Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Bangkok's clean streets, empty souls
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 10/11/2025
» Banthat Thong used to be a neighbourhood, not a concept. You could live here and find everything: restaurants, bookstores, hardware shops, clinics, banks -- even a place to have your shirts made. It was one of those streets where life unfolded upstairs and business happened downstairs. Today, it is something else entirely.
Out with old, in with new. So short-sighted
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 03/07/2020
» Days after Phrae's historic Bombay Burmah building was completely torn down, outraged local people fuelled public anger by sharing photos of the ruthless demolition on social media.
Nature takes back seat in push for toilets
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 17/06/2020
» The removal of the leafy pradu trees along the road around the Grand Palace has triggered an avalanche of shock and anger. But this project, which has been touted as a landscape development project for tourism, hardly surprised me.
Squashed liked sardines on the Covid-19 train
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 03/06/2020
» Whenever I hear the famous phrase "never lower your guard" that is repeated every day at the daily Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) press conferences, I have to wonder: Whose guard are they talking about?
Mall rush woes: But where are Thais to relax?
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 20/05/2020
» The country's second reopening on Sunday saw big crowds gather at department stores citywide amid fears that social distancing measures might be compromised. Most of the malls were full and Ikea in Bang Na had to close early in the afternoon as the number of customers exceeded the daily quota.
Hands-off way of supporting hard hit
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 29/04/2020
» After five weeks of lockdown with strict measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19, Thailand has made a lot of headway with a steady decline in infections. At the same time, there has been a rise in the number of suicides and failed attempts made by people who have slipped through the state's security net.
Easing Covid rules has to be a balancing act
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 22/04/2020
» With the government's partial lockdown having taken a heavy toll on the economy, with large numbers of people experiencing hardship, there are growing calls for the government to ease measures imposed to combat the coronavirus.
Will injunction halt riverside promenade?
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 08/02/2020
» The Central Administrative Court's decision earlier this week to issue an injunction to halt construction of the controversial Chao Phraya riverside promenade may be deemed a victory for the civic groups which put up a fight against the city administration and an alien structure that they said would cause adverse effect on river ecology, in addition to being an eyesore.
In beautifying efforts, don't lose sight of reality
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 04/01/2020
» After watching Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang's clip wishing us all well for 2020, I asked myself if I should, in his words, "feel blessed", especially since the reality is the complete opposite.
There are better ways to realise riverside dream
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 07/12/2019
» If the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has its way, the capital city will soon have its own riverside promenade like many other metropolitan cities. Except that the Bangkok version is riddled with controversy.