Thailand History
Archeological findings indicate that the earliest civilizations in the area would have been established around 3600BC. Eventually, several civilizations flourished in the area, including the Khmer, the Malay, and the Mon. The Thais, whose origin remains vague, most likely came from Yunnan or Szechwan regions of China in around 600BC. They formed part of the larger Tai-Kadeh ethnic group that includes the Lao, and the Tho and Nung people of northern Vietnam among others. From China, they would have arrived to the area of modern day Thailand in successive waves, gradually displacing the Mon and Khmer populations (both of whom contributed to the original ethnic mixture that today is called "The Thai people"). With a large group settling in the 10th century, the Thais were eventually able to dominate the area, and in the 13th century established the kingdoms of Sukhothai (1238) and Lan Na (1259). Rulership in Sukhothai was brief, and another Thai state, the kingdom of Ayutthaya became the dominant power in 1365, under the rule of King Ramathibodi. This king established Theravada Bhuddism as the official religion of the region and formalized the Thai legal code. Ayutthaya grew in importance with the fall of the Lan Na Kindgom to the Burmese in 1558, and its rule extended from the Malay Peninsula to northern Thailand. The Burmese were eventually able to invade Ayutthaya in 1750 and burned the capital city to the ground. However the Thais were quick to recover and drove out the Burmese invaders in 1767 under the leadership of General Taksin, a noble of Chinese descent. In 1768 Taksin was crowned as King, and secured his base in Siam by occupying western Cambodia and re-establishing Thai rule over the Malay Peninsula. Finally, in 1774 he attacked the Burmese in the north, capturing Lan Na, and effectively uniting all Thai states under one kingdom. A new capital was established at Thonburi. The king however, alienated many of the power bases in Siam, including the Buddhist order of monks and the Chinese merchant class. In 1782 a rebellion deposed the king and offered the throne to General Chakri, who became known as King Rama I, the first king of the Chakri dynasty that survives till today. King Rama I, moved the Capital across the river from Thonburi to the village of Bang Makok (which eventually evolved into the modern city of Bangkok). By this point, western powers were well underway in their exploration of the region, and Siam’s first contact with the West was with the Portuguese in the 16th century. The threat of European colonialism became apparent to Siam with the British defeat of Burmese forces in 1826, and even more so when France conquered Vietnam in the mid 19th century. Over the century that followed, the Kingdom was forced to contend with more and more pressure from the British, the French, and even the United States, losing several of its outlying territories (such as portions of Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Malaysia) in the process. All of this forced the country to modernize itself rapidly and open its economy to foreign powers. In the end Siam was able to maintain its independence through the skillful diplomacy of its leaders, surviving into the 20th century as the only country in Southeast Asia to have avoided colonial rule. Following World War I, several years of worsening economic activity resulted in the bloodless military coup of 1932, converting Siam’s absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. During World War II, Thailand was invaded by the Japanese, with whom it signed a military alliance. Japanese enrolled the Thais into forced labour programs aimed at strengthening the military infrastructure. The infamous bridge over the river Kwai in modern-day Kanchunarubi is one example, cinematically popularized - in, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" -by the thousands of British, British Imperial and American prisoners of war that died during its construction. Typical of Hollywood and mainstream Western awareness, the fact that well over 100,000 Thais also lost their lives was obscured in the film. Since the Second World War, Thailand has maintained good relations with the US, which was seen as a protector from the growing threat of communist revolutions happening in the area. After several decades of instability marked by several more military coups, Thailand finally moved towards democracy in the 1980's, with a brief period of military rule from 1991 to 1992. In 1997, however, Thailand’s economy was crippled by the Asian financial crisis, entailing the rapid devaluation the Thai Baht. Thailand’s economy has been recovering slowly, but mounting controversy surrounding Thailand’s most recent president, billionaire Takshin Shinawatra, soon had him deposed in September 2006 with yet another coup reinstating military rule in the country. Last edited Aug 30, 07 3:20 PM. |
Travel Tips for History of Thailand
Kanchanaburi, Central Thailand, Thailand
Do the train on the death railway. It's like going back into history. When i did this, i can't help by feel nostalgic about the whole experience. I can't help but imagine the many PoWs who perished while constructing the railway. That aside, the views you get on this train journey is fantastic. The Bridge Over River Kwai is another monumental and historical structure. You must not miss this.
