Boo was born in rural Lamphun province in northern Thailand, about an hour’s drive south of Chiang Mai, the only child in a family of garlic, shallots and rice farmers, living in a village environment. Boo had a childhood full of both security and freedom and was allowed free rein in the village, to bicycle around and play with her friends without constant supervision. Her favourite childhood memory is of being at home, in their old wooden house, with her parents.  Boo attended the local primary school but then had to travel to attend secondary school, and eventually attended university in Chiang Mai.

Although she was an academically talented student who was involved in co-curricular activities such as singing, public speaking and cheerleading and often represented the school at reading and writing competitions, this involvement did not spare her from regular attendance in the detention room, for seemingly minor infringements.  Boo liked to wear her both her fingernails and her skirt longer than was acceptable, and likely was a bit “lippy” with the teachers. As a consequence, she faced sanctions. She recalls being banned by a teacher from attending a fair in the local temple, even though it was an evening event and she attended in the company of her mother.  Nevertheless, she received corporal punishment the next day at school from the teacher whose edict she had flouted as he had spied her at the fair.

Boo was not sure what she wanted to do after school and fell into studying a degree in Agricultural Science since she was from a farming family and was awarded a scholarship.  It has only been in recent times that her university learning has started to be more relevant to Boo. After graduation in 2002, Boo found that her drive for science had evaporated.  Her first job, fresh from university, was in jewellery sales.  Boo spent six years in the job, despite it not being particularly well-paying, because she had good conditions, was well-treated by management and had solid friendships among the other staff. A broken long-term relationship left Boo feeling a little lost, so she eventually quit the job in search of fresh challenges.

This was a pivotal decision which has shaped Boo’s lifepath ever since.  She moved to Phuket and began working for an Australian company, Boral, as a sales representative for its concrete products used in the building industry, a job she secured due to her particular talent for the English language.  It was while in Phuket she first met Rhodri, now her partner of 13 years, husband of 8 years and father of her two daughters.  The pair decided to formalise their partnership when the elder daughter Rhonda was conceived and made plans for their nuptials, but Rhonda caused a delay of several weeks by insisting on entering the world early. Unpredictability is in Rhonda’s nature as well.

Boo and Rhodri, a British holiday-maker, were introduced by a mutual friend. Boo was young, single and fancy-free at the time, but over a period of several months, their mutual attraction grew and Boo had a partner.  She recalled a woman from her home village who had found a foreign husband and together they had built a nice house in the village, with a swimming pool which she opened to the public, for a fee. So, there was a precedent in her village which helped embolden Boo in following her heart to build a lasting relationship.

One thing that teenage Boo never expected though, was to have children.  She was in the second part of her 30s with Rhonda, and over 40 by the time Caitlyn completed the family of four. The nicest complement Boo ever received came to her second-hand.  She was told by a friend that another woman in her friendship group had announced that Boo was the best wife and mother out of all of them, and that made Boo feel proud. Having a good, strong family of her own is what makes Boo’s life worthwhile.

Boo also spent time in Phuket working with the English media company Phuket News in a PR and advertising sales position, building upon skills she began to develop when taking on a PR position for her senior school. A current interest for Boo has been Thai Traditional Medicine, which she began studying in 2023.  A three-year full-time course of study, followed by a stringent government examination might eventually give Boo the certification to prescribe cannabis for medicinal purposes.  However, this study is currently on deferment as Boo deals with the needs of her husband, her home-schooled children, and the two new businesses she has started.  Fortuitously for Boo, her past work experiences have all contributed to the comprehensive skill-set she needs today.

Boo will never be one for big city living.  The family relocated to the relative safety of Hua Hin during covid times.  Boo was familiar with the area, having first visited and holidayed here with a Dutch friend sometime around 2010. She likes that our seaside town is not too big, the traffic is generally manageable and that people are friendly here, though she would like to see the development of a bigger shopping mall, similar to Bangkok’s Central World. Hua Hin is a family-friendly place where Boo is happy to raise her children, though she is still aware that danger can lurk in any modern device, if children are not adequately safeguarded.  Boo believes it is up to the individual to secure their own happiness through focusing on the positive and refusing to live in fear. She sees it important that every individual is allowed to live their own life without interference from others, and so Boo makes acceptance part of her daily life, and chooses not to become involved in things which don’t concern her personally.

