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Muse, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 21/01/2017
» When Nalin Vanasin, a 43-year-old entrepreneur and mother of two, volunteered to work for Neilson Hays Library, she remembered seeing many eyebrows raised. A few of her friends even asked whether people still go to the library. Such a condescending attitude is somehow understandable. In our digital world, physical books are going out of date. Libraries, known as the fortresses of intellectuals for over two millennia, have become relics of the past.
War on weed
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 22/08/2016
» After declaring war against corruption and mafia, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has launched a new battle against the floating water weed phak tob java. The thick, green mats of the aquatic plant have choked Thailand's canals and rivers for more than a century, and since the rainy season started, the army and local administration have been ordered to get rid off the expansive profusion of hyacinth from the Central Plains waterways within 10 days.
A place among the dead
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/07/2016
» Cemeteries are a sanctuary for the dead and the mourners. But the Bangkok Protestant Cemetery on Charoen Krung 72/5, known as Soi Susan Farang, has been known as a tourist attraction, due to the beautiful architecture of the memorial sites and splendidly carved gravestones. The cemetery, besides being one of the oldest burial grounds that remain unaffected by the urban development of the city, has a cultural value as a testament of foreign cultures present in Thailand from the mid-19th century until the present day.
A cuppa sustainability
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 25/05/2016
» For the urban cool, coffee has somehow become a form of luxurious indulgence -- not just a tonic to wake you up in the morning, or a kick to keep your eyes wide open in the yawning afternoon. But for Theerasit Amornsaensuk, managing director of Green Net SE, coffee drinking has a higher function still -- that of protecting forested mountains, while coffee-growing can provide a means for local villagers to coexist with their environment.
Unforgettable Puey Ungphakorn
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/03/2016
» Today marks the centennial of Puey Ungphakorn, a remarkable man who lived a remarkable life as a founding father of the modern Thai economy, pedagogue at Thammasat University and Bank of Thailand, role model and larger-than-life figure who was influential during some of the most momentous years of Thai history.
Out with the old, it seems
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/12/2015
» Over the past year, several neighbourhoods in Bangkok's old city have undergone big changes. Saphan Lek, Tha Phra Chan, Tha Tian, Khlong Thom and Woeng Nakhon Kasem, for instance, have made headlines since these old-school quarters have been cleared and upgraded, with the removal of street vendors and the moving in of developers. We can expect a more visible facelift next year.
Reading landscapes
Muse, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/07/2015
» Every designer, regardless of his or her fame and profile, will usually have a design project that raises eyebrows and defies the norm. For Kotchakorn Voraakhom, a 33-year-old landscape architect, it was her idea to paint more colours in a humdrum swimming pool that did just that. This was a facility for blind students at the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand under The Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in the Phaya Thai area of Bangkok. Her idea took people aback and dropped many jaws.
Urban, yet green
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/06/2015
» What do people do when visiting Siam Square? At Bangkok's nucleus of youth culture and weekend activity, some naturally think of shopping, while others consider the area a top choice for meeting friends or having a first date.
Under the bridge
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/04/2015
» Today is Chakri Day. Two hundred and thirty three years ago, Chaophraya Chakri — later King Rama I, or King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great — founded Bangkok as the country's new capital and established the Chakri dynasty, the glory of which is lasting to this day.
Going walkabout
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/03/2015
» Despite poor footpaths and humid weather, Bangkokians walk more than is believed, according to an academic study that focuses on the "walkability scores" of the capital.