Panwilas Mongkol wishes
her father could have been there to see her win the Miss Tiffany
Universe pageant.
Boonlua Chatree
Winning the Miss Tiffany Universe pageant turned out bittersweet
for Panwilas Mongkol because while she was proud to have won the famed
transvestite beauty pageant, her British father wasn’t there to see it.
The 21-year-old dress-rental agent said her 60-year-old father Sydney
Barnes left about 15 years ago, then broke off contact after learning
her son wanted to be his daughter. Panwilas believes her father is now
remarried and living in Laos, working as an English teacher.
“He used to come see me about once a year, but then he just stopped,”
Panwilas said. “I have his number in Thailand, but no matter how many
times I call, there is never an answer.”
The woman-of-the-second-category said she hopes that if Barnes learned
that she’d won the Miss Tiffany Universe pageant he would be proud. “I
hoped he’d congratulate me that I’d found my dream and my mother’s
dream,” she said.
Panwilas said her year as Miss Tiffany Universe likely will be her last
in the spotlight. She said she’d like to open a grooming salon for pets.
“If people can have salons, why not animals?”
