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Welcome to the Press Room for
Nattawud Daoruang who  has
been hailed as 'Thailand's youngest ambassador' by the international
media. Nattawud, or Gor as he is known by thousands of people
around the world, has become the most famous Thai teenager on
the internet. His life and work has been featured in countless
magazine and newspaper articles worldwide and he has appeared
on both t.v. and radio. Although these pages are aimed at reporters,
other people that have been following Gor's life on the internet
for the past four years might also be interested. On these pages
you will learn more about Gor, the making of this web site and
his plans for the future.
Gor is available seven days a
week for interviews. Visit the Contact
page for more information.
  The Early Days: Gor was
born on 3rd July 1985 in Samut Prakan, about 35 kms south of
Bangkok. During his kindergarten and primary school years he
attended the prestigious Sriwittayapkanam School. Gor excelled
at his studies and soon found himself in the class for gifted
students. He loved playing basketball and was an avid fan of
Liverpool. His other hobbies included playing Thai chess and
reading cartoon books. When he was 12 years old he started learning
English with a native speaker and shortly after, he started work
on his first web site.
The Middle Years: In May
1998, Gor started at his new school, Satree Samutprakan. Even
though he had left Sriwittayapaknam School (nicknamed Srinai),
he still returned most evenings to learn English with his teacher
and also to work on his web sites. By this time he had already
started on two more web sites for movies and cartoon books. He
told us that his teachers at his new school weren't interested
in what he was doing and that they also didn't know that he was
fluent in English. With class sizes of 56 it was easy for him
to get lost in the system.
Starting from when he was 13,
he us ed to help teach students at Srinai
School how to make web sites. It was during one of these weekly
lessons that he met his future girlfriend - the one he called
his first "true love". The ups and downs of this relationship
are documented in his online Secret Diary.
Gor took it pretty hard when they broke up on his 15th birthday.
He started smoking, drinking and he pierced his ear and naval
and died his hair. He mixed more with the "bad friends"
his ex-girlfriend didn't approve off. This ultimately led him
down the road to drug addiction. Despite the "bad boy"
image he was projecting he was still good at heart and continued
to work hard on his web sites. Probably the only thing that kept
him going.
The Present Years: It has
now been more than four years since Gor started on his first
web site. It is hard to believe how far he has come: the young
unknown 12 year old boy to probably Thailand's most famous internet
teenager. He now has fans all over the world and regularly receives
letters from people who want to know him. Gor sells products
on the internet, designs web sites, teaches Computer and English
part time at Srinai School, takes pictures professionally and
is a columnist for the Bangkok Post.
The Future Years: It is
difficult to predict the future. In August 2000, Gor turned his
Thailand Life web site into a weekly magazine. With only a few
breaks during the holidays and a bumpy six months during his
drug addiciton, he has published new pages every week. In March
2002, Gor started life as a newspaper columnist. On his front
page he says: "I will continue to update over the next 10,
20, 30 years or so. Keep coming back as in the future you will
be able to see my graduation from school, first day at work,
my marriage, birth of my children, their first day at school......."
One of Gor's ambitions is to become
an exchange student and go and study in America or Australia.
His English is certainly fluent enough. The only problem is the
costs. His parents don't earn enough to send him abroad for a
year. Unless he can find sponsorship he won't be able to go.
The Book: We were all surprised
about the interest that Gor received in his online Secret Diary.
People regularly came back to his web site to find out what happened
next in this real life "soap opera". Inspired by the
books "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" and "Go
Ask Alice", Gor has decided to start writing his life story
- well, the early years anyway. Not everything made it's way
into the online version. Too many taboo subjects in Thailand.
But, Gor promises that his book, tentatively entitled "Butterfly
Boy", will shock many educators and parents and will hopefully
help them to see some of the real-life social problems faced
by teenagers today.
What the Press and the Internet
Community are Saying:
- Farang
Magazine: "Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing,
and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside
some traditions while they maintain other ones."
