S1E31: Thai music, Thaksin, a ‘tattoo’: Thailand feels its way forward

Tan Tam Mei reflects on her time as Thailand correspondent, and looks ahead to how the country could navigate geopolitical and domestic politics.
Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.
A man sings. It is part of Thailand’s folk music tradition from its north-east region of Isan. But he is warbling in Laotian - a reminder of Thailand’s location in the heart of the Mekong region, and its shared culture, language and borders with its neighbours.
The pull and push dynamic that Thailand engages with its neighbours is one challenge. Another is how it is grappling with its turbulent domestic politics and shifting attitudes about traditional institutions and beliefs including the monarchy.
In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with ST’s former Thailand correspondent Tan Tam Mei about her two and a half years based in Bangkok, bookended by Covid-19 protests, and the return of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after 15 years in exile.
Highlights (click/tap above):
0:43 The rise of Thailand’s “rural people” music
6:00 Selling soft power
10:28 The pull and push of Mekong countries
12:41 Thaksin returns, but to a different electorate
13:11 Thailand looks peaceful, but an uneasy dynamic is at play
16:34 A ‘tattoo’, a souvenir of ThailandRead Tam Mei’s articles here: https://str.sg/oZRkj and https://str.sg/uNXj 
Produced by: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR 
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Read Tan Tam Mei's articles: https://str.sg/ifku 
Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/5nfm
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i4Y3 
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
#STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.