Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Cash crop policy a recipe for floods
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 24/08/2018
» Like several cities in Thailand, Nan, an increasingly popular tourist town in the northern region, has been devastated by floods since July.
Lessons from the Klong Dan court ruling
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/07/2018
» Last Friday the 13th must have been horrible for the 11 defendants involved in a court case involving fraud in the 23-billion-baht Klong Dan wastewater treatment project -- a state infrastructure which has been built but left largely unused in Samut Prakan.
Cooler heads needed to end wildlife woes
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/11/2017
» Following media reports about the killings of three rare, wild gaur in Kao Phang Ma, a forest area near Khao Yai in Wang Nam Khieo district of Nakhon Ratchasima last week, police and national park officials were quick to say poachers were the culprits.
Wildlife, drug trades cross bloody paths
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 08/11/2017
» The Golden Triangle -- an area where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet -- has long been notorious. In the old days, it was known as Asia's second opium production hub, behind the Golden Crescent in Afghanistan. After opium use declined, the Golden Triangle transformed into a production hub for heroin and recently ya ba, or methamphetamine.
Rainy days ahead unless we fix floods
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/08/2017
» The sea gypsies of Koh Lipe, a tourist island in the Andaman Sea, have had a close relationship with water all their lives. Water for them is intrinsic and very much tied to the phases of the moon. In times of high tide or heavy monsoon, water will cover parts of their land, but these seafarers have learned to cope, and they even commute on boats. Rising water levels have never been a major concern for these people, at least until recently.
Tourism can be made sustainable
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 01/05/2017
» On the surface, the Andaman sea off Phi Phi Island is calm and clear, its emerald green colour is ever attractive. Yet, the underwater situation with an extensive area of bleached coral reef make this popular world-class dive site a red-alert tourism spot.
Trials and tribulations of Bangkok taxis
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/03/2017
» The cab driver pressed on the accelerator, driving fast and furiously until I felt enough was enough; I ordered him to pull over, gave him the fare and stepped out of the car. Picking up a local passenger like me from a shopping mall on Sukhumvit Road is not a way for him to make much money. I bet he drove straight back along the same road to pick up tourists.
Teachers need relief from some burdens
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/01/2017
» Today is National Teacher's Day in Thailand. But Sangsoem Harntalay, a renowned teacher at Ban Koh Adang, a school on Lipe Island, a famous tourism destination in the Andaman Sea in Satun province, sees no cause to celebrate.
Paying respect and beating the trash
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 21/10/2016
» The Sanam Luang area has become the epicentre of emotion. Hundreds of thousands of grief-stricken Thais have converged there to pay their respects to the late His Majesty the King at the nearby Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion inside the Grand Palace. During the day it is a surging sea of people, and late into the night black-clad mourners still linger on the grass lawn. Meanwhile, volunteers come to offer food, water and other services such as free transportation and paramedic services to visitors who come from every province around the country.
Joni's parking lot puts Phuket in perspective
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 11/07/2016
» Every time I go to Phuket, a famous 1970 song by Joni Mitchell, "Big Yellow Taxi", always rings in my head. Lyrical and melodic, it pierces right into your heart. The first line -- "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot" -- has become an anthem for conservationists as they express concern over tasteless economic development.