Showing 1 - 10 of 128
How AI could reshape world of medicine
Oped, Published on 19/03/2024
» On a recent international trip, I found myself running late to the airport. Not being fluent in the local language, I used a translation app that enabled me to convey the urgency of my situation to the taxi driver. The app's camera feature also allowed me to understand the road signs, providing real-time updates.
Avoid bias in job row
News, Editorial, Published on 11/09/2023
» Amid reports of Russians in Phuket taking away Thai jobs, it is crucial that Thai authorities handle this issue with discretion and not let their racial prejudice take over.
Root out rogue cabbies
Oped, Editorial, Published on 19/07/2022
» Whether you're a local or tourist in Bangkok, hailing a meter taxi is a game of cat and mouse. Will you get an honest cabbie who goes by the meter? Will the driver return your full change at journey's end?
Singapore is a laboratory for urban mobility
Oped, Published on 13/08/2021
» Tiziano Terzani was no fan of Singapore. The Florentine writer and journalist explored every corner of Asia. He had witnessed the fall of Saigon to the People's Army of Vietnam, and the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge. When he visited Singapore, he concluded all it had to offer was its airport: "The concentration of everything Singapore has to show: its efficiency, its cleanliness, its order." Otherwise, the wealthy city-state was nothing more to him than "the largest supermarket of consumer goods, futility, and prissiness in Asia".
Between you, me and the lamp post
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/06/2021
» Over the years we've had allegations of malfeasance concerning the whole spectrum of life in Thailand. Among the more unlikely cases have been claims of dubious goings on concerning purchases of such items as school pianos, parliament clocks, cows and even kindergarten toys.
Phuket's chance to start afresh
News, Editorial, Published on 28/03/2021
» With the prime minister today expected to announce plans for the reopening of Phuket to foreign tourists in July and the kingdom hoping to regain its crown as one of the most visited and desirable holiday and travel destinations in the world, there is understandable concern over the move.
It's always 'bath' time in Thailand
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/03/2021
» Flying in to a very quiet Suvarnabhumi recently I noticed the official ticket for the airport taxi still informs us of an additional "50 bath" (sic) you will be required to pay the driver at the end of the journey. The "bath" has been there since the ticket was introduced six years ago, so you can forgive what few tourists there are these days for believing they will be dealing in "baths" during their stay.
Thai tourism needs work
News, Editorial, Published on 14/12/2020
» While the government is trying to boost domestic tourism to replace the loss of revenue from foreign visitors due to the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic, such efforts have been affected by a poor quality of services on offer to tourists.
A snapshot of life in self-quarantine
News, Published on 07/03/2020
» The Covid-19 outbreak appears to have passed its peak in China, more than two months after it took over global headlines. However, life remains far from normal in the Chinese capital Beijing, as Shin Lin of Reporting Asean tells us in these thoughts scribbled during her time in self-quarantine.
Dismantling Malta's mafia state
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/12/2019
» It's two years since Daphne Caruana Galizia, the best investigative journalist in Malta, was killed by a car bomb. She had been using the huge leaks of financial data in the "Panama Papers" to track down suspicious dealings by members of the Maltese government, and she was getting too close for comfort.