- Daily
Mirror (UK): "Fast becoming cult reading all over the
world for its chronicling of Gor's battle with drug addiction."
- Presena.com:
"Ever heard about Nattawud Daoruang? He probably deserves
the title of "Mr. Global Thailand". His website is
the most popular personal homepage in Southeast Asia, receiving
10,000 visitors per week from 120 countries. He is a Thai teenager
who just takes for granted that the world is his playground."
- World
Online (South Africa): "A Thai teenager who kept an
online journal of his battle against drug addiction has been
hailed by Thailand’s media as "legendary", a
"global citizen" and "Thailand’s youngest
ambassador". "
- AsiaObserver.com:
"A unique and fascinating diary in words and pictures describing
the life of a teenager in Thailand."
- Fairco.com:
This website is maintained by a Thai student who shares all
aspects of his life including religion, political issues, thoughts
on popular culture. A very honest look at your Thai comrades.
- Mission
to the World: "ThailandLife.com is a webpage written
very candidly by a Thai teenager. Great site for more info about
Thailand from a teenager's point of view...advise some caution
with regards to his diary."
- DarrylsPlace.com:
"Thailand Life.com is one of if not the best Web Page I
have seen on the subject of Thailand. The most impressive part
is that he has done all the work. He is also a teacher's aid
at his school. I recommend you spend some time getting to know
him and his culture through his eyes. Bangkok Post.com was so
impressed they have a link to his page!"
- BareIngredients.com:
"Thousands of teenagers around the world have their own
websites, but Nattawud Daoruang's may well be the world's best."
- 2Bangkok.com:
"One of the most linked-to websites about Thailand. Comprehensive
does not begin to describe it."
- Guide
of Bangkok: "This collection of sites will give you
an in-depth look into the country and the life of one Thai boy
who has come very far in the virtual world that is the Internet."
- Kat's
Window on Thailand, Bangkok Post: "Over 300 pages and
800 pictures give a comprehensive, honest, and professional
overview of this teenager's life and culture."
- BangkokMouth.com:
"Thailand's most famous internet teenager."
- Bangkok
Post: "Samut Prakan boy presents window on Thailand
to world."
- Groovybangkok.com:
"A lovely set of photos from Thailand by Nattawud Daoruang,
one of the very talented Thai students who helps put together
the ThaiStudents.Com website"
- LonelyPlanet.com:
"What sort of things does a Thai teenager keep in his
pocket? Or in his fridge? What's in that secret diary and how
secret can it be on the net? Find out the answers to all these
questions and more at My Life in Thailand."
- Bamboo
Shoots, Cambodia: "Nattawud Daoruang has established
many personal web sites to attract tourists from different corners
of the world."
- Thai
Post: "A must see web site."
- Bangkok
Post, Netscope: "Presented with a very sharp eye and
filled with evocative photographs."
- English
Channel, Hong Kong: "A brilliantly informative web
site giving an excellent look at life in Thailand."
- Bangkok
Post, Educational Services: "Easily one of the best
web sites in Thailand on every day life."
- Student
Weekly, Thailand: "The extensive site is an interesting,
humorous look into the teenager's world."
- Silkroad,
Hong Kong: "A diverse site with pages on everything
from his friends to festivals of Thailand."
- Bangkok
Post, Database: "You'll be impressed by its depth of
information."
[MORE] |
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"The legendary Nattawud Daoruang" Cityrain.com |
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"The enterprising and energetic Nattawud is a global citizen." Bangkok Post |
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"A unique and fascinating diary in words and pictures describing the life of a teenager in Thailand."
AsiaObserver.com |
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"One of the most linked-to websites about Thailand. Comprehensive does not begin to describe it." 2Bangkok.com |
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"This collection of sites will give you an in-depth look into the country and the life of one Thai boy who has come very far in the virtual world that is the Internet."
