A series of 4-6 stories from at least 15 years ago. Begins similar to Uncle Jim's Amulet series but I think it's in the Philippines instead of Thailand, he goes there on business, and is not SciFi. At one point on visit to Manilla daughters see huge mountain of trash with people looking for something to make money from. Possibly from dead site. If so just the name of series or author would be appreciated.