Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Gold rush crawls to a standstill
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 06/12/2015
» It was a billion-baht aerial survey of potential mineral deposits that sparked an enthusiastic start to gold mining in Thailand 32 years ago. Foreign investors were wooed and local communities were excited about the idea of new roads leading into their villages.
More bang for bucks, but how low can the baht go?
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 13/09/2015
» Late last month, when the baht was 35.95 against the United States dollar, Jeremy (not his real name) withdrew half a million baht from his bank account and sold them for US dollars at a foreign exchange dealer on Asok Road.
Do we really want to be just like Singapore?
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 12/07/2015
» The meeting on June 15 at the Chatuchak district office lasted less than an hour. By the end of the month, the 14 licensed street-food vendors were told, they would have to move out.
The big business of saving lives
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 10/05/2015
» Patcharin Arabiya scurried to find 5,000 baht to secure a room at Thonburi Hospital’s coronary care unit while doctors performed CPR on her mother, Samruay Sopajaree. The 78 year old suffered a heart attack on March 24, 2013, an hour after arriving home from a visit to Khao Yai National Park.
Teflon Thailand starts to flake
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 12/04/2015
» It’s almost noon and the Toyota saleswoman still hasn’t seen her first customer. Thaiyont, a Toyota dealership in Chon Buri’s Muang district, used to serve at least eight customers a day. But these days, they are lucky to have two.
The battle to ban asbestos
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 30/11/2014
» Depending on which medical expert you listen to, Thailand has either recorded just five cases of asbestos-related illness in its history, or use of the controversial material is a lurking menace affecting up to 1,000 people every year.
Rise of the rural middle class
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 10/08/2014
» Outside the Central department store in Ubon Ratchathani, a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class with yellow Lao licence plates drove from the car park. It was a Wednesday, but at weekends, a security guard told me, some 20% of the vehicles parked here are from Laos, many of which are European cars travelling to the northeastern province through Pakse or Mukdahan.
Cash for no comment
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 20/07/2014
» Few people outside the media industry had heard of the Thailand Information Centre For Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism (TCIJ), but by Monday it had the attention of every major news organisation in Thailand.