Showing 21 - 30 of 115
Tainted by a sordid tradition
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 21/05/2017
» For Note, a 42-year-old freelance journalist in northern Thailand, there's nothing bigger or more exciting than welcoming government officials from the central office in Bangkok. The officials visit for inspections, meeting with locals and talking to the local media. The trip is usually well organised from the moment they arrive until they leave the area.
One born every minute
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 30/04/2017
» Purapat Somyanarong, a business owner from Rayong, is always looking for new ways to invest his money. Although the 45-year-old entrepreneur is not a multimillionaire, he always seems to be able to find money to invest in anything that sounds like a good deal.
Tied in a knot: the Thai wives who go abroad
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 05/03/2017
» After 12 years in a bad marriage, Mali, a 33-year-old woman from Kham Ta Kla in Sakon Nakhon, made a bold move that many women from her village would never dream of doing. Getting a divorce bears a heavy stigma in a culture where special emphasis is placed on remaining a virgin before marriage. It's hard to find Thai men interested in dating female divorcees.
No sex please, we're Thai
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 26/02/2017
» It started off as nothing more than a small fishing village on the Gulf of Thailand. Its long sweeping bay was dotted with a few boats and shacks where the villagers lived. Then a group of 500 American soldiers stationed at a military base in Nakhon Ratchasima were driven to Pattaya on June 29, 1959, for a week of rest and relaxation (R&R). They rented several houses at the southern end of the beach from a prominent local, Luang Sunthorn, thus opening a Pandora's box for this sleepy fishing village.
Fake it till you ace it
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 29/01/2017
» Weerachai Phutdhawong is a whistleblower. For nearly a decade now, he has helped expose scam networks that sell fake degrees to "certify" unqualified university lecturers.
The 'thieves' whose story got stolen
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 11/12/2016
» 'Dad, what did I do wrong? Why don't we go to the temple any more?" Dokmai, a 10-year-old Hmong hill tribe girl, asked her father innocently. She was wondering why she and her sister no longer visit Doi Suthep temple as much as they used to.
A cell of their own
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 04/12/2016
» Before being sentenced to prison, Chalom lived her life in a carefree way. She had a full-time job as a hairdresser in a Pattaya beauty salon, which she enjoyed. The only thing she wanted was some extra spending money. With some help from her friends, she became a drug dealer at the age of 26.
No roof overhead
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 27/11/2016
» 'There's something wrong with how our society's structured. The economy's growing and we seem to be developing, but the number of people living in slums and on the streets keeps rising," Boonlert Visetpricha reflects. The Thammasat University professor has experienced this reality first hand in his field work, living as a homeless person in Bangkok. He sees a vast contrast between the lives of the rich and the poor.
Police nab suspect after 6-year chase
News, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 16/11/2016
» After searching for six years, police at the Region 3 headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima announced Tuesday the arrest of the key suspect in the murder of an Australian man, apparently resulting from road rage.
Answering naturism's call
Spectrum, Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Published on 13/11/2016
» In an isolated area of Ram Intra in Bangkok, a typical two-storey, modern Thai house sits at the end of a quiet street. House number 85 is situated in a dead-end soi with little traffic and there is not much to distinguish it from the few neighbouring homes apart from a large wooden door at the entrance to the white building. But ringing the doorbell at Baan BareFeet opens the door to a whole new world.