South African Alexander Krebs, known to friends and family as "Shani", arrived in Bangkok in April 1994 on a 10 day holiday. He was 34 at the time and writing a novel, but was also a 15-year-long drug addict who had a sporadic wild streak in him and had just broken up with his fiancee. His family thought the time away would do him good.
REUNITED: Krebs arriving at OR Tambo International Airport last week, with mother Kaitlin, 87.
But he was tempted by a lucrative offer to do a drug deal, and was caught at Don Mueang airport with 1.2kg of heroin.
Facing the death penalty for drug trafficking, Krebs pleaded guilty, and in exchange had his sentence eventually commuted to life. Eighteen years in Thai prisons followed, the longest stint being 16 and a half years at the notoriously rough Bang Khwang prison _ making him its longest serving Western inmate.
Behind bars he developed an artistic talent, making sketches and paintings that have earned him international recognition.
As part of a general amnesty, he received a one-sixth reduction of his sentence on His Majesty the King's seventh cycle birthday last December, meaning he could fly home on April 28.
He is a much better person for his prison experience, he says, permanently off drugs and with a lasting respect for Thai culture and a determination to educate South Africa's youth on the perils of drug addiction.
Last week he spoke to Spectrum by video call from Johannesburg about his homecoming, his experiences behind bars and his peculiar case of personal redemption.
THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA
"I can't sleep in a bed; I'll end up sleeping on the floor. I'm scared of the dark _ in prison the lights are on 24 hours. I'm going through a healing process with my family. I don't venture too far from home. It's hard to be a passenger in a car and it will be quite a while before I can drive again.
SURVIVOR: Krebs in Bang Khwang prison in 2000.
"I think adjusting is going to take a long time," says Krebs. Home a week already, he is soft-spoken, and considers his words carefully before answering questions. He looks slightly weary but otherwise in good health despite nearly two decades of prison and a tumultuous, high-profile homecoming covered extensively in the South African media.
On changes in his country in his absence, Krebs is very positive. He was arrested a day before South Africa's first post-apartheid general elections on April 27, still commemorated as Freedom Day, a national holiday, and so never saw a free South Africa until now.
"It's changed for the better. There's an incredible vibe here now, with everyone integrated. People have been very friendly, coming up to me from all walks of life. I think South Africa has become a really progressive society.
"I'm really happy to be home," he says.
Twenty years ago he had a fairly moderate lifestyle. Although a cocaine and pill addict, he says he was an average citizen with his own business at one stage. "I wasn't short of anything; I had a good life."
That would all change on a trip to Bangkok in 1994.
BUSTED
"When I did the deal, I suspected I'd been followed. I went to the airport with a suitcase with a secret compartment where the drugs were, and the police were waiting for me."
It often happens that police receive tip-offs from dealers about minor drug mules as a diversion from a bigger shipment or as part of a quid pro quo, but Krebs is unsure how the police knew of his activities beforehand.
"It's possible I was a decoy, that they'd been warned, but the fact was that they were waiting for me. I had four bags, and the police went straight to the one that had the heroin in it. Either they'd been warned or they'd been watching me.''
Facing the death penalty, he was terrified.
''When I was sentenced, my sister was in Bangkok with me. I tried to put up a brave front to protect her. Initially I did lie to my family and said that I never knew that I had drugs to protect them. I was hoping to fight my case because of the way the police had apprehended me and knew exactly where the heroin was; I could claim it was a set-up. But when coming into the prison and talking to other prisoners I was warned that if I tried to fight my case it would get drawn out for years and invariably I'd lose anyway and get the death sentence. I was forced to plead guilty _ but I was guilty anyway.''
He says that as a drug addict at the time, the first tendency was always to deny. In exchange for his guilty plea, his sentence was commuted to life in prison, still daunting to process because he didn't know what the sentence meant.
''In South Africa a life sentence was 25 years; I was told that I still might face 100 years or 50 years.''
Among his five prisons he spent time first at Khlong Prem Central Prison before being moved to the ''Bangkok Hilton'', a nickname for Bang Khwang Central Prison, a facility to house those on death row and other long-term prisoners, and known for its harsh conditions. Last year in April he was moved to Khao Bin prison as part of the corrections system's policy of moving prisoners on drugs charges to a single high-security prison. After pressure from the South African government he was moved back to Khlong Prem, where he was in solitary confinement for six months.
Although two other Western prisoners were arrested one year before him, they weren't sentenced until 1995. The 16 and a half years he spent at Bang Khwang makes Krebs the prison's longest serving Western inmate.
PRISON LIFEThai prisons have been immortalised in books and films that portray inhumane conditions, such as Warren Fellows' memoir The Damage Done, or films like Bangkok Hilton (released in 1989 and starring Nicole Kidman, it was largely responsible for Bang Khwang's nickname) or Brokedown Palace, a Hollywood production from 1999 with Clare Danes and Kate Beckinsale.
Krebs, though, thinks that some of the Thai prison system's reputation is undeserved.
''At first when you come in the conditions seem inhumane because it's like nothing you've ever experienced, but with time you tend to adapt.''
Early on, Krebs says he petitioned the Thai authorities to alleviate overcrowding, to introduce clean water into Building 2 _ which housed many of the foreigners _ and install telephones so that prisoners could contact their families. He says these efforts were largely successful; the rudimentary conditions improved, clean water was brought in and even the quality of the food improved.
