Features on Asian Art, Culture, History & Travel
Features
That Luang
That Luang: Heart Of The Lao Nation
"Near Wieng Chan is a very interesting pagoda called Wat Luang. Religion and war are there combined; the lower part is a perfect fortress riddled with loop holes. The Haw Chinese took possession of it without any opposition, and by means of ropes pulled off the spire in search of treasure." - James McCarthy, Report of a Survey in Siam, 1895.
STUPA PILGRIMAGE, THAI-STYLE
Story by Joe Cummings / CPA Media (25 July, 2020)
Outside Bangkok, a widespread pilgrimage route links a dozen stupas, each associated with a different animal in the 12-year astrological cycle shared by most Tai and Chinese cultures.
A STROLL THROUGH CHIANG MAI’S OLD CITY
Story by Ron Emmons (February 2021)
Join author and photographer, Ron Emmons on a leisurely walk through the fascinating streets of northern Thailand’s ancient capital, Chiang Mai.
EXPLORING THE TEMPLE OF DAWN
Story by Ron Emmons (December 2020)
When General Taksin moored his boat beside Wat Makok on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River at dawn one day in October 1767, he could hardly have imagined how deeply his action would influence the future of his country, Siam.
KONG RITHDEE & BANG RAK
Story by Joe Cummings / CPAMedia (11 May, 2021)
A stroll through Bang Rak history with film critic Kong Rithdee
Samui Mood
The Samui Mood
Once upon a time, there was an enchanting island which lazed away the days in the Gulf of Siam. Its mountain flanks bristled with coconut palms and its waters teemed with fish, providing a natural livelihood for the people of the island. One day, an adventurous backpacker arrived on a fisherman’s boat and promptly became enchanted. Some time later, his friends showed up, and the same thing happened. Years passed, and, things being what they are, word got around. These days this enchantment is known as the Samui mood.
Ta Mok
From Ta Mok To Colonel Kurtz
Recent reports from Cambodia claim that Ta Mok, the much-feared Khmer Rouge Chief-of-Staff who is also known as "the Butcher", has surrounded himself with a special bodyguard of thirty hand-picked fighters. Strangely, all are from non-Khmer ethnic minorities, and all are female. Are we witnessing a Khmer Rouge re-run of Apocalypse Now? Or are the explanations more mundane?
Akha Ways
Thailand’s Akha: The Old Ways Are Still The Best
Postcards, posters and tourist brochures give us a very romantic picture of the Akha hill tribals. We see women dressed in their best embroidered jackets, loaded with beads, silver ornaments and fancy head-dresses. They are busy with their needlework, or posing with a baby strapped to the back, who peers from beneath a colourful cap, festooned with coins, cowries and chicken feather tassels. Or maybe they’re moseying around the village area, tiny figures in a landscape of bamboo houses, dirt paths, forests and hills. The portrait implies a carefree life, grounded in exotic traditions, relaxed and close to nature. But our instincts tell us the presentation is incomplete. There must be more to the idyll.