BANGKOK -- Sompong describes himself a "miracle maker," but prefers not to be identified by his real name. An engineer by training, he has for the past 30 years traveled around Thailand buying valuable household items -- amulets, jewelry, antiques, bullion, rare Chinese medicines -- from people, often in dire financial straits and desperate for hard cash. Business has been especially good these past three years.
Billboards, like this one overlooking the expressway in Bangkok, advertise quick cash loans for up to 80% of a car's estimated value as people seek easy ways to borrow or to service existing debt. (Photo by Dominic Faulder)
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