Thailandlife.com

[ttaaee]

Thailand Life - one of the most linked-to websites about Thailand "with Pictures and Words by a Thai Student." Comprehensive does not begin to describe it--although some of the photos and text seem a bit too polished and to be from one student (some photos look staged to us). Nevertheless, it is an extraordinary site.

Nattawud Daoruang, legendary webmaster of ThailandLife.com responds: I work on Thailand Life alone. At school there are about 300 students working on English homepages like me but I have been doing it the longest. Nearly four years now. I take all the photos. The pictures of me are taken by my parents or my computer teacher. The school is making a press room for me because they get lots of letters from reporters about me. Some of the answers to your questions will be there.

( Note: Quoted from this page (http://www.2bangkok.com/island.shtml) on 2bangkok.com )


Well, I was just googling for something on the internet, one of search results was from Nattawud's Thailandlife.com (http://www.thailandlife.com/). I was surprised to learn that this kid (no offense, but he's much younger than me) who dropped out school at age 16, is now running his own business, writing for the Bangkok post and already has a wife and a daughter. Oh boy, I've seen him, virtually, since he was a kid, well a younger kid, like 12 or 13 years old.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not judging him. I was just utterly surprised. Ok... maybe, I'm getting old.

To read more about Nattwud's life click here (http://www.thailandlife.com/a_mylife.html).

[admin]

We always wondered if Nattwud is really behind all this or if someone else is behind it. We wrote him once and he said he does do it all.

A page like this http://www.thailandlife.com/morning_life01.htm seems to from a non-Thai perspective of what is interesting. If he is doing it all, he has an uncanny ability to step outside his own references to recognize what others might find interesting. The photos on the site have always been strangely professional, even when Nattwud was much younger.

Some interesting sections:
His diary of his first love and addiction to drugs - http://www.thailandlife.com/diary.html (coyly introduced with "Please don't tell my parents or teachers what you read.")
His site was popular before this, but this diary made his reputation in the Thai world where it caused great controversy. Teachers and school officials responded with a blanket denial that there were any drugs or drug addicts in Thai schools and demands that the diary be removed. Some of the Thai press also insinuated that Nattwud was not writing the diary and claimed that when confronted in person he seemed not to be able to speak English well.
The diary is amazing... He again seems unusally open and in touch with his feelings for a young Thai man. Some of the diary is in the form of an interview conducted by an unknown person.
The drug addition section starts here: http://www.thailandlife.com/diary_interview1.html

[ttaaee]

Well... I did not know about the drug addiction part and he's open about it, though he seems to be clean. No wonder it stirs controversies among Thai people, especially teachers and school officials. (That kinda gives away that I'm not his website's fan, doesn' it?)

I have no comments on his uncanny point of view, his strangely professional look of the photos on his web site nor his English language ablitiy since I'm not in journalism and English is not my mother tongue. But I do notice that his Thai version of the diary is kind of strange. It's kinda like the English version was written first then translated into Thai, word for word, fro example;

I don’t really know yet what it is like to be a parent so I shouldn’t judge her. I read somewhere that the first few years are the most important in your baby’s life. If you do a good job, then your kid will be good in the future. When I was young, I didn’t see much of my parents because I lived with my grandmum. I think it is important that I spend all of my free time with my girlfriend and my kid. At least, I won’t let this thing happen to my kid. I will make sure she doesn’t make the same mistakes as me.

¼ÁÂѧäÁèÃÙé¨ÃÔ§æÇèÒ¡Ò÷Õèà»ç¹¾èÍáÁè¹Ñé¹Áѹ¨Ðà»ç¹Í èÒ§äà ´Ñ§¹Ñé¹¼Á¨Ö§äÁè¤ÇõѴÊÔ¹·èÒ¹ ¼Áà¤ÂÍèÒ¹à¨Í ·Õèä˹ÊÑ¡áËè§ÇèÒ 2-3 »Õááà»ç¹ªèǧ·ÕèÊÓ¤Ñ_µèͪÕÇÔµà´ç¡à»ç¹ÍÂèÒ§ÁÒ¡ ¶éҤسàÅÕé§ÅÙ¡ä´é´Õ㹪èǧ¹Ñé¹ ÅÙ¡¢Í§¤Ø³¡ç¨Ðà»ç¹¤¹´Õã¹Í¹Ò¤µ àÁ×è͵͹·Õè¼ÁÂѧà»ç¹à´ç¡ ¼ÁäÁè¤èÍÂä´éà¨Í¾èÍáÅÐáÁèÁÒ¡à·èÒäËÃè à¾ÃÒÐÇèÒ¼ÁÍÒÈÑÂÍÂÙè¡ÑºÂÒ ¼Á¨Ö§¤Ô´ÇèÒ ¡ÒÃãËéàÇÅҡѺΌáÅÐÅÙ¡¢Í§¼Á à»ç¹ÊÔ觷ÕèÊÓ¤Ñ_ÁÒ¡ ÍÂèÒ§¹éͼÁ¡ç¨ÐäÁèÂÍÁãËéÊÔè§àËÅèÒ¹Õéà¡Ô´¢Ö鹡ѺÅÙ¡ ¢Í§¼Á ¼Á¨Ðµéͧ·ÓãËéá¹èã¨ÇèÒÅÙ¡¢Í§¼Á¨ÐäÁè·Ó¼Ô´àËÁ×͹ÍÂèÒ§ ·Õè¼Áà¤Â·Ó


The last sentence "I will make sure she doesn’t make the same mistakes as me." sounds ok in English but once it's translated to into Thai, verbatim "¼Á¨Ðµéͧ·ÓãËéá¹èã¨ÇèÒ ÅÙ¡¢Í§¼Á¨ÐäÁè·Ó¼Ô´ àËÁ×͹ÍÂèÒ§·Õè¼Áà¤Â·Ó", well, you don't have to be able to read or understand Thai, I can assure you that no Thais would say something like this, ever.

