Showing 1 - 10 of 14
A time for giving
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 07/01/2019
» 'Please don't post them," I told my wife as I saw her taking pictures of me and my sister on New Year's Eve. It was a family activity and I have no time for social media drama. People's attitudes differ. Some might be supportive, others can be nasty.
A drought of understanding
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 09/05/2016
» Tonight there will be a new moon. According to the Thai lunar calendar, tomorrow will be the first day of the sixth month. And that reminds me of the classic Thai country song Fon Duen Hok (Rain Of The Sixth Month) and its famous description of rice fields at this time of year, when the air is moist with light rain and filled with the resonating frog calls that mark the beginning of monsoon season.
New year, new woes
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 04/04/2013
» The Songkran water festival will take place again next week and more than likely we will see (as usual) in news programmes revelling tourists screaming with joy to the approaching TV camera: "I love Thailand!"
The flow of time
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 30/12/2019
» Just a day and a few hours from now it's going to be 2020. Do you notice anything? We're already two decades into the "new" millennium! At midnight tomorrow, one-fifth of the 21st century will be gone!
What Thai youths do not know
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 08/04/2019
» It's no secret that a large number of new-generation Thais have poor attitudes toward their homeland. Scornful posts and non-constructive comments are rampant on the internet. The causes of their resentment are numerous: politics, traffic, laws, the economy, culture, social values, cost of living -- you name it.
Paradise in jeopardy
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 11/06/2018
» I get to know people when I travel for work, but I rarely see them again in person because each time I travel, I go to someplace different. Earlier this year, however, as I was about to leave a tourism fair, I bumped into the owner of a resort on Koh Mak, the island of Trat province famous for its efforts to become a "low-carbon destination".
Lottery is life
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 18/12/2017
» Politics, religion and money are globally considered the things one should never bring up in polite conversation. But are you aware that in Thailand there's one topic you can talk about with anybody, no matter the circumstances? It's a special subject that even complete strangers can chat about like buddies.
Wake up Westerners! Make your voices heard
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 12/11/2015
» The other day I received a forwarded clip via Line, of a silent film by Charlie Chaplin.
Can cycling licence save lives?
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 14/05/2015
» Following last week's spate of horrible road accidents that resulted in a total of four cyclists being killed and several more injured by law-breaking drivers (drunk driving confirmed in one case), the authorities have come up with a genius plan. Top officials at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Department of Land Transport have reportedly agreed on one thing they think will make the city's streets safer for bikers and everybody else: a cycling licence.
Thailand: for your biking needs
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 26/02/2015
» With increasing popularity, cycling is featured more often in the media, both as good and bad news. Recently a unique biking video was posted on YouTube. Shot in New Zealand, it shows two riders racing down a mountainside overlooking a beautiful lake, one dressed as a tortoise and the other as a hare. Unlike most downhill-mountain-biking-themed films, there were not many hair-raising stunts. But what I found very interesting was the fact that it was not a production by bike makers, star pro riders, bike magazines or major race sponsors. It was created by an airline.