About a watchful dog and a sleeping princess

Sam Phan Bok

In many mythical places in Thailand one can find strange, often fabulous rock formations that stimulate the imagination. A large number of these bizarre, strange phenomena can be discovered in Sam Phan Bok, which is also - and in my opinion not entirely wrong - called the Grand Canyon of Thailand.

A whimsical lunar landscape of sandstone rocks weathered and eroded by wind and rain, dotted with holes, gullies and cracks near Amphoe Pho Sai in Ubon Ratchathani. Many of these rocks inspired folk tales and I would like to tell you in my own adaptation, the legend associated with one of these formations:

'More than five hundred years ago, far away from the central government, there lived a governor in the province of Ubon Ratchathani who was widely feared for his harshness and greed. He was so vicious and tyrannical that people claimed that only his dog loved him… He lived lavishly and luxuriously in a now long-decayed magnificent palace on the banks of the mighty Mun River and with great reluctance paid his annual dues. contribution to the kingdom of Ayutthaya to which he was indebted.

One day he learned from one of his many spies and informants that the Khmer, the once powerful rulers of this area, had died more than three hundred years before his time., buried a vast treasure of gold, silver and precious stones far away in the mountains. That same night, eager for this wealth, he went incognito to visit an ancient seeress who lived in a cave near Khong Chiam on the banks of the Mekong and who was said to be over two hundred years old. After much insistence she confirmed this story and, with his sword at her throat, gave him clues where this treasure was hidden. After making her swear that she was the only one who knew where this huge fortune was hidden, the governor killed the old besje so that he alone knew the exact location. He sewed her into a burlap sack and threw it, weighted with stones, into the Mekong.

Sam Phan Bok – dog rock

The governor returned to his palace in four claws and gathered a handful of his servants and soldiers to accompany him on his quest. After two days and two nights, this caravan arrived at the Grand Canyon. After some searching, the governor found the overgrown entrance to the cave where, according to the old woman, the treasure was buried. He had his soldiers clear the narrow entrance, then ordered his men and his faithful hunting dog to wait for him here at the edge of the sheer cliff. After threatening to kill anyone who would dare follow him, he entered the cave alone, provided with a week's provisions and a set of torches. Thanks to the clues of the seeress, after three days of underground research, he found the treasure that was even more fabulous than he could have dreamed of in his wildest dreams. Blinded by this wealth, he forgot everything and everyone. He had to prevent at all costs that even one person would find out that he had found this treasure.

After much wandering and almost succumbing to hunger and thirst, he found another way out. After he was strengthened again, he traveled back and forth to the site for weeks and then disappeared without a trace with a loaded oxcart... No one ever heard from him again. His men, who had put up guard at the entrance of the cave, gave up after a week. The soldiers, not overflowing with enthusiasm, organized a half-hearted search that was called off after only a few hours. After all, he had never been the most popular governor… Only his faithful dog remained…Today, this loyal four-legged friend still lies, petrified in time, waiting for his not-so-faithful owner to return…

We have to go north for a second, equally legendary rock formation. More specifically to the mountain range Dong Nang Non at Pong Pha in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai. This mountain ridge looks suspiciously like a pregnant woman lying on her back. This is the legend:

'Just a really long time ago, in the time shortly after the animals stopped speaking, there was a gorgeous princess from the ancient and venerable kingdom of Lana. She couldn't help it but one fine day she fell head over heels in love with the new groomsman her father had just recruited. A love that, fortunately for her, was almost immediately reciprocated by the young fellow, but which did not go down well with the king. Certainly not when after a short time the princess turned out to be particularly pregnant… When the monarch heard about the amorous escapades of his dearly beloved daughter, he became blindly furious and swore solemn oaths to make the miscreant who had disgraced his daughter and his House a to make a cup smaller…

Doi Nang Non

Afraid of the terrible royal revenge, the princess and her lover managed to flee the palace. Immediately pursued by the soldiers of the royal guard, they raced to the mountains where they hoped to get rid of their pursuers. This plan seemed to work and after driving for hours they went to hide in a cave. While the princess rested, her loverboy went looking for some food because in their haste to run away, they had forgotten this... Too bad, but alas: the stableboy was caught by the soldiers who searched the hills en masse and immediately for led the king, who personally led the search for his daughter. To his credit, he kept his mouth shut and did not reveal the whereabouts of his lover. As a reward for his fidelity, the monarch had him tied between four stakes firmly driven into the ground, on which his battle elephant crushed his head… When the princess got the snout that the father of her unborn child would not return, she pulled the massive golden barrette that her father once gave her, from her raven-black hair and in one gesture stuck it right into her heart. Her blood poured out of the cave and over the mountainside to form a river we know today as the Mae Sai as her lifeless body gradually petrified, forever bearing witness to timeless and unconditional love… '

Since the daring rescue of the youth football team trapped in a flooded cave system for ten days in June last year, the world-famous Tam Luang caves are part of the Doi Nang Non. Several Thai newspapers reported how residents near the mountain ridge came to pray for the spirit of the princess to save the footballers…