Showing 1 - 10 of 21
A sustainable retreat
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/09/2023
» In the southwest of Phnom Penh lies the region's largest surviving rainforest. After landing, I met other travel companions to spend three nights together at a riverside camp. We were split into two vans and headed for Sihanoukville. Downtown shophouses and heavy traffic gave way to lush scenery. No sooner had the hustle faded into the distance than rice paddies, palm trees and mountains came into sight. Here, Cambodia's nature remains undisturbed. In more or less two hours, we arrived at the camp depot.
Snowy peaks and vibrant culture
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 07/09/2023
» Debris remains the lingering evidence of a massive earthquake in Nepal in 2015. With the epicentre in the northwest of Kathmandu, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, the natural disaster killed around 9,000 people, injured over 100,000 and impacted around 8 million. As Nepal began to recover, the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a complete standstill and tourism cracked and collapsed like people's homes.
Student filmmakers focus on Thai society for 'Voices Of The New Gen'
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 11/05/2023
» After screenings in August last year, "Voices Of The New Gen", four short films by university students, are once again revisiting the gamut of social and political issues of 2022 on Netflix.
Equality still a dream
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 09/01/2023
» In the lead-up to its second reading, the civil partnership draft bill marks a decade since its inception, dating back to a gay couple who were denied legal recognition in 2012 because the law limits marriage to a man and a woman. Given the conservatism of earlier decades, civil partnership was "the first brick" at a time when marriage equality was almost inconceivable. However, history is often ignored. Despite its long journey in conjunction with the new bill, the uphill push for marriage rights will remain an unfinished business under the current government.
Challenging the norm
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 07/11/2022
» Yaoi or Boys' Love (BL) has grown from an underground to mainstream fictional genre. It emerged from women's manga comics in Japan in the 1980s, which portrayed the relationship between young boys based on the seme (active) and uke (receptive) dichotomy. Through an informal fan network, the transnational phenomenon came to Thailand in the early 1990s and a subculture was formed online.
For a better future
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/11/2022
» After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Hamida and Marsela are happy to be back in school in Thailand. Despite being far from home, they are not only taking interesting lessons but growing up in a safe environment with new friends and teachers.
In a king's footsteps
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 26/09/2022
» The sea breeze blew in as a group of visitors arrived at Mrigadayavan Palace, the former summer retreat of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi. After more than two years since the beginning of the pandemic, the heritage site remains closed for a restoration project that unveils traces of its early days.
A shot for good health
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 20/09/2022
» Coronavirus vaccines can reduce disease severity and fatality, but the emergence of new strains has raised questions about their effectiveness and future vaccination strategy. Some vaccine makers are rolling out variant-specific boosters to head off the Omicron surge, while others are developing pan-coronavirus vaccines that will hopefully offer protection against all variants.
A call for help
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 23/08/2022
» We pull on layers to protect our vulnerable core. When they break, we are exposed and desperate for new shells, but they take time and do not come easily. Sometimes, we borrow them from the dead.
Abode of the gods
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/08/2022
» Cicadas sang a chorus as the forest opened out. I peered into the darkness and traced the distant contour of a monumental religious complex, a remarkable feat of human civilisation. Keyed up with my first visit, I crossed a floating bridge, a soon-to-be-dismantled construction, over a large moat in the midst of lush vegetation. Before dawn, I arrived at Angkor Wat.