• OPINION

  Humble 'pla tu' caught up in nets of destruction

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/12/2019

  » I am a big fan of pla thu, or mackerel, one of the signature food ingredients of Thai cuisine. Eaten with decent nam prik -- shrimp paste chilli-based dip -- I would not trade this for any swanky dishes.

• OPINION

  How Asean can avoid Mekong 'water war'

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 31/10/2019

  » The Xayaburi Dam, the first dam built across the lower Mekong River, came on stream at an interesting time -- just a few days before Thailand hosts the 35th Asean Summit this weekend.

• OPINION

  Asean eco-issues need more than feel-good talks

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/03/2019

  » As this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Thailand has recently done impressive work in tackling environmental problems in the region.

• OPINION

  Weathering the storm of flood, disaster response

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 11/01/2019

  » When Tropical Storm Pabuk hit last week, did you notice what element of Thailand's typical disaster response was absent in the rescue mission?

• OPINION

  Dam disaster a damning indictment

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/07/2018

  » The spirit of volunteerism is running high among Thais as was recently demonstrated during the mission to rescue the 12 "Wild Boars" and their coach in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai earlier this month.

• OPINION

  Rainy days ahead unless we fix floods

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/08/2017

  » The sea gypsies of Koh Lipe, a tourist island in the Andaman Sea, have had a close relationship with water all their lives. Water for them is intrinsic and very much tied to the phases of the moon. In times of high tide or heavy monsoon, water will cover parts of their land, but these seafarers have learned to cope, and they even commute on boats. Rising water levels have never been a major concern for these people, at least until recently.

• OPINION

      An election singing the same old tune

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 05/06/2017

  » The harsh public criticism against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his "four questions" gives an impression that people in country look forward to an election. Putting aside the fact that some politicians can be unscrupulous, or there might be a possibility of street demonstrations, it appears people are willing to give democracy a chance. After all, it is my belief that Thais have special relations with democracy.

• OPINION

  Forest too precious for housing

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 03/04/2017

  » Many years ago I visited Mahachai, a fishery port zone in Samut Sakhon province. As I walked around I felt like I was a township in Myanmar. The community is dubbed Little Myanmar, with good reason. It is a place where you can hear many people talk in unfamiliar dialects, posters are written in the round letters of the Myanmar alphabet, and of course, women and men have yellowish tanaka paste on their faces.

• OPINION

  Stop trashing our national parks

  Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 15/12/2015

  » The year-end holidays are approaching and it means millions are going to do some travelling, either locally or overseas, while some may just prefer to seize the opportunity to stay in quiet Bangkok. For Thais, some of the popular destinations are the mountainous national parks, such as Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai or Khao Yai. Living in a hot climate, we love to seek out the cooler places; last year, just over 93,100 holidaymakers spent their New Year holidays in one of 14 national parks, bringing in revenue of 3.58 million baht, according to the Department of National Parks (DNP).

• OPINION

  Govt needs to face reality over forest preservation

  News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 17/10/2015

  » Mention “Bang Kajao”, a green area next to Samut Prakan’s Phra Pradaeng District, and what springs to mind? Some may think of an area that is the “lung” for Bangkok or a popular bicycle route that brings cyclists to a traditional orchard landscape.

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