Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
14
Anego
C3
C1
16
Ming Ter
C3
17
Rabieng Kaew
F2
F2
19
Wawee Coffee
E3
Drinking & Nightlife
(see 10)
Shopping
D3
Sights & Activities
Thao Suranari Monument
MONUMENT
(Th Rajadamnern)
Thao Suranari, wife of the city's assistant governor during the reign
of Rama III, is something of a wonder woman in these parts. Ya Mo (Grandma Mo), as
she's affectionately called, became a hero in 1826 by organising a successful prisoner re-
volt after Chao Anou of Vientiane had conquered Khorat during his rebellion against
Siam. As one version of the legend has it, Ya Mo convinced the women to seduce the Lao
soldiers and then the Thai men launched a surprise attack, which saved the city.
Her exploits have probably been greatly exaggerated or completely concocted (some
scholars suggest that she didn't even exist) to instil a sense of Thai-ness in the ethnically
Lao people of the province, but locals and visiting Thais dismiss all of this entirely and
flock to the monument in adoring droves to burn incense and leave offerings of flowers
and food. Those whose supplications have been honoured hire singers to perform
pleng
koh·râht
(Khorat folk song) on small stages.
GOOGLE MAP
, the only original gate left standing: the other three are recent rebuilds. It was
a part of the city walls erected in 1656 by French technicians on the orders of Ayuthaya
