Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 18, 2004
Phaliporn Sanithikul
A picture, in which he was embraced and kissed by Hollywood star Ashley Judd and singer Coco Lee, was splashed on the front pages of many newspapers last week.
The celebrities, taking part in the 15th International Aids Conference, paid a visit to Lop Buri's Wat Phra Baht Nam Phu, a temple which shelters people with HIV/Aids. Mr Kreangsak proudly displays the newspaper clippings, in Thai and English, which he keeps under his pillow.
"It's so funny that people thought I was a foreigner. Many asked if I came from Africa. People here tease me that I am now a superstar," he said.
Mr Kreangsak, a 48-year-old native of Ayutthaya, is a well-built man. His skin has become dry and unusually dark - the side-effects of anti-viral drugs he has been taking, which prompts people to mistake him for an African. He's not sure how he became infected with the virus. Doctors assume he contracted it through a sexual relationship with a sex worker or from a heroin injection.
Even though he is in stage 3 of the disease, and his chances of survival about 50-50, Mr Kreangsak is in far better health now than he was three years ago when he was left at the temple by his cousins.
He was in prison, convicted of drug offences, but was too sick to stay there.
"I lost so much weight. I had diarrhoea, a fever, and couldn't walk," he said.
Since Mr Kreangsak's picture hit the front page, Wat Phra Baht Nam Phu is bursting with visitors.
He beams when he recalls the moment he was kissed by Ms Judd, YouthAids global ambassador, and Ms Lee, YouthAids ambassador for Asia. "I couldn't sleep that night. No one has ever showed me such affection," he said.
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