There is an interesting scene at Sai Kaew Beach of Koh Samet Island. The scene is set on a rock and consisted of statues of a mermaid and a man that seems to be peering through a telescope. I asked our Thai friend about it so she told us the story of the mermaid of Koh Samet Island.
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| The mermaid and the prince. |
There was a prince named Phra Apai Mani who was driven away, with his brother, by their father. A giant attacked the two princes and abducted Phra Apai Mani. After a long time (and after fathering a child with the giant), Phra Apai Mani managed to escape from captivity. He was helped by a family of mermaids but the father and mother mermaids were eaten by the furious giant. The young mermaid, the sole survivor of her family, brought the prince to Wonder Island.
The Wonder Island, of course, is Koh Samet Island.
Our Thai friend told me that the prince is not holding a telescope but a flute. According to Wikipedia, Phra Apai Mani’s flute has the power to make people fall asleep and take their souls. This reminded me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
There are many mermaid stories around the world and this mermaid story in Koh Samet Island is just one of such stories. In the Philippines, I also saw a mermaid statue somewhere along the coast of Atimonan in Quezon Province.
The Wonder Island, of course, is Koh Samet Island.
Our Thai friend told me that the prince is not holding a telescope but a flute. According to Wikipedia, Phra Apai Mani’s flute has the power to make people fall asleep and take their souls. This reminded me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
There are many mermaid stories around the world and this mermaid story in Koh Samet Island is just one of such stories. In the Philippines, I also saw a mermaid statue somewhere along the coast of Atimonan in Quezon Province.
It is good to know that there are other mermaid stories other than Disney’s Little Mermaid. It is also good that I heard a Thai story about a mermaid.
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Parts of the story of the mermaid and Phra Apai Mani was obtained from Phra Apai Mani page in Wikipedia.
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Parts of the story of the mermaid and Phra Apai Mani was obtained from Phra Apai Mani page in Wikipedia.
Wonderful stories! Gonna find one day to visit this place for sure. ^^
ReplyDeleteI do hope that you visit Koh Samet Island. It is one of the beautiful places in Thailand. :-)
Deletewow, ang astig naman ng statue na yan,
ReplyDeleteat ang cool ng story nice pang disney ee
Hehe...pang-Disney nga pero may iba nang mermaid story ang Disney e.
Deleteooh, may mermaid legend din pala ang Thailand. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteMeron nga din sila. I think lahat yata ng mga bansang may dagat ay may sariling mermaid stories.
DeleteThanks for the story, never knew about this. There are still a lot of things to learn. :)
ReplyDeleteThere are still a lot of things to discover. :-) I'm glad that you learned something from me today.
DeleteIntersting. I've always been a firm believer that all the countries in the world share the same stories. We just have different names for our fairies, enkantos and the like. =)
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Naghalo-halo na yung mga ideas ng mga tao kaya hindi malayong parejo yung mga alamat at kwento ng iba't ibang lahi.
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