Khu Duet

This drama is set in Nam Ngam, a border district in northern Thailand, a pure land rich in natural resources and filled with kind, generous people. A great river marks the border between Thailand and two neighboring countries whose people have long lived in friendly relations like brothers. In the village stands Wat Tham Pha Nam Lai, a small and peaceful temple. There, a dark-skinned little boy named Dam is abandoned by his birth mother and left in the care of Luang Por Singto, the abbot, before she runs away with her new husband. Luang Por Singto raises Dam with love and without emotional neglect, while also teaching him martial arts, including Muay Thai and krabi-krabong, skills the abbot had mastered before entering the monkhood and passes on fully to Dam.
Dam grows up warmly loved until the arrival of Khao. Khao is a baby left in front of the monk’s quarters, covered in ant bites all over his body. Luang Por saves the child’s life and names him Khao (“white”), intending his name to pair with Dam (“black”) so the two boys can grow up as brothers.
Dam and Khao truly love each other like blood brothers. As they grow up, Dam becomes cheerful, playful, and obedient, while Khao is more hot-tempered. The temple serves like a playground for the village children, and this is how Dam and Khao become close friends with Kaew and Bua, two village girls who come to play there every day. Kaew is a spirited tomboy who, after seeing Dam practice martial arts, asks Luang Por to teach her too. She becomes the only girl trained in self-defense.
As time passes, friendship turns into young love. Khao secretly falls in love with Kaew, but Kaew likes Dam more. Dam knows Khao likes her, so he distances himself. Kaew keeps trying to get closer to Dam, causing Khao to misunderstand, and the two boys end up fighting. Luang Por punishes them by sending them to meditate in a cave, but Khao remains angry and tries to kick Dam. Fortunately, Luang Por stops him in time.
Khao asks Luang Por for permission to study in Bangkok. Luang Por takes him to stay at a respected temple in the city, and Khao enrolls at a university there. Out of love, Khao often returns to visit Luang Por, but every visit usually ends in another quarrel with Dam. Although Luang Por Singto and Dam keep busy helping the villagers, both of them continue waiting anxiously for Khao’s return.
Half a year passes without Khao returning to the temple. Dam passes the university entrance exam but gives up his place because he worries about Luang Por. Instead, he studies political science at an open university so he can stay and care for him. Since moving to Bangkok, Khao studies hard at first, until one day he meets Buem, who is being attacked by hooligans. Khao helps him, and the two become close friends. Buem invites Khao to work at a restaurant, but Khao’s path changes when Buem takes him to a street racing event. Khao is challenged to race and defeats Tee, the reigning champion, in his very first match. After that, Khao and Tee form a team and race every night, causing Khao to drift further and further away from his studies.
One night, the restaurant’s head chef suddenly falls ill, so Khao steps in as the cook. There he meets Kathy, the only daughter of Sia Phithak, a powerful and wealthy man who disguises himself as a developer, when she comes to eat with her friends. Kathy is unhappy with the food and berates the restaurant owner without restraint. Khao watches before stepping in to take responsibility, but Kathy refuses to listen and even threatens him. Later, while Kathy and her friend are driving home, they are ambushed by robbers. Khao happens to pass by, rescues them, and is injured in the process. Without realizing it, Kathy begins to fall for him. Khao and Kathy then grow close, and when word reaches Sia Phithak, he disapproves of Khao’s background as a temple boy and sends his trusted subordinate Jess to attack him. But Jess is forced to admit that Khao’s skills are extraordinary.
Back in Nam Ngam, Luang Por is ambushed and shot at by Mae Liang Oumkham, a greedy local capitalist, but survives because the wooden staff he carries protects him. When the financiers hear of this, they grow even angrier. Six months pass without any word from Khao, making Luang Por deeply worried. Luang Por and Dam travel to Bangkok out of concern, and Luang Por is horrified by what he sees: the little boy he raised from infancy is now standing in front of death, risking his life in dangerous races. Khao stares back at Luang Por as if testing his resolve, then suddenly speeds his car off, missing Luang Por’s robes by only inches. Dam and Luang Por try to persuade Khao to return to Nam Ngam with them, but Khao insists on staying in Bangkok. In another race, Tee is thrown violently from his vehicle, his body smashing onto the road and dying on the spot. Khao refuses to show weakness, and he decides not to return to Nam Ngam, especially because doing so now would mean total defeat to Dam, something he cannot accept.
Time passes. Dam graduates quickly with a degree in political science. Kaew also graduates around the same time from the police cadet academy, while poor Bua finishes only secondary school. Khao remains caught up with the same group of friends. Seeing that he cannot stop his daughter from seeing Khao, Sia Phithak decides to make use of him instead. He assigns Khao and Buem to help with his foundation, which claims to assist people and give opportunities to society. Khao is delighted to have the chance to return and help develop his hometown, not realizing he is being manipulated.
Sia Phithak and Kathy travel north to inspect the project themselves. Sia Phithak meets Mae Liang Oumkham, and the two get along very well. Dam and Luang Por Singto become increasingly suspicious of Sia Phithak. Meanwhile, Bua loses her parents’ land after Mae Liang Oumkham seizes and sells it. Desperate, Bua secretly applies for work at Sia Phithak’s project, not realizing she is flying straight into danger.
Dam, Kaew, and Lieutenant Jirayut work together to expose the secrets of the Phithak Thai Handicraft Center, asking Bua to act as their informant. Mae Liang Oumkham’s role is to find pretty young village girls and send them to Sia Phithak. Dam stays close to Kaew and protects her. Even as the villagers’ faith begins to waver under pressure, the ordeal only makes Dam and Kaew realize their love for each other more deeply.
Khao sneaks into the basement and is shocked by the truth he finds there: a gambling den, drugs, and Bua being held captive. Seeing that the “Return Life to the Land” project is growing stronger every day, Sia Phithak decides to destroy it completely. A demonstration rice field waiting for harvest is set on fire and burned to ashes. Sia Phithak concludes that everything will end if Luang Por Singto—the spiritual center of the villagers—dies. He shoots Luang Por Singto, who collapses on the spot. With his dying breath, Luang Por reaches out and brings Dam’s and Khao’s hands together, making them promise never to be divided again. Both agree before Luang Por dies.
Khao thanks Dam and apologizes to him. The two brothers finally understand each other again through the bond of brotherly love. Dam and Khao join forces to fight Sia Phithak’s men. Dam ultimately kills Sia Phithak, while Kathy, sensing disaster, flees in a truck, unaware of the fate awaiting her.
Two years later, Dam returns to serve once again as the district officer of Nam Ngam and is about to marry Kaew, the woman he loves. Khao, having accepted punishment in prison, proves himself through good behavior and is eventually pardoned. Dam and Khao use the knowledge and teachings of Luang Por Singto—especially his message of love and unity—as a guide for their lives and pass those values on to future generations.
Don’t miss Khu Duet, airing every Monday and Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on Thai TV Channel 3. The drama premiered on Monday, November 29, 2010.