From a story about a Thai man with not one, but two beautiful wives, to a relatable feature on being a third-culture kid, here we have the most-read stories of 2018.
This was your call — you voted with your mouse. We had a few stories that we’re incredibly proud of that didn’t crack the top 10 of this particular beauty contest (and some that did), but we can’t say we’re surprised that the weird and the sexy always prove pretty popular.
And so, without further adieu… the most popular stories of the past year.
10) Let’s Talk About Sex: Meet the woman behind the movement to legalize sex toys in Thailand
You can drink on the streets, buy antibiotics without a prescription, and purchase a woman’s “companionship” with dispiriting ease, but in Thailand, you can’t buy a sex toy — at least not legally. Read a fun feature about a woman’s quest to obtain the right to purchase safe (and legal) sex toys in Thailand here.
9) Model says she was just trying to help out a struggling coffee shop
When photos of an allegedly “nude coffee shop” went viral internationally, one of the two Thai models who stripped down for the shoot, stepped forward to say she was simply trying to help out the owner by spreading the word about a new coffee shop in town. Touching, no?
8) ‘Cute’ begpacker selling pics of himself for flight home gets love from Thai women (VIDEO)
The begpacker saga continued this year. As the year kicked off in January, a blond begpacker selling his travel photos in a bid to raise funds for a flight home attracted a small crowd at Hat Yai’s Greenway Market.
While the international community is pretty uniform in their finding begpacking distasteful (at best), people there seemed to love him, technically illegal roadside sales be damned. Some even described the disheveled young man in orange shants as “cute.” We’ll let you make up your own minds on that.
7) Whiter Wang: Thai men can now get laser treatment to lighten their penises
In a country obsessed with whitening everything, a Thai hospital received attention from the medical industry worldwide after offering a laser treatment that helped Thai gents achieve a “whiter penis.”
We’re not necessarily saying we’re proud that we were the first English-language outlet to report this story but … wait, what are we saying? Of course, we’re proud.
6) Dual pricing: What happened when a Thai was charged the ‘farang price’
What happened when a Thai woman was mistaken by a street vendor for a Chinese tourist? She was charged triple for a good old pad kaprow moo grob (stir-fried pork belly with holy basil), and there was internet hell to pay, ladies and gentlemen.
5) Dating Despair: Why finding love is hard in Bangkok for Thai men
From girls who want them to bleach their most intimate of areas, to ladies that expect the latest iPhone as a gift, it ain’t easy in this city for a Thai dude to find love.
In the third installment of Coconuts Bangkok’s Dating Despair series, we took a look at why finding love in Bangkok, well, sucks for Thai men. The series also included stories of dating from Thai women, expat women, and expat men.
4) VIDEO: Ewok-like creatures chilling in Krabi cave turn out to be performance art piece
Six bizarre Ewok-like creatures were seen chilling near a cave off the Krabi coast in November, confusing the heck out of the tourists who were kayaking.
Sadly, these creatures weren’t a new anthropological discovery. Turns out it was all just a bit of performance art for the Thailand Biennale, a national art festival. Still, we can’t deny it still made a spectacular video that will now exist forever in the weird world of the internet.
3) Third Culture Kid: What it’s like to be Thai, but not really
They were born in Thailand. They look Thai and they speak Thai. Yet, they’re perceived as “farang kids” (foreign kids) by Thai people due to the fact that they’re Westernized.
In this relatable guest post by Pawara Laothamatas, a Chiang Rai native who migrated to Canada with her family when she was young, she talks about her journey to find out where she really belongs.
2) True love: Thai girl gives boyfriend bouquet made of 100,000 baht cash for Valentine’s
A honey with money — the story of a 20-year-old Thai woman who surprised her boyfriend with a large bouquet made of cash worth THB100,000 (US$3,146) received international attention this year, and we can’t say we’re surprised.
1) Thai man with two beautiful wives goes viral, shares secret to happy marriage(s)
Drum roll, please. And the year’s most-viewed story is … about a Thai man happily married to not one, but two beautiful women.
How did he do it? Read all the highlights right here.
That’s it for 2018. We’re thankful for your readership and look forward to another wonderful year.
