In 2011 I traveled to Thailand in search of a link between Buddhism, morality and the Thai martial art, Muay Thai. Along the way I discovered Ajarn Lek, a practitioner, teacher and master of Muay Chaiya, an ancient variation of Muay Thai. He was kind enough to invite me over to discover more. (The following interview ...
Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
I floated into what felt like a room made of clouds – light, ethereal, and not quite there. Between the sweeping white staircase in the centre of the courtyard, the white rattan furniture, and the palest cream marble floor, it was not hard to believe that you had momentarily left this world. Bamboo trees shoot up ...
Queen Sirikit’s Birthday Weekend – Thursday
I am lying in bed, sick. It’s pretty much the same illness my baby sister had when she came back from Ibiza – inflamed white tonsils, fever etc. She had taken her suitcase to Pacha (a nightclub) and then at 7am after dancing all night, went straight to the airport. So we can understand how her ...
Golden Ghost
I’m not sure I entirely understand the following text, could be due to the English translation or perhaps I’m not thinking about it enough. However, this is part of an art installation at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre where I whiled away a few hours today. I was very impressed by all the work ...
Thailand Government Scholarship 2011-12
As some of you may know, I decided to apply for this scholarship on a whim… and at the 11th hour. Fast forward a few weeks and i’m sitting in the interview room surrounded by smiling people. I arrived at the LSE Asia Research Centre, after spending the whole journey agonising as to whether I ...
