Thread: Memory Lane (In my own language)

Originally Posted by Shy Guava

Many years ago, my buddy and I were forced to spend a lot of time hanging out in the massage parlour attached to our hotel in a major Isan city. The girls took to calling him "Khun Chang" and I was "Khun Pan" - I think these may have also been Sunthorn Poo characters.

I don't know the story, but I assume they were a couple of idiots if we were awarded the sobriquets.

That is another ancient tale dated back in the middle of the Ayuthaya kingdom. This tale was carried on as 'mouth to mouth' form and finally penned the whole story by Soontorn Poo in the reign of King Rama II in form of a very long poem (we called "sae-pa") with wonderful rhymes. If you could read Thai, you would feel the beauty in each line.

Back in the old days when I was in school, don't know now, the Ministry of Education put some parts from this poem in our lesson to memorize and do the exam.

The story is kind of a "saga", telling the lives of two families; Khun Pan's and Khun Chang's. Those two were rivalries.




Khun Pan was a very handsome man. He likes adventures and black arts. That made him conquered every women he desired. Let's say troubles went along with him. He was not a bad man but he, kind of, was that way.

Khun Chang was fat and bald so everyone considered him ugly. He was kind of envy Khun Pan in every way. The only thing that made him above Khun Pan is he was rich.

Because Khun Pan was adventurous so, his story was much more than Khun Chang's. Everyone can add any kind of adventures to his story so, no one knows the original story of his adventures.

So, the term Khun Pan represents a handsome man who always flirts with women (in Thai we call "chao-choo". what do you call in English??). Everywhere he goes, he scores one, kind of.

The term Khun Chang represents "ugly but rich".

Those girls called you Khun Pan so, they considered you handsome and flirting. They called your friend Khun Chang so, they considered him bald but loaded.

Was that so??