''I think for the most part that the depictions of Thai prisons in Western countries are exaggerated. For me, I can endure more than another person because I grew up on the streets of Johannesburg. Suffering is relative. I was fortunate in that I had a large support group all over the world, so I didn't suffer like some of my fellow Thai prisoners who had nothing.''
He says that public and family support outside the prison was crucial to coping on the inside. In that respect, he was very lucky. And in an integrated prison all nationalities could mingle, so Krebs developed many friendships with Thais.
''A lot of the Thais who never had their families supporting them, those guys really suffered. But I was amazed at the comradeship among prisoners. There are a lot of people in Thai prisons who were innocent but found guilty by association. I met some great people in prison, friendships that I'll probably keep for life.''
He concedes that there was certainly some crime and violence among prisoners and corruption by guards and officials, but thinks that these should be seen in context.
''In any prison you'll have a degree of corruption. When it comes to violence and crime, though, I was surprised how little of that there was. The punishment is so severe. You get shackled and thrown into solitary confinement.'' However, he adds, ''I've witnessed several murders over the years but they were low key.''
Krebs served two six-month stints in solitary confinement. The first was in 1999 for fighting. ''The second was part of a clampdown on the dealers. I was told I was suspected of dealing drugs outside, which wasn't true, and suspected of having a mobile, and I was told that I was dangerous.''
REDEMPTION AND RELEASE
Despite his ordeal and long imprisonment, Krebs says he has no lingering bitterness against the Thai prison system; rather, he is grateful that it allowed him opportunities to change his life.
''Coming into a Thai prison was a blessing in disguise. I made a 180 degree turn. I stopped using drugs in about 1995; I'm almost 17 years drug free. I had the opportunity to use my time constructively and develop my artistic skills. In fact, I'd say that I realised my dreams while in Thai prison. I've become quite a prolific artist, known around the world. What happened to me was very positive. I discovered who I was and my purpose in life.''
He had two long-term relationships behind bars. One, with a missionary, lasted eight years. Currently he has a three-year girlfriend who remains in Thailand. Since he is now banned from the Kingdom for life, it will have to be a long-distance relationship for a while.
While in prison, he applied for several pardons; the first, around 1998, was rejected. Four years later he put in another petition, which he never received a response to. He didn't think he would ever get one, he says, because ''the South African government doesn't support our pardons'', and without government support they are rarely given. As a dual citizen, he also sought the help of the Israeli embassy. After hearing of the general amnesty, he asked his embassies to find out his exact release date, and by January he knew it was April 22. Following six days at the Immigration Detention Centre, he was allowed to fly home to a rapturous reception.
His priority now, he says, is continuing with his art and finishing a memoir. Called Dragons and Butterflies, he has already written 200 pages of the book and hopes to publish it by July next year. He has several tattoos of dragons and butterflies on his body now, inked by fellow prisoners.
''[The title] is very significant in that it symbolises my confinement and also my personality. I'm actually quite a wild person, but there's that softer, gentler side of me, so it's very symbolic of me and my prison experience and who I am.''
HOW TO FIGHT DRUGS
Krebs also hopes ''to make a difference and bring a greater awareness to the youth of today'', by speaking at schools on the perils of drug abuse and issues such as peer pressure.
''To combat drugs one has to start at the grass-roots level,'' he says. ''We should start by educating our children on the downfalls of drug abuse and the consequences. Children succumb to peer pressure and the most important thing is to choose your friends carefully. You need to befriend people who bring out the best in you, not people who pull you down. This is the responsibility of the parents.
''I don't blame anyone for my actions, but I started smoking marijuana with my schoolteachers in my final year in high school. You look to get higher and that's where your path of destruction starts. I was always an adventurous type of person, willing to try anything, but I did get mixed up with the wrong people. I blame myself, because I should have known better.''
With poverty also a contributing factor, by tempting people to make easy money through drug deals, he says that the war on drugs as it is being waged is impossible to win and many of those who are caught for trafficking are casual users who become mules out of desperation or momentary opportunism.
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who heads the Thai government's drug suppression centre, is keen to reinforce the death penalty for drug trafficking. On April 29, he vowed to push for legal amendments to ensure that people sentenced to death for drug offences are executed within 15 days, as these prisoners ''are a scourge on society''. Krebs feels that this policy won't serve as a deterrent or be very effective in controlling trafficking, as the victims will most likely be small-time dealers or addicts.
''I think this [proposed] policy is inhumane,'' he says. ''Before you can reintroduce the death penalty you have to get rid of the big guys. I'm against the death penalty personally; I don't think anyone has the right to take anyone's life no matter what the crime. In my case I managed to redeem myself and turn my life around. It would be important for Thai prisons to introduce more rehabilitation programmes, but I think that everyone deserves a second chance.''
Our interview ends on this note, but Krebs adds a personal message:
''I fell in love with the Thai culture. I think the Thais are a beautiful people. I learned many lessons. The way I am today, I'm very humble and I can thank my Thai friends. I'm only sorry that I can't go back. I'd like the Thai government to change their stance; I paid the price and I've done my time and I think it's unfair that I'm banned for life.
''I'm very grateful for my time in Thailand and I have a great love for your country.''
BRUSHES WITH FATE: Some of Krebs’ artwork: James Dean, above left; Louis Armstrong, left; and a Thai model, below.
FUN WHILE IT LASTED: Krebs at a party in South Africa when he was 24.