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You have your Bangkok, I have mine

A slice of Bangkok history
Everyone can partake of their own slice of Bangkok. This piece of street art along Ratchadamnoen is a celebration of color and innocence. But how many tourists are really aware that just a few minutes from here, just behind those gaily-painted walls, in a quiet and unobtrusive street corner, is a memorial to the October 14, 1973 uprising of heroic Thai students, workers and other citizens that led to the overthrow of military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn? That was one slice of Bangkok I set out to seek.

There’s a bit of a gentle rant here, but not a big one.

When I was told that my trip to Bangkok would push through, actually I was a bit underwhelmed. This was because–apart from the colleagues we needed to meet there and the critical collaborative work we needed to accomplish, which were of course the main reasons for the trip–I couldn’t think of any tourist feature of that ancient Siamese city along the Chao Phraya that made my innards pulsate with excitement. Continue reading “You have your Bangkok, I have mine”

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How boredom can lead to precious memories

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised to find an object from long ago when you were young? You probably made it, or kept it, merely to pass the time away and to kill boredom. And now that you find it, many years later, you realize that it serves as your magic door to precious memories?

Here’s one I did back in 1973 as a young teenage boy.

The old Fisheries Commission training center in Tanay, Rizal

Continue reading “How boredom can lead to precious memories”