• TRAVEL

  Tales of two temples

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 13/07/2017

  » It is beyond many people's expectations to see a forest monastery in the heart of Thon Buri, the west quarter of Bangkok. Wat Pa Choeng Lane is nestled amid tropical trees in a secluded area accessible on foot or by boat by the Chak Phra Canal.

• TRAVEL

  Pre-Thai New Year Celebrations

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 06/04/2017

  » Songkran is a centuries-old festival that marks the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year and is a joyful event in which Thais sprinkle scented water on one another.

• OPINION

  Precious lessons for protecting our nature

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 13/06/2016

  » Last week, there was good and bad news about the environment. I learnt a lot about environmental protection measures during my June 6-7 visit to Japan's Yakushima Island, of which 20% of the total area is registered as a World Natural Heritage Site by Unesco. Later on June 9, I was happy to hear that various groups of people planted trees on some parts of deforested land in Nan and many other Thais planted trees elsewhere and also at home.

• LIFE

  A photographer princess

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 16/04/2019

  » Armed with her Leica camera and fixed lens, HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, the youngest daughter of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, woke up before sunrise -- at 5am -- and rode a jeep and hot-air balloon in search of the Big Five game animals of Kenya that are hardest to shoot on foot. In tough weather conditions, dusty and humid, she captured moments in the savannahs through still and motion pictures while illustrating her quest in her personal sketchbook. She worked until twilight shed the best lighting. At night, she rested in a tent with no phone signal. This happened every day throughout her five-day journey in Kenya in May 2018.

• LIFE

  Royal beneficence in Nong Ung

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 27/07/2018

  » Eighteen years ago, thousands of local villagers living in the seasonally flooded lower part of tambon Kho Nua in Muang district, Yasothon, learned that their lives would change for the better after His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, then the crown prince, visited them. His royal initiatives to dredge Nong Ung, a dry 430 rai swamp, improve soil quality in the community, and revitalise a damaged forest led to the villagers' better livelihood.

• LIFE

  Preserving history

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 30/04/2018

  » Ruins and ancient sites are always under threat from time and disaster. The great flood of 2011, for instance, damaged 128 archeological sites on and around the city island of Ayutthaya. After the incident, the government provided a budget of 600 million baht for the clean-up and restoration work, and there was also financial and technical aid from Unesco, as well as certain foreign countries.

• LIFE

  Two centuries of Thai-American friendship

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 20/02/2018

  » To commemorate the bicentennial of diplomatic ties between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand, the US government and the US Embassy and Consulate in Thailand have been organising various activities in celebration of the important occasion.

• LIFE

  A new Lanna gem

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 27/07/2017

  » The Chiang Mai National Museum has a new face after four years of renovation. Reopened on June 14, it brings exhibitions to life using state-of-the-art technology and presentations, and hopes to attract younger visitors.

• LIFE

  'Stone doctors' operate in Thailand

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 25/04/2017

  » Two pagodas of Wat Ratchaburana in central Ayutthaya are almost 600 years old, but their beauty is still visible due to conservation efforts. The remaining stucco and plaster at both stupas (prang and mondop), the Buddha statues at the Prang, the floral decoration at the east face of the prayer hall and the stucco at a small pagoda -- they have been preserved partly as a result of a German conservation project in close co-operation with the Ayutthaya Historical Park and Unesco Bangkok.

• LIFE

  The Protestant Cemetery

  Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 31/10/2012

  » Even without the intimidating darkness or the sounds of dogs howling, you could get goose-bumps when stepping into the Protestant Cemetery, or Susan Farang as it is called in Thai, on Charoen Krung Road. Behind the green iron fence lie hundreds of tombstones.

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