BK: How long have you been selling coconut water?
Guy: Only for five months.

BK: What made you decide to start?
Guy: Well because it tastes good, and Thais believe that coconut water helps keep you young. Plus it’s healthy and easy to sell because I sell a raw product. You cut it open and it’s ready to go. I tried selling rambutan and pineapple, but coconut keeps for longer. I’ve also sold products made from coconut, like sweets and stuff, but coconut water is just so much more simple. This way I have time to work on my art. I also started to sell coconut water so I could make some more money on top of what I get from sale of my artwork.

BK: So art is the work you enjoy most?
Guy: Yes, it’s easy for me. I started when I was 13-years-old. I would draw Japanese cartoons all night long. That’s actually why I came to Bangkok, to study art.

BK: Where are you originally from?
Guy: I come from Srakeaw, near the Cambodian border, and I came to Bangkok when I was 13 with my master so that I could study art.

BK: Do you still work on your art?
Guy: Yes, in addition to selling coconut water I sell my artwork by Khao San Road. Selling coconut water is easy and quick, and it allows me to paint and draw during the day since the product I sell is ready as-is.

BK: Who is your target market for each product?
Guy: Well, for coconut water it depends on the time of day and location. I sell coconuts in the afternoon to catch people on their lunch breaks and in the early evening because the traffic has died down, allowing me to find a better place on the street side. I sell paintings to tourists at night.

BK: So you end up working day and night?
Guy: Actually my friend watches over my paintings for me now. I had a disagreement with someone in that area, so I try to avoid it. Now my friend sells my paintings, but it was much easier when I did it. Tourists like to hear the artist talk about his work, and my friend cannot do that, so now I sell fewer paintings.

BK: What is your favorite thing to paint or draw?
Guy: I like to paint elephants. Their skin has an interesting and fun texture to paint. Plus the tourists like to buy paintings with elephants, or so they tell me. Carissa Devine