Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Maybe it's time to look on the bright side
Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/01/2025
» It is that time of the year when columnists are expected to make a few pertinent predictions concerning what could be in store for the next 12 months. However, things are so unpredictable at the moment that even Nostradamus would struggle to come up with a half-decent forecast. We are also entering the Year of the Snake which is not particularly comforting.
The day Sukhumvit almost sunk
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/09/2024
» Reading about the extensive flooding in the North and Northeast got me thinking about the worst inundations experienced in Bangkok. It was probably back in 1983 when much of the city was underwater for several weeks. However one that really affected me was a few years later in 1986 after a huge storm had left the eastern part of Bangkok awash.
When Bangkok bid for the Olympics
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/07/2024
» It's been 100 years since the last Paris Olympics which was dramatically portrayed in the stirring 1981 film Chariots of Fire. I can still picture that opening scene with the British athletes running along the beach to the sounds of that Vangelis anthem. It's hard to believe that was made 43 years ago. If this year's Olympics are even half as exciting as the 1924 event it will be an achievement.
Political ties
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 02/06/2019
» I remember my first few months in Thailand. Having fallen in love with the culture, I was determined to steep myself in it as much as I could. I learned to enjoy a hot panang curry over rice for breakfast -- what a jolt to the system after a lifetime of cornflakes and toast and, upon entering adulthood, black coffee and a cigarette.
Possibly time to look on the bright side
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/01/2018
» Having just about scraped through the Year of the Chicken, here we are seven days into 2018 and wondering what's in store during the Year of the Dog. It probably won't be all that great, but we'll leave the gloom and doom to the experts. Let's just hope it's a least a bit more enjoyable than the past couple of years which have really been quite awful, and almost of an annus horribilis nature.
Police blitz on alcohol pics goes too far
News, Ploenpote Atthakor, Published on 24/07/2017
» At first, I thought a reporter at a mass-circulation newspaper who covered a police warning on members of the public not to post pictures of themselves with booze on social media got it wrong.
'Bob' Halliday gone, but his light lives on
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 03/06/2017
» Bob told me many stories from a time when I hadn't even been born: During the Oct 14, 1973 student uprising, the authorities suspected he was a spy. When the Oct 6, 1976 massacre took place and the stench of blood was still fresh at Thammasat University, he surveyed the wreckage and bemoaned the state of the country he had adopted as his new home. Some evenings he reminisced on how he had lived through several dictators and prime ministers, hijacked or elected, overthrown or incapacitated -- he talked about Richard Nixon, Thanom Kittikachorn, Tanin Kraivixien, Thaksin Shinawatra, Prayut Chan-o-cha, etc. It didn't matter what happened, he'd say, as long as he could prowl produce markets in search of the perfect durian -- the caramelised Holy Grail of the fruit he adored above all else, the fruit that, as he'd say, made him "slobber like a mastiff".
Capital tour, fit for a billionaire
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 06/07/2016
» I had never considered Bill Gates a wizard in the way the rest of the world sees him until last week when a photo on his Instagram account, showing a pole with messy electrical wiring in Bangkok -- a familiar sight to us all -- led to a lightning response from officials.
How to make transit truly for the masses
Life, Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 28/03/2016
» Monday is always the source of predicaments. Last Monday, especially, was chaos for many Bangkokians. No, we're not talking about Gen Prayut's birthday, even though it fell on the same day. What happened last Monday was the infamous Airport Rail Link (ARL) incident. And all the news and headlines have already informed you of how over 700 passengers were stuck inside a train for an hour due to electrical problems, leaving them practically suffocated under Bangkok's trapped heat.
There have probably been better years
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/12/2015
» Well, we've just about scraped through 2015, although there have been a few dicey moments. Most of us will be happy to see the back of the Year of the Sheep, or was it the Goat? I never did quite work that out. It is customary at this time to look back on the past 12 months, although there are some events you might prefer to forget. If nothing else it serves as a reminder that Thailand will always be Truly Amazing.