Boo and a business partner have recently opened Amici Coffee in a small, single storey mall complex just opposite the new Hua Hin Railway Station.  The business will be focusing on freshly ground and brewed Italian-style coffee, accompanied by Boo’s homemade cakes and cool drinks. There is a hint of the Australian coffee scene in the mix as Boo did an authentic Australian barista course in Bangkok to ensure she makes the perfect, satisfying drop, using the Italian handmade coffee machine that she waited so long to be manufactured and then imported.  Nothing but the best for this coffee business, which has already seen an investment of over a million baht in the establishment phase.  Boo is becoming a true master at using multiple social media platforms to publicise her business endeavours at reasonable cost, and will also have her products available for delivery on Grab Food, Lineman and Food Panda as well as on premises.

Boo wants to become even more accomplished as a barista, which will likely come with practice.  Another skill she would like to master is being able to keep all her emotions off her face, since she feels like she can be too much of an open book.  A definite bucket-list item for Boo is more world-travel with the family, not that she hasn’t already visited The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France and Ireland in Europe as well as Laos, Taiwan and Malaysia. Boo hopes she can leverage the many skills she already possesses to become a successful businesswoman in her own right, independent of her husband. Her greatest hopes for the future are seeing her children grow to adulthood and being successful enough herself to fund a comfortable retirement lifestyle. Boo feels some regret that as a young woman she did not take enough advantage of the time she was given with her mother, who passed away quite young.  She also wishes, in retrospect, that she had learnt to be calmer, earlier in her life, following the role-modelling of her father, whom she calls “the kindest man in the whole world”.

Relaxing is a thing Boo doesn’t get to do regularly, so when she does, she indulges herself with a lie-down in front of the television, a nap or even just a little alone time.  People who have children will know that even in the bathroom answering the call of nature you can never guarantee being alone. Boo’s favourite place is at home, with her family, notwithstanding the children’s demands on her time. Boo’s business busyness doesn’t end there, however. Boo and Rhodri have a further business that has been established in recent times, and is beginning to bear fruit, or should I say buds? 

Sensing a great business opportunity in the legalisation of cannabis in Thailand, they are moving into both the cultivation and sales of the product.  Although Hua Hin has seen cannabis outlets popping up everywhere since recreational cannabis usage was legalised, what Boo and her husband are doing is not just merely sourcing and selling cannabis.  Rather, they have established their own Landrace Indoor facility and are growing, with the assistance of 2 staff members, a premium quality product at an affordable price.  It is here that Boo's Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science is proving useful. Their cannabis has a superior nose and THC content, and is more effective than much of the other cannabis on the market. Eventually, when all the regulations are met, a separate cannabis shop will be located next to Amici Coffee. People who think the cannabis market is a free-for-all in Thailand at the moment are mistaken, as sellers must meet sales restrictions and submit monthly reports to Thailand’s Health Ministry. Boo would dearly love to put her bakery skills to use making edible cannabis products, but this is currently a grey area and involves even further regulation as a food product. And now there is also the possibility that the sale of cannabis buds will be recriminalised, so there is added uncertainty for this fledgling business. Boo is lucky that with so much going on in her life right now, she has the support of Rhodri’s mother who will be permanently relocating from Wales to live with her son and his family.

Boo is most grateful for the strong and resilient woman she has become.  She is always upbeat and rarely gets really angry, though she finds people who shout instead of speak quite irritating. Boo enjoys coffee herself, but limits her consumption to just one a day.  A guilty pleasure is an icy cold beer, preferably beachside, or a glass of wine and a smoke. An ideal day might see her enjoying a Thai-style barbeque, modelled after the Korean tradition, or a bowl of her favourite Lu, a northern dish made with raw pig’s blood, a taste many might not even try to acquire. Central to Boo’s existence is her mobile phone, which she feels she can’t do without. Boo’s current life is captured in a recent photo her eight-year-old took of Boo in the kitchen.  The precocious miss has photoshopped in a highly pregnant tummy.  Boo has her hands full in more ways than you or I can imagine.