Showing 1 - 7 of 7
One trip, two paradises
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 10/06/2025
» Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives debuted on April 1 as the fourth property in the Maldives by Centara Hotels & Resorts. What makes it a standout is a special perk of complimentary access to certain facilities at the neighbouring property, Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives. One trip, two paradises, if you will. More on this later.
A roundtable interview with 'The White Lotus' cast
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 03/03/2025
» Following the Bangkok premiere of The White Lotus: Season 3 on St Valentine's Day, a press junket was held at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River. Eight cast members were paired up into four groups for roundtable interviews where they revealed BTS details and sang Lisa's praises. Here are the highlights.
No more casual sexism
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 17/06/2022
» Last Friday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha made another insensitive verbal blunder. You may say, "Hey, Pornchai, aren't you used to this by now?" but I would argue that this latest (and hopefully last one) merits a response from yours truly, delivered with the utmost respect as always.
How to Name Your Car Like You're One of the 0.1%
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 19/02/2021
» The 0.1% of Thais (not 1% 'cause Thailand has the highest wealth inequality in the world, you see) may rejoice at the recent news that soon you can pay an extra fee to give your vehicle a real name on a licence plate instead of the two-alphabets-and-numerals combo the 99.9% are familiar with. The new rules will allow a combination of more than two alphabets, vowels, tone marks and numbers in a vehicle registration plate for a personal car with no more than seven seats. In short, you can name your car after you or give it a person's name. For example, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha can name his "ประยุทธ์ 2 กรุงเทพมหานคร (Prayut 2 Bangkok)" to commemorate his second term. The plan is expected to be implemented around the middle of this year and you can bid for such a plate with starting price of B1 million. Money raised this way will be spent to improve road safety.
Travel Struggles Thais Can Relate To
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 01/11/2019
» If you're fortunate enough to travel on a regular basis, you may start to pick up on little quirks that come with it. While I don't consider myself consumed by wanderlust, I would like to think that I've travelled enough to be able to share a few amusing quirks and struggles I discovered along the way. For your entertainment (and in some cases, our common commiseration), here are travel titbits Thai can relate to.
Ways Thais Can Improve Their English
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 09/11/2018
» Published earlier this week, the annual report by EF Education First on English proficiency of people in countries that don't use English as their mother tongue revealed Thailand scored 48.54 out of 100. Our English skills are considered "low" (fourth out of five levels) since the first report in 2011 (Ministry of Education, what exactly have you been doing?) The report gauged people's English proficiency by focusing on listening and reading via an online test, and they admitted that the results may be optimistic given that participants have access to internet, thus, potentially excluding your average Somchai and Somsri.
What's in a Thai name?
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 02/11/2018
» One aspect about Thai culture that many visitors may be curious about or find fascinating is how we are named, as there seem to be some unwritten rules governing it. This week, I would like to shed some light on this unique aspect of Thai culture while airing my grievances with my fellow Thais who have encountered incidents regarding their names. Our struggle is real.