Showing 61 - 70 of 101
The watered-down version of corruption in schools
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 14/06/2015
» We begin our journey in a little village in the far northern province of Chiang Rai. We’re going to pop into a school called Bahn Daen Sala, a rural primary school run on a shoestring budget, where the education of its students rests more on the resourcefulness of its teachers than anything found in the curriculum.
A learning curve, from Nakhon Nayok to Finland
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 17/05/2015
» Forty years ago Finland was languishing economically and educationally. Today it leads the world in many global surveys. What did the country do?
Small talk at the car wash, yeah
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 12/04/2015
» I’ve just had my car cleaned at my local car wash. I am a man who believes in cleanliness, and that extends to my car. Getting a car wash is a task I perform at the beginning of every single month that begins with the letter A. This frequency brings me in contact with an ever-changing gaggle of Lao youth who spray, scrub, shine and sometimes even scratch my car before I steer it into the giant rollers and, ultimately, the middle-aged cashier with the weather-beaten face.
Mum’s always the word
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 05/04/2015
» Gifty disappeared during an important part of our presentation performance tonight. He’d been acting very lackadaisically throughout the entire afternoon. At the end of the performance, I called Gifty over for a special talk.
The spirits of vengeance
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 29/03/2015
» It’s Ghost Night here in Nakhon Nayok, a night where everybody breaks into groups and acts out, on stage, stories of popular Thai ghosts.
Position vacant: job interviewer
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 15/03/2015
» Business is on the up so I am looking to hire a new receptionist. My HR lady says the position must be advertised as “In-house Public Relations Co-Ordinator”.
China’s invasion from within
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 22/02/2015
» I received a goat key-ring this week. It’s a cross-eyed, ugly little thing, with an oversized head and four legs that dangle down lifelessly.
Wheels start turning on revolution
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 08/02/2015
» Vive la revolution! Last Monday there was a gathering of 25 kindred spirits at Berk Prai restaurant in Bang Na that went well into the evening. They were celebrating a victory.
Two bright, shining jewels
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 01/02/2015
» We all love a good David versus Goliath story, where somebody small and insignificant rises up against the giants and achieves greatness.
A zebra can change its stripes
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 18/01/2015
» Every now and again a new campaign or crackdown hopes to right a social wrong in this country, not unlike the one I detailed in last week’s column. The latest idea is one that involves white lines — white squiggly lines.