"'I thought I would go for a nice holiday for a week or so'". Sirin stayed 13 years in China. She was still a child when she arrived in Beijing to live with Zhou Enlai, the second most powerful man after Mao. As chief advisor to the Thai premier, Sirin's father sought to open up diplomatic relations with China through a human pledge of friendship. It was a medieval practice but Sirin understands her father's decision. '"At the time I think there was no other possibility'". Growing up, she was caught up in the Cultural Revolution and was persecuted by the Red Guard. She was made to denounce her family as counter-revolutionaries, '"I couldn't forgive myself. I was in a big mess for many years"'. When Sirin met a British student and escaped to England. Word filtered back to her family that she was in Europe. After five years of searching, her father finally traced her. '"I realised then that we are a great family'". Later, Sirin summoned up the courage to return to China, working as a diplomatic envoy for Thailand. Despite the hardship, she harbours no regrets for her years of suffering. "'I think I was fortunate to see the beginning of a nation's big change'".