Showing 31 - 40 of 41
The day I realised Thailand was different
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/04/2016
» I trust everyone has survived the Songkran Festival, suffering little more than a few damp clothes, and maybe stuck with a hint of a fixed grin. The festival brings special memories for me because when I first arrived in April 1969, it coincided with the start of Songkran, although I was unaware of it.
An unlikely muse to art of endurance
News, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 31/03/2016
» So what's the latest? Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the draft charter by the Meechai Ruchupan-led Constitution Drafting Committee -- yes, the one with a wholly-appointed Senate and fixed senator posts for armed forces and police chiefs -- is up for the referendum and, I quote, "No one will dare to touch it."
A talisman called mindfulness
Life, Arusa Pisuthipan, Published on 06/01/2016
» Besides resolutions to exercise more, smoke less and get better organised, another most discussed New Year topic is about the inauspicious year or what's known amongst Thais as <i>pee chong</i>.
Asking the eternal why?
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 30/11/2015
» I've just indulged in a few museum visits in London, an activity that doesn't often present itself in Thailand.
Seeing the world through another's eyes
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 13/11/2015
» As much as Facebook is a virtual space of borderless interaction, it has, for many, undeniably become our most immediate and primary news source. It's a personalised pool of information, which though we have chosen consciously, can transform who we are and the way we think without our even realising it. And I have often wondered what it would be like to live, maybe for a day, in the social media world of other people's Facebook accounts.
Has reform failed, or has it even begun?
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 23/06/2015
» Maybe it's the natural swing of the pendulum — what goes up must come down — and that explains why we have gone from fight-to-the-death battles against inequality a few years ago, to high-minded campaigns for national reform last year, to struggles against overpriced lotteries, motorcycle racers and the age-old question of whether casinos should be allowed to operate legally in Thailand now.
Chewing the fat of morality
Life, Pimrapee Thungkasemvathana, Published on 06/05/2015
» The Lykov family retreated from civilisation in 1936. For four decades, they lived in isolation, in a home made from scavenged materials. They had no knowledge of World War II, of the atomic bombs, of the first landing on the Moon. They had prayer books and an old Bible to read. When these Old Believers fled into the Siberian taiga, the family consisted of four. The couple had two more children, who before their discovery by geologists in the summer of 1978 had never met anyone else.
A bit of convenience is a breath of fresh airport
Life, Peerawat Jariyasombat, Published on 05/02/2015
» Airport taxis have yet again become the talk of the town. Last month, when a Japanese man took an airport taxi, instead of being charged the standard 35 baht fee, the driver insisted on a starting rate of 75 baht.
Mottoes key to keeping public order
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 02/12/2014
» Mottoes are a necessary tool to keep people fixed in a state of happiness, to give them a moral guideline and make them feel there is a form of order in an otherwise messy world. A couple of cool and catchy slogans can go a long way.
It's really best when you say nothing at all
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/09/2014
» Dear diary, it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt, as Mark Twain said. How charming my mouth has been in the past week. If it had been Yingluck Shinawatra saying those things, I'm sure a riot would've broken out and the sound of a million whistles would've shattered your eardrums. But it's me, so it's different. It's not the action but the man. How could those pettifogging critics interpret my speech as avuncular nonsense, when in fact they're pieces of wisdom worthy of being chronicled in the national archives and inscribed onto monuments?