YouTuber-surgeon Dr Nopparat "Mor Song" Rattanawaraha returned to Thailand safely on Tuesday after being held captive for 25 days in Mali, West Africa.

Dr Nopparat left Suvarnabhumi airport Tuesday morning in his Mercedes-Benz without stopping for interviews.

The surgeon posted on his Facebook (Morsongtonglok) page on Monday that he was sorry for making many people worry about him. He said when he is ready, he will let people know about what happened during his ordeal.

Dr Nopparat is the host of the Mor Song Tong Lok (Dr Song explores the world) YouTube channel. He posted on his Facebook account on Sept 12 that he would spend three weeks (Sept 12-Oct 3) exploring nine countries including Afghanistan, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

His last video about his Africa trip was posted on Sept 27 when he said he was about to leave Burkina Faso and cross into Mali.

The Foreign Ministry said on Monday that he was kidnapped in the Mali city of Kemparana and held for 25 days. He was released only after he paid a 100 million CFA Francs (5.7 million baht) ransom to the kidnappers.

In phone interviews conducted on Tuesday with local media, Dr Nopparat said he always hired a trusted tour agency and informed them to arrange a safe route for him. He said he had a guide in Mali, but lost him while walking on a street, before being abducted.

The YouTuber said he was not hurt but was chained and experienced a lot of mental torment. He said he thought he might not survive the situation but said he'd tell his story in detail later.