SOCCER PRACTICE FOR the Moo Pa ("Wild Boars") team had just ended when assistant coach Ekkapol Chantawong-or "Ek"-suggested that he and the players take refuge from the simmering mid-afternoon heat by exploring the Tham Luang cave. Ek, a boyish 25 and more a big brother to the kids than a drill sergeant, heard no complaints. The cave, at the base of a mountain in northern Thailand, was a favourite hangout.
That Saturday, June 23, 2018, at noon, the Moo Pa jumped on their bikes and rode half an hour to Tham Luang. Parking their bikes outside, they entered the cave, passing a sign that read: Danger!! From July to November the cave can flood.
Coach Ek wasn't worried; it was June and the monsoon rains that could flood the cave's channels were still weeks away. Behind him were 12 players who, like many Thais, went by nicknames: Night, 17; Tee, 16; Note and Nick, 15; Bew, Adul and Tern, 14; Dom, Pong, Mark and Mick, 13; and Titan, 11.
The mouth the cave was large enough to fit the Taj Mahal. Mud stains six metres up showed the high-water mark of previous years' floods. Walking farther into the cave, their way lit by flashlights, the team climbed over boulders, slid down steep slopes, walked through puddles and ducked at those points where the ceiling was only a few feet high. About one and a half kilometres in, they turned left at a T-junction and climbed down into a bowl-shaped recess. Their destination: a sandbar inside the caves named Pattaya Beach, more than a half-kilometre farther in.
About 15 minutes later, they reached Pattaya Beach and stopped for a break. Titan, experiencing the cave for the first time, was creeped out by the dark and the spooky shadows cast by their flashlights. But he didn't dare tell the older boys.
Coach Ek checked his watch; they'd been in the cave about an hour. It was time to head out.
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest Canada dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest Canada dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
"Everything You Want is on the Other Side of Fear."
Ryan Gosling and David Leitch are the star and director of The Fall Guy, the romantic-action-comedy blockbuster stunt-fest you'll see at least twice this summer. But they've also built a bond over stunt work, pain, and purpose.
6 A.M. With...the Olympic Fencer
Miles Chamley-Watson's workouts are filled with jokes-and rapier-sharp intensity.
THE SCOOP ONSTREAMING
A closer look at all the ways you can watch TV today
Hey Dad, Can You Help Me Return the Picasso I Stole?
A painting went missing in 1969, then turned up at a museums doorstep. No one knew how or why—until now.
A Week Under My Son's Roof
When roles reverse, it’s payback time
HOA HORROR STORIES
The good, the bad and the utterly bizarre!
WHEN A SNAKE FELL FROM THE SKY
THE WOMAN ON THE LAWN MOWER THOUGHT THAT WAS BADESPECIALLY WHEN IT HIT HER. THEN THE HAWK SWOOPED IN.
IS EVERYONE ON OZEMPIC?
Everything you need to know about the new diabetes drugs shaping the weight-loss revolution
Why Water Workouts Work
Swimming and other aquatic exercises have special benefits
Doing Dad's Bucket List
Laura Carney's father died suddenly, with unfinished business. So she started checking off the items for him.
DO MORE WITH YOUR TECH
You're undoubtedly missing out on cool features that can help make life easier, safer, even more fun
Surf's Up... Again
A Hawaiian helps victims of a devastating fire in the most Hawaiian way possible
Cue the BBQ
A bowl of bulgogi is a treat for your taste buds
Popping the Question
Engagement stories from both sides of the bend
WOMAN, FROG, AND DEVIL
January Wojnicz, a retired civil servant and a landowner, was a splendid man, as they said in Lwów, handsome and dignified.
THE STASI FILES
Piecing together the secrets of East Germany’s past.
ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH THE ARTS - SHOWSTOPPERS
A Tony-winning musical director faces her first Broadway miss.
HIGHER AND HIGHER
To preserve humanity—and the planet—should we give up growth?
MAXED OUT
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”
DESERT ISLAND
Tastes of Hawati abound in Las Vegas.
NOTICE OF SECURITY INCIDENT
By now you are aware that you are the victim of a data breach.
MY FATHER'S COURT
The Detroit Pistons became his second family.
LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE
Zach Horwitz was a mystifying presence on the big screen, until the F.B.I. showed up.
THOROUGHLY MODERN
Yuja Wang uses her star power to lead audiences out of their comfort zones.
THE PERFECTIONIST
Why we're still catching up to Brancusi.
OLD ENGLISH
“Player Kings,”\"The Cherry Orchard,” and \"London Tide.”
AI COMPANIES MAKE FRESH SAFETY PROMISE AT SEOUL SUMMIT, NATIONS AGREE TO ALIGN WORK ON RISKS
Leading artificial intelligence companies made a fresh pledge at a mini-summit this week to develop AI safely, while world leaders agreed to build a network of publicly backed safety institutes to advance research and testing of the technology.
IS THAT 'HER'? OPENAI PAUSES A CHATGPT VOICE AFTER SOME SAY IT SOUNDS LIKE SCARLETT JOHANSSON
OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users said it sounded like Scarlett Johansson, who famously voiced a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 film “Her.”
TAIWAN IS SELLING MORE TO THE US THAN CHINA IN MAJOR SHIFT AWAY FROM BEIJING
Whether it’s tapioca balls or computer chips, Taiwan is stretching toward the United States and away from China — the world’s No. 2 economy that threatens to take the democratically ruled island by force if necessary.
FCC TO CONSIDER RULES FOR AI-GENERATED POLITICAL ADS ON TV AND RADIO, BUT CAN'T TOUCH STREAMING
The head of the Federal Communications Commission introduced on Wednesday a proposal to require political advertisers to disclose when they use content generated by artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads.