CHANG ERAWAN: The Birth of an Urban Legend

There’s this woman who lives outside Bangkok. She travels from the suburbs to the city everyday -- passing by this giant 3-headed elephant statue while it's being built. One day, while on a bus going back home, the woman made a wish to the elephant that if he help her win the lottery… she would have his baby.

Within a week she did in fact win more than a million Baht. And she also became pregnant. By the time the national newspapers heard about it, she was already in hiding.

Another woman made the same wish. But she offered a different promise – her virginity. She was found half-dead, genitals shattered and profusely bleeding. Next to her is the winning lottery ticket of the week.

People soon flocked the gates of the compound even before the gigantic elephant statue was finished. Many Thais came to worship -- especially every 1st and 16th day of every month when the winning numbers are announced.

“Chang” means elephant in Thai. “Erawan” is the name of the 33-headed elephant of the Hindu God Indra. This is often abbreviated to just 3 heads by artists who depicts the statues.

The Chang Erawan (พิพิธภัณฑ์ช้างเอราวัณ) is a spectacular place beyond description. It is actually a museum of Thai antiquity. It is now the most famous tourist attraction of Samut Prakan. The elephant alone is almost 100 feet tall and 130 feet long, mounted on a building 10 stories high. Construction took almost 10 years.

Wish granted. Although this is mainly a museum, I think that the building is more interesting than the artifacts it houses. And more interestingly, the prospects of having your wish come true. At the shrine, light incense and offer flowers or fruits. Don’t forget to be specific and set a date; when would you like your wish to come true. And when it does, don’t forget to come back and thank him.

You wanna visit? Chang Erawan will welcome you from the airport on your way to Bangkok. It's along Sukhumvit Road and 20 minutes away from downtown. Taking a cab is the best way to get there. All taxi drivers know where it is. It is open from 8am to 6pm everyday. Entrance fee is 150 Baht (€4, $5, Rm15) and 50 baht for kids. If you don’t wanna go inside the museum and just walk about the compound, it would cost you only 50 Baht.

Be careful of what you wish.

Somebody might be listening.

****

*Photo credits: Hartfreid and Krash

You liked this post? - Subscribe to BISEAN.