Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Heritage on trial
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/01/2026
» For some, the Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine is a beacon of resistance against a larger force.
A sustainable retreat
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/09/2023
» In the southwest of Phnom Penh lies the region's largest surviving rainforest. After landing, I met other travel companions to spend three nights together at a riverside camp. We were split into two vans and headed for Sihanoukville. Downtown shophouses and heavy traffic gave way to lush scenery. No sooner had the hustle faded into the distance than rice paddies, palm trees and mountains came into sight. Here, Cambodia's nature remains undisturbed. In more or less two hours, we arrived at the camp depot.
A bitter farewell
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 15/05/2023
» The Robot Building on Sathon Road is a childhood superhero that comes to life. Standing on staggered floors, the chunky android is studded with nuts and bolts. Its head boasts metallic-lidded eyes and two communication antennae and its frontal body is outfitted with black glass and blue stripes like armour. It is ready to fight a monster in the urban jungle.
Nationalism is not the answer to land woes
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/11/2022
» Resistance to the controversial foreign land ownership bill is giving rise to the term khai chat -- used to denounce traitors who sell the motherland -- being used in political discourse. Whether a person is a government critic or supporter, he or she believes their ancestors fought very hard to protect our land and it should not be given away to foreigners.
A slice of Andaman paradise
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 31/10/2022
» After six months of closure for the rainy season, Koh Lanta is now reopening to the outside world.
Complicated history and a comeback
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 02/06/2022
» On the partition of a quiet seaside wood house is more than an old photo from circa 1881. It is hard evidence that King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and his entourage, including his half-brother Prince Damrong Rajanuphap, visited the island in the easternmost province of Trat before it was subject to French rule. Despite the withdrawal of troops, colonial legacies remained for years.
A natural remedy against Covid-19?
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 26/01/2022
» Short of breath at night, Ekkaluk Thongchan decided to ignore his doctor's instructions and rummage through his bag for herbal pills believed to treat fever and respiratory symptoms. Made of kot chula lumpa (sweet wormwood) and boraphet (heart-leaved moonseed), the temple-grown remedy gave him a new lease of life.
Patriotism's problem
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/11/2021
» 'When will you come home?" a mother asks her on the phone. A teenage daughter, now a university student, is busy completing her assignment. She is about to go on a field trip to historic places ranging from temples to museums to collect information for her report.
Giving new life to canals
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/11/2021
» Once known as the Venice of the East, Bangkok has seen its vast network of rivers winding through the capital vanish due to urban development. Construction has filled in klongs (canals) for roads and houses and the remaining waterways have become neglected and clogged with rubbish.
Where the wild beasts roam
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 29/03/2021
» The bumpy path snaked down from the winding road to the sun-baked Ruam Thai village in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Kui Buri district. Here is where Thanasit Phiboonwatthanakorn's mother bought a small cabin and ran a rubber plantation because she wanted to live in the woods. When she passed away, Thanasit inherited the 28-rai farmland and knew that he would have wild guests.