Showing 1 - 10 of 16
Rising rents threaten the vibrant street food scene of the once-booming Banthat Thong Road
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 09/06/2025
» As night fell, neon signs gradually lit up Instagrammable restaurants and cafes. Despite pouring rain, tourists were taking photos of a dessert shop's logo of a boy holding a bun at an iconic intersection. Some eateries were teeming with customers, with a long queue of them spilling onto the sidewalk. Some, less popular, saw staff sitting idle. Others put up advertisement for lease.
A story told through art
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 28/05/2025
» As a bustling neighbourhood in Singapore's East Coast, Bedok Town Square has experienced a kaleidoscopic turn of events. No sooner had it hosted a polling station earlier this month than it conjured a transient art space, inviting everybody to find their place in an ever-shifting world at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA).
Youth Film Festival open for submissions
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 23/04/2025
» The fifth edition of the World Food Forum Youth Film Festival is now open for submissions until July 21.
The right to clean air
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 05/06/2023
» In 2009, Smog In The City envisioned a not-too-distant future for Chiang Mai. Set in 2019, Fah returns home to find her family and villagers suffering from air pollution. Following a critical level of toxic haze, the government orders a state of emergency and immediate evacuation. After her mother dies of smog-induced acute coronary syndrome, she rushes to take her family to an airport like other evacuees. While her father and brother deteriorate, a couple approaches her car for drinking water.
Songs for life as it's no longer lived
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 17/04/2023
» Ad Carabao's new song Prachathipatung revives the myth of vote-buying and ignorance in rural society. The title is a coinage blending prachathipatai (democracy) and tung (money). On the track, parents ask children to return to their home village to vote for local politicians who give them money. It puts into song from the political discourse of an urban middle class that expresses disdain for villagers along with antipathy for one type of money politics as well as full-fledged democracy.
Curtains for Chinese opera?
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 27/02/2023
» "Hurry up," shouted a crew member who climbed up onto a makeshift stage. Casting sidelong glances, performers, half-clad, looked in the mirror and concentrated on applying layers of make-up. Nearby, a motley bunch of musicians and technicians double-checked their instruments. A stream of chatter from a growing audience -- without any partition between the theatre and real life -- put unintended pressure on the band.
Riding the green wave
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 27/06/2022
» Only two weeks after decriminalising cannabis, Thailand is experiencing a green rush. Since June 9, when the legalisation of marijuana for home and commercial use took effect, almost 1 million people registered to grow it with food and drug officials, while more than 40 million have checked out the registration platform. There's a growing public interest in the cash crop -- though some farmers remain doubtful -- and it is paving the way for "cannabis journalism".
Divided we fall
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 28/06/2021
» In 2019, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stormed an election campaign rally stage with a promise to end turmoil and move the country forward. He managed to survive attacks from all sides, from an oath gaffe to anti-government protests. However, nobody imagined that the coronavirus would present a real challenge to his rule. After 18 months, the crisis has battered the country with 218,000 infections and 1,600 deaths so far.
Where the wild beasts roam
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 29/03/2021
» The bumpy path snaked down from the winding road to the sun-baked Ruam Thai village in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Kui Buri district. Here is where Thanasit Phiboonwatthanakorn's mother bought a small cabin and ran a rubber plantation because she wanted to live in the woods. When she passed away, Thanasit inherited the 28-rai farmland and knew that he would have wild guests.
A cure-all for their wallets
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 08/02/2021
» The notion of "panacea" has long captured the human imagination. In Greek mythology, Panacea was the goddess of healing. She was the daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine, who was the son of Apollo the physician and a mortal woman. With the blood of Gordon, Asclepius can bring the dead back to life, which angered the gods and culminated in his downfall.