Thai cave boy treated to new phone, birthday cake and bed in first day at home

For ten days before he was found by rescuers, Duangpetch Promthep survived on nothing but water licked from the walls of a cave and thoughts of home.

But this week those thoughts turned into reality as Duangpetch, along with his 11 teammates and their coach, were allowed to return to their families, 26 days after they first went missing.

Now, Duangpetch has revealed he was greeted by a meal of stewed pork knuckle with rice and a slice of birthday cake – since he celebrated turning 13 the day after he was found alive inside the Tham Luang cave.

Duangpetch Promthep, 13, is hugged by his aunt, who he calls ‘mother’, as he is pictured at home for the first time after getting trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand

Duangpetch, who is known as Dom, had a meal of stewed pork knuckle and rice and a slice of birthday cake after he celebrated his 13th birthday while trapped

Duangpetch, who is known as Dom, had a meal of stewed pork knuckle and rice and a slice of birthday cake after he celebrated his 13th birthday while trapped

Dom also got to spend the first night in his own bed since been rescued, saying it 'felt warm' after multiple nights sleeping in the cave and then in hospital

Dom also got to spend the first night in his own bed since been rescued, saying it ‘felt warm’ after multiple nights sleeping in the cave and then in hospital

The teenager was also taken shopping to get a new phone having lost his previous one inside the Tham Luang cave network

The teenager was also taken shopping to get a new phone having lost his previous one inside the Tham Luang cave network

He was also taken to buy a new phone having lost his previous one inside the cave and got to spend the night in his bed for the first time in weeks.

‘My bed felt warm,’ said Duangpetch, who is also known as Dom. 

The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and the 25-year-old coach of the ‘Wild Boars’ soccer team returned home on Wednesday after being discharged from hospital and appearing on national television to describe their ordeal inside the Tham Luang cave.

‘When I first came back home, there were so many people waiting for me. I was very surprised,’ said Dom, who was welcomed by relatives from as far as China.

His first meal was stewed pork knuckle over rice, a dish he had yearned to eat while stranded in the cave.

He also blew out candles for a belated celebration of his 13th birthday on July 3, a day after the boys were found by two British divers about 4km (2.5m) inside the cave.

Dom, who lives with his aunt, uncle and grandmother, is also getting used to the amount of attention he has been getting, not just from his own country, but from around the world.

It comes after Dom and the rest of his teammates were taken to a temple to pray for the Thai Navy SEAL who drowned trying to save them 

It comes after Dom and the rest of his teammates were taken to a temple to pray for the Thai Navy SEAL who drowned trying to save them 

This month the Wild Boars team will begin training to become novice Buddhist monks in honour of diver Saman Kunan

This month the Wild Boars team will begin training to become novice Buddhist monks in honour of diver Saman Kunan

The boys have been allowed to returned to 'normal' life following a press conference where they spoke to the world's media 

The boys have been allowed to returned to ‘normal’ life following a press conference where they spoke to the world’s media 

The teen wrote on Facebook that he had to create a new account because of a surge in requests to befriend him.  

Getting back to normal means homework on weekends and soccer practice after school, said Thanaporn Promthep, Dom’s 41-year-old aunt whom he calls mother.

‘He’s a good, very responsible student,’ she said, adding that meant no girlfriend for two more years.

Dom is also the captain of the Wild Boars team and has reportedly been scouted by several national teams.

But before he thinks about a career as an athlete, Dom will undergo a course of study to ordain as a Buddhist monk.

The whole team will begin the training this month  in honor of Samarn Kunan, a volunteer diver and former Thai navy SEAL who lost his life during the mission to rescue them.

‘It’s a very important thing to do,’ Dom said.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, with their 25-year-old coach. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on June 23

The boys, aged 11 to 16, with their 25-year-old coach. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on June 23

The team spent more than two weeks trapped in the flooded Tham Luang cave before being rescued by an international team of divers

The team spent more than two weeks trapped in the flooded Tham Luang cave before being rescued by an international team of divers

Following the rescue members of the 'Wild Boars' football team - including Dom - were pictured for the first time being treated at a hospital in Chiang Rai

Following the rescue members of the ‘Wild Boars’ football team – including Dom – were pictured for the first time being treated at a hospital in Chiang Rai

The training will also honour their coach, Ekaphol Chantawong, who was a monk himself and taught them meditation techniques while they were trapped in order to keep them calm. 

Thais view the team as national treasures, but three of the boys, and the coach, are technically stateless.

Mongkol Boonpiam, 13, whose parents are from neighbouring Myanmar, could qualify for citizenship because there is evidence he was born in Thailand, an official handling his case said.

‘Even though his parents are not Thai they have been in Thailand more than 10 years,’ Kittichai Charoenying, a municipal official in the northern province of Chiang Rai, told Reuters.

The cave ordeal highlighted the plight of people from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar living in Thailand who are denied some rights and opportunities because they are not citizens.

More than 486,000 people are registered as stateless with the Thai government, official data show. Of them 146,269 are – like three of the ‘Wild Boars’ soccer team – younger than 18.

Rights activists blame bureaucratic obstacles for the slow pace of Thailand’s verification process, but authorities have promised to shepherd through the newly-famous four.



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