The central province of Suphan Buri, about 107 kilometers from Bangkok by car, is holding its major cultural event, “Don Chedi Memorial and Red Cross Fair,” from now until February 1. The two-week fair takes place in the Don Chedi Memorial compound in Don Chedi district.

This annual event is meant to commemorate the glorious victory of King Naresuan the Great in a traditional royal battle on elephant back. The fair includes a bazaar of One Tambon, One Product, or OTOP, products, an exhibition of public and private organizations, and many cultural performances. The highlight is a multimedia presentation on King Naresuan’s heroic deeds and the history of Suphan Buri. A special show this year features a model of the route that the army of King Naresuan traveled in its campaign.

Regarded as a respected hero and warrior in Thai history, King Naresuan reigned over the Thai kingdom from 1590 to 1605 during the Ayutthaya period. When he was nine years old, Prince Naresuan was taken as a hostage to Burma, now Myanmar, after the Ayutthaya King was overrun by the powerful Burmese army. He was brought up in the Burmese royal court. His close companion was Burmese Crown Prince Min Chit Swa, known among Thais as Phra Maha Upparacha.

At the age of 16, Prince Naresuan returned to Ayutthaya and was appointed Crown Prince by his father, King Maha Thammaracha, the then ruler of the Thai vassal state under Burmese rule. He immediately built up his own forces and set his aim to liberate the Ayutthaya Kingdom from the Burmese.

After succeeding his father as king in 1590, King Naresuan fended off the Burmese on several occasions. The most glorious battle was his duel on elephant back with his childhood friend Crown Prince Min Chit Swa, who was killed in the fight. It took place on 25 January 1592 at Nong Sarai field in Suphan Buri. In 1982, the Thai government designated January 25 Thai Armed Forces Day.

Following the battle on elephant back, King Naresuan ordered the construction of a pagoda at Nong Sarai field in memory of the Burmese Crown Prince. When the pagoda was discovered in 1913, King Vajiravudh, Rama VI, organized a grand celebration. Later, in 1952, a committee was formed by the Royal Thai Army to carry out a major renovation of the pagoda, together with the construction of a statue of King Naresuan on elephant back, which is generally referred to as Don Chedi Memorial.

Today, the Don Chedi Memorial has become a landmark of Suphan Buri, which boasts many historical and cultural attractions. Suphan Buri has organized the Don Chedi Memorial Fair on an annual basis since 1981. Local residents take pride in this fair, which attracts a number of visitors to this province each year.

Source: Foreign Office, The Government Public Relations Department

In 1868, H.M. King Rama IV invited Sir Harry Ord, the Governor of the British Straits Settlements, as well as a party of French astronomers, and scientists, to observe a total solar eclipse, which he predicted would take place on 18th August at 12:13 p.m. He also calculated the precise location in Thailand where it would be best to observe. The party traveled to Wa Ko, a small village in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, about 300 kms south of Bangkok, for the event, where the King's calculations proved to be correct. This was just another example that showed both his loyal subjects and foreign dignitaries how much of an intellectual he really was. Even more impressive was the fact that he had predicted this eclipse himself two years before it actually happened.

It is unfortunate that King Rama IV is more known to the modern world as the dancing and singing king in the Broadway stage production and the movie "The King and I". Tragically, during the expedition, King Rama IV and H.R.H. Prince Chulalongkorn both contracted malaria. The kind died the following month in Bangkok. In 1982, the Thai government designated King Rama IV as the "Father of Science in Thailand". In addition, they declared that henceforth, August 18th would be known as National Science Day. In 1989, the King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science and Technology was established to commemorate King Rama IV. The park is located at Km.335 of Highway No. 4, about 12 kilometres from Prachuap Khiri Khan and 4 kilometres along a branch road.

Main source: Century of Growth: The First Hundred years of Siam Commercial Bank

During the late 19th Century, the colonial powers of France and to a lesser extent Great Britain were attempting to carve up parts of Siam for themselves. In order to protect his kingdom, King Rama V ordered the construction of Phra Chulachomklao Fort at the entrance to the Chao Phraya estuary. He also ordered the modernization of other forts on both sides of the river in Samut Prakan so that the approach to Bangkok could be protected. The work on the fort started in 1884 and took ten years to complete. This was to be not only the most modern fort in Thailand, but also comparable to forts in the West.

King Rama V ordered at great expense the latest guns from W G Armstrong & Co in England. These were ten 6 inch Armstrong Guns which weighed five tons each. They were the first rear-loaded guns in the Thai Navy and they had an interesting characteristic. They were called the "disappearing" guns because they only came out of the pit to fire and then the recoil forced the gun back where it came from. This protected the guns from enemy fire. That was the theory. All of the aiming had to be done while the gun was in the pit. Each shell weighed 45 kilos. The gun was then hauled up be a hydraulic mechanism and the shot fired. The range was about 8 kilometres.

Seven of these guns were installed at the Phra Chulachomklao Fort. The remaining three were set up at Phi Sua Samut Fort which is an island in the middle of the river near the present day City Hall. About three months after their completion they saw action for the first and only time. On 13th July 1893, two French gunboats entered the estuary with the intention to blockade Bangkok. Shots were fired and a small boat that was acting as a pilot for the French ships was badly damaged and ran aground. Despite heroic action by the soldiers at the fort and the sailors aboard ships on the river, the two French gunboats managed to slip by. By the time it reached the inner fort it was too dark for anyone to continue the battle. The gunboats were then able to go all the way up the river to Bangkok.

Today only Phra Chulachomklao Fort is open to the general public. I have written about this fort before and I really do urge you to visit if you get a chance. The guns are still in good working order and they were last fired during the 100th anniversary. Phi Sua Samut Fort is not open to the public though they are presently renovating the fort and guns. The plan is to open the island to the public. I was lucky to be able to join a press tour of the island. They showed us the three gun pits. In places we could see evidence of the original fort that dates back to King Rama II. One of the gun pits was empty because the gun is being renovated at the navy base. They also showed us the bunkers where the shells were stored. And then around the back they took us on a boardwalk through the nipa palms. At one point we spotted hundreds of fruit bats. When finished, I think this is going to be a great addition to the tourist attractions of Samut Prakan. On our Samut Prakan Forums I have posted pictures of all the guns and forts I have found here. Visit our website at www.Paknam.com for more information.