Showing 121 - 130 of 153
Behind the wheel on hell ride
Spectrum, Nattha Thepbamrung, Published on 27/04/2014
» It’s Bangkok’s most notorious bus route, earning a dubious reputation for its erratic drivers — some unlicensed — who hurtle through traffic at breakneck speeds in congested areas in defiance of the road rules.
Tough town endures its latest tragedy
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 30/03/2014
» Mae Sot is a tough town. It has to be. Located on a remote part of the Thai-Myanmar border it has seen its share of armed conflict, battered refugees, natural disasters and other hurts. Last week the town was thrown into a maelstrom of grief after a bus carrying 53 of its villagers plunged over a cliff killing 30 and seriously injuring another 23.
Former street urchin now taking his fight to the PDRC
Spectrum, Post Reporters, Published on 09/02/2014
» Forty years ago, a child was abandoned at a rubbish dump by parents he would never know. The boy grew up on the streets and in orphanages, doing what he could to survive, to make money, and to eat. He fought his way out of this dire existence, sometimes legally and often not, educated himself and is now a political activist - a hardline red-shirt who the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) believes poses the greatest threat to its supporters.
Breathing easier in bangkok _ Part II
Spectrum, Angus Mitchell, Published on 26/01/2014
» Last week we began our series on the reasons for the dramatic improvement in Bangkok's air quality in the past 20 years. The capital serves as a model for other mega cities throughout the region because it has taken a multi-pronged approach to tackling air pollution; an approach rooted in the adoption of the increasingly stringent emissions standards set forth by the European Union for its own citizens.
Story of shepherds and angels still burns bright
Spectrum, Father Joe Maier, Published on 22/12/2013
» When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, angels travelled from high heaven to tell the news to a small group of shepherds guarding their sheep by night. And of course, the children woke up when they heard the angels speaking to their parents and then singing their heavenly song about the birth of the holy child, and the children were dazzled by the light of an unknown star in the sky.
Students left under siege as day turned to nightmare
Spectrum, Published on 08/12/2013
» Phoo, a 31-year-old political science student studying at Ramkhamhaeng University usually keeps her distance from both sides of Thai politics. But last Saturday, her friends urged her to join the anti-government rally outside the campus.
Ms Teacher Lady
Spectrum, Father Joe Maier, Published on 06/10/2013
» Let me tell you about an old-time Klong Toey revolutionary: a slum kindergarten teacher. Still going strong in her seventh cycle of years _ that makes her more than 72. But don't dare ask her if her beautiful hair is turning slightly grey, even around the edges. No guns, no knives, only pencils and paper and nursery rhymes. You'd say: ''What? A kindergarten teacher revolutionary? You're daft.'' But that's the gig. As long as she can remember, that horrible proverb rattled around in her head _ not enough children to tend our water buffalo. Even as a little girl, she told her mum _ that's not right. And schoolmarm mum said: ''You're right my daughter, so you change that.''
Ghosts in the darkness
Spectrum, Published on 29/09/2013
» High heels, blood-red lipstick, a skintight T-shirt and cut-off jeans may not be the typical dress code of a som tam street vendor.
Little girl with a big heart up from under the expressway
Spectrum, Father Joe Maier, Published on 04/08/2013
» Demure Miss Tangmo (Watermelon) tries to be as good and loving as any mum on the planet, but she's only eight, and she worries a lot about her five-year-old brother and the twins. Not that there's really much to worry about there: he's happy and the twins are jolly three-year-old eating machines. Her mum, back in rehab? That's a worry, but it's nothing new.
Out of mind, in plain sight
Spectrum, Tunya Sukpanich, Published on 21/07/2013
» Son was a familiar figure wandering aimlessly and obviously "out of it" in Rangsit district, where he lived in a local temple. Rescue workers came to the temple in response to a call from a concerned citizen and took him for treatment at a government mental hospital, and slowly he regained his wits and memory. Son couldn't remember anything about his family but fortunately they did not forget him. Now he is safe, recuperating at his home in Chaiyaphum province. Son is one of a lucky few suffering from severe mental illness on the streets who receive attention and help. Most suffer in silence and loneliness.