These are the top 10 stories reader went (Coco)nuts for in 2014 — each one having been read, shared and like tens and even hundreds of thousands of time. Keep tuning in to Coconuts Jakarta and the rest of the Coconuts Media network to get the latest and greatest news before anybody else hears about it.
 

1. Thailand’s first Miss Universe of 1965 shocks world with recent pic

Did she or did she not? Thailand did a complete double-take after seeing its first Miss Universe (1965) still looking fresh at 67 — see above. There were rumors of a THB2.5 million anti-aging course, which her manager quickly denied, insisting she merely changed her hair from wavy to straight. 
 

2. CY Leung’s daughter: Hong Kong taxpayers fund ‘my beautiful shoes and dresses’

It’s fair to say HK’s First Daughter Chai Yan Leung likes to seek attention: On Facebook, she’s aired her family’s dirty laundry, sharing self-harm photos one day and accusing her mother of lacking courage and loyalty the next. But what got everyone clicking and clacking in September was this post in which she thanked the HK people for paying for that Lane Crawford bling on her neck. 

3. Plot twist: The beautiful woman he took home is a man (VIDEO)

He’s heartbroken and a beautiful woman at a bar comforts him with the healing power of sex. He later finds out that the beautiful woman was nobody else but his childhood gay buddy. No one makes music videos like Thailand, clearly. 
 

4. 6 restaurants in Metro Manila worth lining up for

The proof of the pudding is in the queuing (and the clicking!).

5. Viral: Teacher blasts Immigration employee who told her: ‘Shut up!’

The Philippines has been called out for its generally iffy or non-existent customer service, and disgruntled citizens have discovered that using social media is a more effective way of making people listen. In this post, we hear one of them roar. 

6. Xiaxue embroiled in yet another scandal — this one involves ‘cupping’

Slim Couture was going to get her as an endorser but when the beauty brand’s gua sha treatment fell short of her expectations, Xiaxue wrote a negative review. Slim Couture balked and threatened a lawsuit, the review was deleted but she later repurposed it for her personal blog, invoking editorial freedom. It’s time to raise your cup for Singapore’s most fearless blogger.

7. Claudine Barretto reveals wounds and scars on thighs

The cray cray Filipina actress Claudine Barretto, who is in the middle of a controversial breakup with her actor husband whom she says beat her up, attends a photo shoot and reveals several scars and wounds that look like cigarette burns which critics say were fake. What is she on?

8. Thailand’s Top 10 Hottest Ladyboys of Instagram

Puritans and haters of ladyboys, look away. Because it’s about to get very transgender up in here.

9. ‘Ken F4’ former Taiwanese heartthrob meditates in Chiang Mai

The story is purportedly about Ken Chu’s life-changing encounter with a home appliance (seriously) but the clicks were mostly for the before and after photo. Yes, folks, that’s him at 35.

10. 5 good Japanese buffets in Singapore under $40

What can we say, Singapore loves its food, especially the reasonably priced, all you can eat variety! 

And from all of us here at Coconuts, arigatou goizamazu! See you in 2015!