สวัสดี from Bangkok, A former student of mine, from a privileged background, once opined in a Business Management class that workers smile because they enjoy their job, and that they therefore were satisfied with their lot. It was an arresting statement for someone from an egalitarian bent like me. There was an easy answer. They …Read More
Sawasdee from Phuket, Isn’t it funny how a casual remark can have a revelatory effect? A student at school says that workers in factories, shops and hospitality outlets appear to be jovial, so they must be happy with their lot. It’s a serious suggestion, borne of a certain ignorance but also of a basic class …Read More
Sawasdee from Koh He in Thailand, When I played cricket at Walgett (north-western New South Wales), during the short nesting season of the magpies, the new mother would occasionally build her nest in the trees adjacent to the cricket ground. This meant that the whites-clad fieldsmen would seem to pose a threat to her chicks. …Read More
Sawasdee from Phuket, When an American won the Australian Open tennis championship this year, she said, amongst other banalities, that she would be spending the next little while in Melbourne, shopping. And then, when some Australians had their cruise aborted during the Coronavirus outbreak, after spending two weeks in quarantine in Howard’s Springs, one of …Read More
ສະບາຍດີ,“We go to Laos when we miss the past.” This from Pond of Bangkok.In our final night in Bangkok, we decide to attend a ‘cultural evening’ in a purpose-built facility in the middle of this massive city. I approach with a healthy scepticism borne of a remote observation of such functions. They are too often …Read More
Sawadee from Thailand, I hop into the minibus early in the day for a tour to the River Kwai and the Thai-Burma railway, scene of some of the worst wartime atrocities against fellow Australians. It’s likely to be a fairly sobering experience. “Is the air conditioning alright?” someone asks. Wait a moment! We’re …Read More