Showing 1 - 10 of 33
Natural born killers
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 25/02/2021
» 'That's a peacock mantis," said Wissarut Sukhaket as he saw me observing a dull-looking little fellow in a nursery box at the Tropical Insect Sanctuary in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district. "Want to know why it got such a name?"
Hidden in plain sight
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 28/01/2021
» After a month of closure due to the recent Covid-19 surge, the history-rich Phyathai Palace is set to reopen in February.
Happy trails are here again
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 05/06/2020
» The legendary Club11 mountain bike track, the only of its kind in the Thai capital, is reopened and renamed.
Resplendent renovation
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 13/02/2020
» During the past four years, if you entered Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram, you would find scaffolding here and there. The lengthy renovation was to ensure the royal temple built by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) would be in its full glory not just during its 150th-anniversary celebration, which took place recently, but also for years, or another century, to come.
Not what it seems
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 01/08/2019
» As you can see on the map, Klong Yai district is a narrow strip of land that extends from the main part of Trat province. Flanked by the Gulf of Thailand on one side and the mountains of western Cambodia on the other, it doesn't look like a place where much has happened.
Timeless treasures
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 11/04/2019
» Like every time I went to Si Sa Ket, I dropped by Khao Phra Wihan National Park again on my latest visit to the northeastern province. As always, the sunrise at Pha Mo E Daeng, the cliff that is one of the park's top attractions, was a refreshing sight. During the rest of the trip, however, I came to realise that Si Sa Ket has much more to offer than Khao Phra Wihan.
Vietnam's up and coming destinations
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 14/03/2019
» Unlike Hanoi, Sapa, Danang, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat, Mui Ne and Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang (pronounced ya jang) is not a familiar name for Thai travellers. But with a direct air link between Bangkok and this Vietnamese city, recently introduced by Bangkok Airways and soon to be followed suit by another airline, that is about to change.
A hidden gem in Bangkok's heart
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 03/01/2019
» Notorious for murky water, Klong Saen Saeb is obviously not the most beautiful canal in Bangkok. But a visit to a short section of this historical waterway may make you see it in a very different light.
Hakodate's lingering legacy
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 20/12/2018
» After seven hours on the plane and another three-and-a-half hours on the train, I finally found myself on a street of Hakodate, the southernmost city of Japan's northernmost prefecture.
A long-awaited opening
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 29/11/2018
» The Green Line rail extension (Samrong-Samut Prakan) will be operational on Dec 6. That's next Thursday. The new section of the elevated railway, which connects with the east end of the Sukhumvit Line of the BTS marks the return of trains to Samut Prakan, also known as Pak Nam, which 125 years ago during the reign of King Rama V boasted Siam's first railway. The Pak Nam rail route connected the coastal city at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River with Hua Lamphong in Bangkok. It stopped operation in 1960, giving way to road transportation that became more popular.