. The NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order), who now runs the government, cancelled a discussion that was to be held at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCCT) on June […]

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WoWasis book review: Cold case murder solved in China: Paul French’s ‘Midnight in Peking’

Why should anyone today care about solving an expat murder in 1937 Peking? We here at WoWasis were skeptical too. But we took a chance on Paul French’s Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China (2012, ISBN 978-0-14-312100-8) and were richly rewarded. It’s more than […]

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Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on what to look for in a Bangkok woman

From the ever-controversial WoWasis columnist Khun Lee: I was out having fun on the town with a male Thai friend the other night, and I casually asked him what personality characteristics a Thai man looks for when sizing up a Thai woman’s attractiveness as a potential partner. I was really just wondering if in general […]

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WoWasis book review: ‘Scams & Swindlers’: investment disasters to be avoided

Bruce Brown’s classic Scams and Swindlers: Investment Disasters and How To Avoid Them (1998, ISBN 1-86339-201-7) flies a bit under the radar these days, but it shouldn’t, particularly for those following the increasingly strange Cambodian death saga of Canadian journalist Dave Walker. Before we get to that, here’s why the book is compelling. Author Brown […]

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A media giant flees Bangkok: farewell to photographer Nick Nostitz

Thailand, and Bangkok in particular, isn’t always an easy place for the working press. The latest to depart the Land of Smiles is noted documentary still photographer Nick Nostitz, who was recently roughed up by thugs associated with the PDRC (People’s Democratic Reform Committee). He was rescued from that fracas by Thai police, but has […]

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Thai Bargirl Lek describes the book of Genesis: Just when you thought you knew your Bible

Veteran Bangkok novelist Dean Barrett recently quizzed bargirl Lek on the beginning of the world. It turns out that this college-educated beauty had the whole thing sussed out. We here at WoWasis are printing her explanation, which we assume will soon be a major element in every Thail university’s science curriculum. And you get to […]

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Four things you can do to avoid getting murdered on Koh Tao or any tropical island, Thailand or elsewhere

The murder on Thailand’s Koh Tao island of two young British citizens, David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, could have happened on any tropical island with little police presence, coupled with a strong local mafia. Two Burmese illegals have been charged with the murder, but rumors are rampant that youths well-connected to the local […]

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Khun Lee’s Bachelor in Bangkok: Top Eight Rules for dating non-bargirls in Thailand

WoWasis columnist Khun Lee weighs in on the bachelor scene in Bangkok: More and more guys are choosing to date normal Thai gals instead of restricting their pool of potential lasses to the ones who hug chrome poles or are otherwise engaged in sex for sale. This certainly is a good thing as far as […]

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Surprise! Bangkok’s used panty vending machine a favorite of western female customers

When Khun Roren installed a “used panty” vending machine just inside the front door of the Black Pagoda bar, he knew it would probably be a hit with his Japanese male customers. What he couldn’t have predicted, as your WoWasis correspondent discovered, was that western women would buy more of these aromatic panties that all […]

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