Note: Just to be clear, I don't dislike him nor his website, personally. I actually admire his efforts putting together his website. It's not easy to pull it off that well. I just think that his Thai, used on his website, is nothing like we speak in real life. :)

[ttaaee]

The above quote is from this page (http://www.gorsworld.com/birthdaysurprise_thai.htm) on Nattawud's Gor's world website (http://www.gorsworld.com/).

[pnarre]

He probably has some kind of consultant. Of course I do not know anything for certain. I wish that he goes on doing it and does it in a good way.

[Gigabyte]

Please someone explain... I like this site but it smells strange. Reminds me of the artificial naivety of Kat's window on Thailand published in the Bangkok Post (I think that it's gone for good now).

Nattawud is asking to make a donations through Paypal to support him. I just checked again to see if things have changed, but apparently one cannot use Paypal with a Thai credit card. From the Paypal web page:

==============
Non-U.S. Accounts Help Center

PayPal currently supports sending and receiving payments in five currencies: U.S. Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, and Yen. Learn more about Multiple Currencies.

In addition to the U.S., PayPal is now available in the following countries:

Anguilla
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Costa Rica
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Kingdom

Source: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-approved-signup-countries-outside

============

So how can he receive his money? He claims that many people donated already, and even give names of donators.

Smells strange...

[Nattawud]

I thought I will give some replies here. (Maybe better me than people who don't really know who I am!) I don't mind people writing something negative about me or my life. Once or twice a month I get e-mails from people who like to judge my life. They say things like, stop smoking, don't have a tatoo, go back to school, or go and get a real job. This started back when I was 12 or 13. They are welcome to their opinions. So, I won't try and defend myself. I just want to answer some questions.

I started my Thailand Life web site to help students do their homework. Most of them had to compare their life with a student in a foreign country. Whenever I got questions on a subject I didn't cover on my site I would then make up new pages. For example, one student said he had to compare food in his fridge and a fridge in an Asian country. So, I took lots of pictures of the food and drinks in my parents fridge and made up a page. Others asked about morning routines, housework, journey to school etc.

Some of the Thai press also insinuated that Nattwud was not writing the diary and claimed that when confronted in person he seemed not to be able to speak English well.

I am not sure where that person got his information from. I have only been interviewed once for the Thai newspapers (Thai Post) and as the reporter didn't speak English we did it in Thai. When I was interviewed for Bangkok Post and The Nation, the interviews were done in English. I haven't met you (I don't think) so you won't be able to judge yourself. But, you might have seen me on the Morning Talk English chat show on Channel 11 if you live in Thailand. I was on that twice. I was also interviewed, in English, for Fox News in USA. There are video downloads on my site so judge for yourself.

Someone asked about the columns I write for the Bangkok Post that can be found on gorsworld.com (http://www.gorsworld.com) ....

It's kinda like the English version was written first then translated into Thai, word for word.

Yes, you are right. I wrote the original in English. The translations were done by Grade 6-9 students from Sriwittayapaknam School. I didn't do any of the translations. In fact, I have said this elsewhere, that I find it easier to write stories like that in English than Thai. A lot of the English words I cannot tell you the correct meaning without looking it up in a Thai dictionary. This may sound strange, but it is because the way I learned English.

He probably has some kind of consultant.

Of course I had! I was only 12 when I started doing this. I needed help getting started. But, I have been doing it for nearly seven years now and I don't need help so much any more. I just write about everything that happens in my life - both good and bad.

I like this site but it smells strange.

Thanks (I think). Seriously, about Paypal, you are correct that I cannot open an account yet. Though I hear I will be able to do so this year. One of the teachers in the computer department comes from England. I use his account. Whenever someone makes a donation he just pays me the money in baht. Simple really. I got the idea about doing this from someone who wanted to donate me some money!

Reminds me of the artificial naivety of Kat's window on Thailand published in the Bangkok Post

I am not sure what you mean by this. I met her once when she came to interview me. She is a very nice person and I enjoyed reading her column.

[ttaaee]

Thank you for your response, khun Nattawud. It's always good to hear the other side of story. That's the beauty of the internet where everyone can share their opinions on anything.

[demosthenes]

Hi Nattawud,

I've read your websites off and on over the past few years, always with a keen interest.

Overall, your work is very well done... so well done, in fact, that some people wonder if everything is real- or if the 'Nattawud' we see is only a character made by many people.

Ignore the mails from people who write negative things about your life. You're on a great track to success in the future.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

-Demo-

PS - Starting this month, apparently all of us in Thailand can now use Paypal. Details here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10187&st=0