Guide of Bangkok |
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"A comprehensive, honest, and professional overview of this teenager's life and culture." Kat's Window on Thailand |
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"Thailand's most famous internet teenager." Bangkokmouth.com |
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"A lovely set of photos from Thailand by Nattawud Daoruang, one of the very talented Thai students who helps put together the ThaiStudents.Com website." GroovyBangkok.com. |
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"A brilliantly informative web site giving an excellent look at life in Thailand." English Channel, Hong Kong |
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"Presented with a very sharp eye and filled with evocative photographs." Bangkok Post, Netscope |
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"Internet Site of the Week." (twice) Bangkok Post, Database |
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"Easily one of the best web sites in Thailand on every day life."
Bangkok Post, Educational Services |
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"The extensive site is an interesting, humorous look into the teenager's world."
Student Weekly |
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"A diverse site with pages on everything from his friends to festivals of Thailand." Silk Road, Hong Kong |
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"You'll be impressed by its depth of information." Bangkok Post, Database |
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"Fast becoming cult reading all over the world for its chronicling of Gor's battle with drug addiction." Daily Mirror, UK |
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"A Thai teenager who kept an online journal of his battle against drug addiction has been hailed by Thailand’s media as "legendary"." World Online, South Africa |
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"Thousands log on daily to Thai teen's website which spares no details of his struggle to escape a drug addiction." Straits Times, Singapore |
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"You will be hard pressed to find a better online guidebook for Thailand anywhere else, even on the [official] TAT site." Bangkok Post, Learning Post |
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Click here to
read more. |
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First Website: October 1997
Gor was only 12 years old when he started
work on his web site back in October 1997. His first effort,
created over three weeks in the winter holidays, consisted of
only eight pages. One year later his site had grown to 18 pages.
One year later: October 1998
INTERESTING FACTS
VISITORS: When Gor was interviewed for Student Weekly in
September 1999, everyone was impressed that he had received 16,000
visitors. Two years later, he is now receiving an average of
11,000 visitors per week.
GERMAN LANGUAGE: Some pages from Thailand Life have been translated
into German and are featured on the Clickthai.de web site.
COUNTRIES: Thailand Life has received visitors from over
100 different countries around the world. They come from as far
as Greenland and El Salvador.
Top 10 Countries
- Unites States
- Australia
- Japan
- Thailand
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Canada
- Finland
- United Kingdom
- Belgium
Gor's web site was originally located at
the following three places:
In April 2000, the owners of Sriwittayapaknam
School rewarded Gor by giving him his own dot com name:
This was followed later by three more:
He has other web sites about movies, cartoon
books, The Beach movie (in Thai), Harry Potter and scrabble.
That list will probably give you an idea what his hobbies are.
CONTENT: Thailand Life has 345 pages and 852 images.
Top 10 Pages
- Learn Thai
- Secret Diary
- All About Me
- My Drug Addiction
- Press Room
- Nang Nak
- My Home
- Thing in the Fridge
- My Friends
- Things in
my Pocket
USEFUL PAGES:
LINKS: Nattawud is fortunate that Thailand Life is linked
to by some of the top web sites around the world. The popular
online newspaper Bangkok Post have given him three links on their
massive web site which is a rare honour. The following are some
of the dot com sites give him a link:
It is not easy to get a listing at yahoo.com.
Nattawud has three:
- Daoruang, Nattawud - includes a gallery
of photos about daily life of a Thai teenager, essay about the
experience as a novice monk, and country information.
- Thailand Pictures.com - features gallery
of themed photos taken by Thai photographer.
- Learn Thai the Easy Way - includes lessons,
audio samples recorded by a native speaker, and photos of signs.
MAILING LIST: If you want to keep up with developments, join
the mailing list.
PHOTOGRAPHS: If you need any good quality photographs of Nattawud
for an article then please contact us at (webmaster@thaistudents.com).
We can send these free of charge to any newspaper or magazine
over the internet. |
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