Showing 1 - 10 of 15
A monument to love of reading
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 28/02/2019
» Strolling a 2.78km-long stretch of Silom Road and its satellite roads to learn about the development of modern education, medicine and missionary work in Thailand is well worth all the sweat.
Drawing on Thainess
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 03/12/2018
» One day in August, the month of National Mother's Day, Chusit Wijarnjoragij was given one of the most challenging tasks in his life: to be the key visual artist for the 2018 Miss Universe pageant taking place in Thailand. He started working right away, his brain and hands moved fast, putting flowers and stars on paper while the main theme music of the contest was played in his home studio.
A caravan of friendship
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 09/08/2018
» Travelling in a four-wheel-drive on a 2,700km route from Myanmar's old capital of Yangon through Thailand via the Dawei-Kanchanaburi border sounds tough for many. Yet, it was considered a small adventure for some 80 Myanmar and Thai people who recently took part in the "Myanmar Tourism Marketing-Tourism Authority of Thailand Heritage Trail Tourism Cross-Border Rally" because most of them love challenges.
Preserving history
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 30/04/2018
» Ruins and ancient sites are always under threat from time and disaster. The great flood of 2011, for instance, damaged 128 archeological sites on and around the city island of Ayutthaya. After the incident, the government provided a budget of 600 million baht for the clean-up and restoration work, and there was also financial and technical aid from Unesco, as well as certain foreign countries.
Preserving literary heritage
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 09/04/2018
» At Wat Sung Men in Phrae province, monks and a dozen local villagers are busy scanning the temple's old manuscripts into a computer. The same activity, in fact, is happening at several temples in the North, including Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong in Chiang Mai as well as others in Lamphun and Nan. Initiated by a German professor, the novel efforts of digitising and conserving ancient manuscripts have caught on with enthusiasm among locals.
Smooth as silk
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 08/11/2017
» Hundreds of foreign designers, the fashion industry elite, buyers, reporters and other fashionistas shouted "Bravo!" repeatedly as their cameras and phones captured the finale of the last show at the "New Shades Of Thailand Los Angeles Fashion Week 2017" in Los Angeles. All four shows by four famous Thai brands -- Patinya, Milin, ASV and Issue -- wowed the audience and brought more fame to Thai fabrics and fashion.
'Stone doctors' operate in Thailand
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 25/04/2017
» Two pagodas of Wat Ratchaburana in central Ayutthaya are almost 600 years old, but their beauty is still visible due to conservation efforts. The remaining stucco and plaster at both stupas (prang and mondop), the Buddha statues at the Prang, the floral decoration at the east face of the prayer hall and the stucco at a small pagoda -- they have been preserved partly as a result of a German conservation project in close co-operation with the Ayutthaya Historical Park and Unesco Bangkok.
Forever grateful
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 15/02/2017
» 'My Dearest Khun Prisna, I am now in one of the most beautiful places. Our hotel's name is 'Castello del Sole' (Castle of the Sun). Isn't it chic? The name is like one in a fairy tale. This town is so cute. It has a bright-coloured lake and nice houses on slopes. Routes and paths criss-cross the hills. Colourful flowers blossom everywhere ..."
Handle with care
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 12/07/2016
» Around 2 million fascicles, or phuk, of manuscripts have been found so far in Thailand, massive records of ancient stories and knowledge mostly kept in temples. Many of them are in a sorry state, only about 10% of these manuscripts having been registered by the Fine Arts Department's Manuscripts and Inscriptions Group since 1975. The rest need the care of monks and local villagers to save them from the ravages of time.
Digitising dhamma
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 23/03/2016
» At Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong in Chiang Mai, experts have been reading and digitising the old temple's palm-leaf manuscripts for weeks. Centuries-old manuscripts at other ancient northern temples -- Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Duang Dee in Chiang Mai, Wat Sung Men in Phrae and Wat Lai Hin in Lampang -- have been registered and well conserved.