Showing 11 - 20 of 28
The quest for a sustainable Songkran
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/04/2016
» Water splashing never came with guilt, until recently. This is Songkran, and water is the currency that we once spent as if there were no tomorrow.
Right to rest in peace
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 03/02/2016
» Nestled in a small alley on Arun Amarin Road, Tonson cemetery has stood next to the community mosque for over three centuries. This is probably the country's oldest "kubur", Islamic burial grounds, dating back to the time before the founding of Bangkok as the capital.
Drought, fishing scandals and winding roads
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/12/2015
» In the past year, environmental disasters once again proved how much of an impact they have on everyone's lives: the air we breathe (the haze in the South, blown over from Indonesia); the water we use (the contentious Chao Phraya roads); the lights we see (the coal-fired power plants); the ground beneath our feet (the gold mining scandals); the food we eat (the fishery disputes). In all of this, local communities and the rural poor feel the heat and the fire more than Bangkok's urbanites and they're the people who keep showing public resistance against environmental problems and the depletion of natural resources, despite the grip of military rule.
Out with the old, it seems
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/12/2015
» Over the past year, several neighbourhoods in Bangkok's old city have undergone big changes. Saphan Lek, Tha Phra Chan, Tha Tian, Khlong Thom and Woeng Nakhon Kasem, for instance, have made headlines since these old-school quarters have been cleared and upgraded, with the removal of street vendors and the moving in of developers. We can expect a more visible facelift next year.
Blending architecture into nature
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/08/2015
» Trees sometimes are not just trees in Thailand. Among their cultural roles, trees are an object of social status and a symbol of the country’s awkward Westernisation, according to Chunlaporn Nuntapanich, lecturer on architecture at Chiang Mai University.
Dinosaurs in the digital age
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/08/2015
» When was the last time you visited a library? That's one question worth thinking about, but the other question being discussed among librarians is whether public libraries will survive. As the internet becomes a new pathfinder of data and information and the younger generation find knowledge via Google and YouTube, the fate of libraries seems like that of an endangered species.
Reading landscapes
Muse, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/07/2015
» Every designer, regardless of his or her fame and profile, will usually have a design project that raises eyebrows and defies the norm. For Kotchakorn Voraakhom, a 33-year-old landscape architect, it was her idea to paint more colours in a humdrum swimming pool that did just that. This was a facility for blind students at the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand under The Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in the Phaya Thai area of Bangkok. Her idea took people aback and dropped many jaws.
Urban, yet green
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/06/2015
» What do people do when visiting Siam Square? At Bangkok's nucleus of youth culture and weekend activity, some naturally think of shopping, while others consider the area a top choice for meeting friends or having a first date.
Under the bridge
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/04/2015
» Today is Chakri Day. Two hundred and thirty three years ago, Chaophraya Chakri — later King Rama I, or King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great — founded Bangkok as the country's new capital and established the Chakri dynasty, the glory of which is lasting to this day.
Going walkabout
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/03/2015
» Despite poor footpaths and humid weather, Bangkokians walk more than is believed, according to an academic study that focuses on the "walkability scores" of the capital.