Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Citizenship for sale
Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/03/2017
» Having multiple passports and citizenship that bears no relation to where you were born is something most people associates with James Bond or Jason Bourne. But these days it is no longer simply the stuff of spy stories.
Bringing the gift of light
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 15/02/2017
» For many Thais, access to electricity is just a flick of a switch, but for those living in the remote mountainous area of Mae Hong Son, the poorest province of Northern Thailand, access to electricity is still a dream far from coming true.
Let's develop a culture of reading
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/01/2017
» How much time do you spend reading in a single day? According to a Ministry of Culture survey, the average Thai spends 66 minutes per day reading. I am quite surprised and found the amount quite high. Yet the survey also includes digital content on the internet and social media, not only books.
Sharing one's gifts
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 21/10/2016
» Witoon Krungthong has been pedalling his bicycle around sois and communities to offer cloth dyeing services for 18 years. The industrial textile industry may have made the profession of artisan cloth dyeing redundant, but Witoon still finds customers willing to pay him to turn their clothes black.
Book smart
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 11/04/2016
» Consumer spending has dampened. Popular annual trade and sales events -- such as the Bangkok International Motor Show, which ended last week -- have uncharacteristically experienced lukewarm responses. Yet organisers of the National Book Fair, just ended, have reason to celebrate, as bookworms swarmed the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre over the past two weeks. It seems that despite the economic downturn and limitless entertainment options, people still buy books.
Angel to the rescue of the disenchanted?
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 01/02/2016
» No, I am not parenting or babysitting a luk thep (angel child doll), nor do I harbour a secret desire to acquire one to boost my luck. On the contrary, I hold a hostile attitude towards anyone -- young or grown-up -- who brings out any dolls to play with or to cuddle in public.
A chance of less haze?
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/01/2016
» Despite the cool weather, the period between late January to March is not a pleasant time for villagers in Lampang and the other northern provinces. It is the time that haze -- caused by the swathes of smoke from forest fires and the burning of agricultural waste -- blankets the region. The man-made smog has been an inevitable seasonal event. Every year, farmers need to clear agricultural leftovers on their farms before sowing new seeds in May. In the old days, haze was tolerable. But mono-cultivation, especially large scale corn plantation, has recently forced farmers to clear large plots of land quickly for re-harvesting.
Into the forest
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 07/10/2015
» It is hard to believe Sahwing Indharangsri when he says his village and the forest around it was once inhabited by wild animals.
A right royal read
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 09/02/2015
» When Subhatra Bhumibrabhas said she wanted to translate The King In Exile: The Fall Of The Royal Family Of Burma by Sudha Shah, people warned that the prospects weren't that bright. Why, they said, would Thai readers want to read about the late Burmese king who lived in exile and died almost a century ago? Subhatra, former journalist and now media activist whose interest in Myanmar dates back years, shrugged off such caution and followed her heart in translating the book into Thai.
Giving hope through education
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 04/02/2015
» Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Lower Klity Creek village last week, and a sense of hope and joy fell on this small hamlet in Kanchanaburi. Klity has been in the news for years, and it's always bad news: this is the village that has suffered toxic lead contamination for decades, definitely one of the worst environmental disasters in modern Thailand.