The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

Bachelor in Bangkok: Khun Lee on the life story of a 21 year old Thai bar girl

She is only 21 years old but already has 4 ½ years of working as an “entertainment provider” under her belt.  Now fluent in both English and Thai while studying Mandarin Chinese, this confident young lady and I sat down this week for a cup of coffee and she told the entire story of her […]

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WoWasis Book review: Timothy Hallinan’s ‘Queen of Patpong’

How does one really judge the entertainment value of a book? Timothy Hallinan’s  book in the Bangkok Fiction genre, The Queen of Patpong (2010, ISBN 978-0-06-167226-2), caused us here at WoWasis to ask, and here’s why. We finished this 312 page book, the latest update in the ongoing saga of travel writer Poke Rafferty and […]

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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 […]

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The Isaan Way of Death: Buddhism in upcounty Thailand

Nit from Udon Thani’s grandmother died this week, and the family is planning for the elaborate death ceremony that accompanies most Isaan deaths in upcountry Thailand. She tells us a little about the ritual, a fascinating one for anyone interested in Buddhism and death in Thailand.  “They always cremate the body,” she says. They can […]

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The Good Manner: Is this Thai marriage or extortion?

The Good Manner: Love & Relationship Advice from WoWasis’ Pa Farang This week’s dilemma: Thai marriage or extortion? Dear Pa Farang,  A serious matter of money is endangering the relationship between me and my Thai girlfriend of one year.  I’m not a cheapskate, take her out to nice dinners, and buy her nice things.  She’s […]

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Bangkok softball league features trafficked massage parlor girls, human rights organizations up in arms

Human rights organizations focusing on trafficking of southeast Asian women are seeing red over a softball league playing each weekend in a well-known inner city Bangkok park. These organizations, who have asked that their names not be divulged for security reasons, are alleging that trafficked women are playing against each other in softball teams organized […]

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Exploring Thai culture at Bangkok’s Siam Society

Bangkok’s best venue for exploring Thai culture and tradition is at the venerated Siam Society, whose exciting complex is on Soi Asok (Sukhumvit Soi 21), just northwest of the (BTS Skytrain Asok, and MRT Subway Sukhumvit stations).  We attended an Isaan music and dance performance there for 200 baht, and were treated to fabulous Thai […]

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Eating bugs in Thailand: Supplementing your daily caloric intake the upcountry way

Westerners visiting Thailand for the first time may quickly encounter a dramatic indicator that they’re no longer in the western world: the streetside bug cart. Loaded with trays filled with a number of delicious insect delights, these carts serve primarily Thai people who’ve emigrated to Bangkok from outlying provinces such as Isaan and the northern […]

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Bang Fai rocket festival in Yasothon, Thailand

Like us here at WoWasis, if your idea of fun is a weekend of Isaan parades, music, drinking, and rocket launching, the Bun Bungfai Rocket Festival, held each year in Yasothon, is for you.   Generally held on one of the first two weekends in May, the festival features dozens of teams launching thousands of home-crafted […]

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A memorable day in Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park

Just over 200 km east of Bangkok and spanning over four provinces is Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park. Khao Yai became Thailand’s first National Park in the fall of 1962 and is part of the larger Dong Phayayen forest complex. At more than 2,165 square km, Khao Yai is the third largest National Park world […]

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