Showing 1 - 10 of 35
A bittersweet farewell to Life
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 25/02/2019
» Amid the downturn and lower popularity of mainstream media, as opposed to fast-speed online channels, coupled with the deprivation of press freedom under the junta, it comes as no surprise to see newspapers and magazines ceasing publication.
Deliver us from apathy
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 10/12/2018
» It became the talk of the town when social-media posts last week unveiled a sign saying: "Using the postal service of Thailand Post means repaying the debts of gratitude that you owe to your country". The message led to widespread negative criticism. Many people were upset and complained the state enterprise should not have demanded people's gratefulness when it offers a poor service.
Internet afterlives
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 15/01/2018
» Time flies. Things change and more people around me leave this world year after year. Since the start of the New Year, I have been feeling down because birthday reminders and "Like" notifications have been popping up on the Facebook and Instagram pages of my deceased friends. Though some of these "friends" were just co-workers, and some others distant relatives who had never met me in person, I felt uncomfortable with such untimely reminders.
A modest, model life
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 16/10/2017
» When I was a little girl, I loved fairy tales about a handsome prince and a beautiful princess falling in love and living happily ever after. In fairy tales, kings and queens live luxury lives in castles. That didn't happen in Thailand throughout the 89-year lifetime of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away last year.
Friend, unfriend, tolerate, obliterate
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 17/07/2017
» Social-network users have many reasons to hide, block and unfriend their friends and followers. Since its establishment in 2004, Facebook has rapidly increased users from a few friends of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to 2 billion monthly active users in June 2017.
A dream to live sufficiently
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 02/01/2017
» From Oct 29 last year on, almost everyone who has paid respect to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Grand Palace has received a photo of the royal urn and a small packet of rice grains as tokens of his memory. What is special about the rice is the label saying "sufficiency", specially designed from the King's handwriting. Most recipients keep the rice grains on altars at home in loving memory of King Rama IX. Many farmers keep them for their rice farming while some want to grow rice and follow his sufficiency-economy principles. As a frequent palace visitor, I keep one packet for myself and give the other to my housemaid to plant in her rice field in Si Sa Ket province.
Precious lessons for protecting our nature
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 13/06/2016
» Last week, there was good and bad news about the environment. I learnt a lot about environmental protection measures during my June 6-7 visit to Japan's Yakushima Island, of which 20% of the total area is registered as a World Natural Heritage Site by Unesco. Later on June 9, I was happy to hear that various groups of people planted trees on some parts of deforested land in Nan and many other Thais planted trees elsewhere and also at home.
Flagging up respect for the nation
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 15/02/2016
» Sometimes, our daily routine turns out to be an extraordinary thing for other people. So is the Thai people's daily practice to stand still and respect the national flag twice a day. Thai students must stand in front of the raised flag and sing the national anthem at 8am sharp every day. Whenever we hear the national anthem in public places, especially outdoors, we stop walking or doing other things and stand still to show our respect.
Angel delight is a passing fad
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 28/01/2016
» Angel child dolls, or luk thep in Thai, have become widely known since the middle of last year and increasingly popular, especially among those in the entertainment business who believe the dolls bring them good fortune. The trend for luk thep -- dolls with added spirits of angels that are believed to have the power to fulfill the wishes of their owners -- has become a centre of criticism since a number of owners treat their dolls as if they are real infants in public.
Debunking myth, retelling history
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 28/10/2015
» History or patriotic myth? When I first heard of a new book, The Thai History, I thought of nothing but another government effort to build a sense of nationalism among Thais. The 208-page book was written by the Fine Arts Department and launched last Thursday at the National Book Fair.