King Taksin the Great—Yala, Thailand. - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

King Taksin (b. 1734) came to power in the wake of successful Burmese invasion of Siam (as Thailand was then known) in 1765-6. With the capital city of Ayutthaya in ruins, and northern Siam occupied by the Burmese, Taksin retired to the south east of the country and rebuilt the Kingdom's army, under his control. After several years of campaigning he drove the invaders from his country. He then expanded the kingdom, and made steps to rebuild the society and the economy. Successful as he was, he was not to die in bed. He was deposed and replaced by one of his generals in 1782.

This statue of the King is found in the far, far southern Thai city of Yala, close to the Malaysian border, inside the grounds of the Buddhist temple, Wat "Put-a-Phum" (my phonetic spelling). The king is depicted seated, life-sized, wearing the regal, military dress of the time, with his sword across his lap—a motif of Taksin statues.

I am at a loss to explain why Taksin is present in the far, far south of Thailand. As far as I know he never troubled himself with this region of Siam, however, here he is.


ADVISORY: For the last few years and decades there has been an ongoing insurgency in the Muslim populated provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat (the 'deep south' of Thailand). An average of 600 people (out of a pop. of 1.6 million) have been killed per year between 2004-9. The Australian government strongly urges its citizens not to visit these provinces: "do not travel". Having said all of this there is no blood on the streets, and life goes on normally for the vast majority of people. You have been advised.

URL of the statue: Not listed

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