A Thai trans woman shared a heartwarming video of her interaction with a taxi driver who was so captivated by her beauty that he showered her with compliments throughout the ride. The video quickly went viral, receiving over 180,000 likes on Instagram and amassing over 2.5 million views on X.
The 20-year-old, Aric, said that the encounter took place on 19 Sept, as she was on her way to Chiang Mai International Airport. That day had started like any other, as Aric was heading to Bangkok to visit her sister. But the ride took a surprising turn when the private hire driver made a candid remark about her appearance.
The driver usually preferred women, yet he stared at Aric, stunned by her beauty. He admitted that her looks left him “gobsmacked.”
He lifted her spirits with kind words. When Aric asked if he could tell she was a trans woman, he replied, “No,” and repeated it twice for emphasis. He suggested she could work on her vocal cords, but Aric said she loved her deeper, baritone voice. The driver assured her she was perfect just the way she was.
He encouraged her to pursue her dreams and even suggested she enter a beauty pageant. When Aric mentioned she had failed once, he reassured her, saying, “Not everyone succeeds on the first attempt.” He compared her to Yoshi, the famous Thai trans woman who won Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2017, and told Aric she reached the same level. This conversation made Aric feel especially happy.
Aric stands at 181cm with a slim figure and draws attention in public. She noticed that her voice and appearance do not match society’s expectations and defy traditional ideas of masculinity or femininity. She believes the world offers far too much diversity to confine anyone to narrow categories.
Her sister named her after Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. Since her father is Chinese and her mother is Thai, no one noticed the reference, and Aric found it amusing.
