Wat Phra Nang Sang and old Thalang at Ban Don: the stronghold of the people of Thalang in 1786

What happened here

February – 13 March 1786Stop 5 of 5

Thalang had no governor, and no army came from Bangkok to help, because every available force was tied down at Kanchanaburi and in the north. The townspeople had to defend the town themselves.

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One month at Thalang

The Burmese naval commander, Yi Wun, first took Takua Pa and Takua Thung, then crossed to the island and landed at Tha Taphao. He built siege camps at Pak Chong, Na Khok and Na Klang. The people of Thalang built their camps at Ban Khai, at Wat Phra Nang Sang and at Thung Nang Dak, where the deputy governor Thongphun was in command.

The Burmese attacked the camps several times without breaking them, while their own supplies dwindled. The people of Thalang, for their part, went out and attacked the Burmese camps. On Monday, the 14th day of the waxing moon of the 4th lunar month, that is 13 March 1786, the Burmese took to their ships and withdrew. The day is kept as Thalang Victory Day.

Tradition and evidence

The widely told story that Khun Ying Chan had women dress as male soldiers and carry coconut fronds in place of weapons, marching in and out of the camp to make the Burmese think the defenders were many, does not appear in the royal chronicle. It is a tradition handed down locally. What the evidence does confirm is that the townspeople, men and women together, held the camps until the Burmese withdrew.

The place today

Wat Phra Nang Sang is one of Phuket's oldest temples, beside Thep Krasattri Road near the Thalang district intersection, with an old ordination hall and ancient Buddha images. Not far away are Wat Phra Thong, where a Buddha image rises half-buried from the ground, and the Thalang Memorial, the grounds where the province holds the Thalang Victory festival around 13 March every year.