‘Cake’ might have been any teenager, anywhere

July 12, 2026 — 1:45pm

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Ban Bo, Thailand: No one in Thanchanok Donhomla’s family quite remembers when or why she came to use the nickname “Cake”.

They do know, though, that she had grown weary of her father’s original, playful designation.

“I called her Dukdik,” said Thongchai Donhomla, smiling at the memory. It means something akin to restless wriggler.

“She complained it sounded like the name of a puppy”.

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© The Age