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Samut Prakan, Central Thailand, Thailand
There are few cool things to do in Samut Prakarn. My historical trip to Samut Prakarn , Thailand was unforgettable. Bangkok is the nearest city to Samut Prakarn. Muang Boran or so called the ancient city has the world's largest outdoor museum. I paid like 300 Baht for the entrance fee. If you do not have time to travel around the different historical parks in Thailand to witness the splendors of its past, this is the place to go. The arts and culture of Thailand are being beautifully crafted and displayed on the land. This is an innovative park-cum-museum (Muang Boran in Thai) in which visitors can learn about Thai architecture and history. As you drive around, you will find famous buildings, monuments and temples representing all regions in Thailand . You need a private car to navigate around the 280-acre outdoor museum. Do set aside a whole day for this visit, as the attraction is located a little outside Bangkok , in Samut Prakan. A few kilometres from Muang Boran is the famous Crocodile Farm in Samut Prakarn. The croc farm was founded by Thailand's famous crocodile king this crocodile farm ranks as one of the world's largest housing a diverse range of more than 60,000 fresh and seawater crocodiles, including the largest ever held in captivity. Apart from the crocodile wrestling, putting heads in crocs mouths, shows that runs every hour, you can also watch trained elephants, gibbons, lions and snakes, amongst other animals. Absolutely amazing! I come from Sarawak ( Borneo ) believe me, our rivers are home to the notorious crocs too!
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Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand
This is the real name of Bangkok... Don't stay more than 3 days... BKK is crowdy and lost of pollution in the street. Interesting city anyway, full of history.. Good place to see : Wat Po / Great Palace / Siam district / chinese district / MBK / Kao San Rd...
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Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand
Last night, people from all over Thailand sat up to watch the most spectacular light-show in history as the annual Leonids meteor shower rained down on the country - Except me, because I was sleeping off my flight. I half expected to wake up this morning and find that everyone else was blind and that man-eating plants were roaming the streets(1), but according to The Nation, the countries independent newspaper which was pushed under my door at dawn, the whole thing turned out to be a major disappointment. Since I was too jetlagged to stay up and watch, though, I cannot comment on what a major disappointment might be by Thai standards - this is, after all, a country which likes to cover it's temples in Gold! After recovering from breakfast, I headed out to see what this famous land of temptation had to offer - But it's not like that at all. Between the buildings, there is the constant glint of the out-of-town gold encrusted temples, and across the road from the hotel is the beautiful Limphini Park, which a booklet in my room suggests would be an ideal place to go jogging in the early morning heat. This is the same booklet which I filed carefully in the bin after laughing wholeheartedly at it for some time. There is something oddly disturbing about Bangkok - You can sense that it is there, but can never quite put your finger on it. You can walk for miles in any direction, along seemingly endless streets of shops with people begging outside, but never actually seem to get anywhere.
Occasionally, Patpong looms up expectedly in front of you, screaming out "Look - Sex here". It doesn't seem to matter which way you go, either, all roads seem to twist and turn until you find yourself back at the red light district. Or is it just me?!? Bangkok also has an unpleasant smell to it in places, which seems to go away if you move a little way up the street: I have absolutely no clue as to what this is. Within ten minutes of walking, it is vitally important to sit down for an hour and take a course of rehydration therapy - I have never been so hot in my life. When I got back to the Dusit Thani this morning, after a little over an hour outside, a maid was making up my bed, and she burst into fits of giggles when I staggered through the door, my previously top of the range shirt looking as though I had been swimming in Limphini lake with all my clothes on:
"You take Tee-Shirt next time," she advised me helpfully. Personally, I think I'd still be sweating if I'd gone out wearing nothing but a loincloth. Tonight, I decided to take a stroll up to a local restaurant for a bite to eat. On the way out of the hotel, I was accosted by a taxi driver who wanted to know where he could take me. Having explained politely that I was only going up the road, he called after me: "You come back later for Massage, yes?" I can only assume that he wanted to take me to a massage parlour, rather than perform the service himself. You never can tell in Bangkok. Trying to cross the road here is really something that has to be experienced. The traffic lights don't seem to perform any real function of value: Red means Stop, and Green means "Look, there's a British tourist - Put your foot down!"
Now, I realise that this might sound a little on the paranoid side, but I really cannot make any sense of the logic behind the system. When a light turns red on a busy crossroads, only one flow of cars seems to stop, the other three just head on into the junction and try to weave around each other. It really is lucky that Bangkok seems to have one of the most modern monorail systems I've seen, its sleek new trains sailing over my head as I walk down the street; its stations long and accommodating and the route maps easy to follow even for foreigners. There's no problem finding your way around Bangkok by train, it's only when you get down to street level at your destination that the head scratching begins. Many a British tourist can be found standing on street corners, dripping with sweat, peering myopically over a large unfolded map and trying not to lose the will to live! On my way to the restaurant, I noticed that Bangkok really does seem to come alive at night: The streets are all lit up Vegas style, and the beggars are replaced by hookers plying their trade. I was propositioned outside Burger King by the most seductive thing on two legs, and she was just trying to sell me a Whopper. I finally reached my destination, and was served a lump of meat which looked as though it had been cooked for all of twelve seconds. I could see the plague coming out. Still, it was a hot meal, so I tucked in and took my chances.
They had something on the menu called "Samurai Pork", which I was strongly tempted to try instead purely out of unwise curiosity, but then I had visions of big Japanese warriors with ceremonial swords chasing squealing pigs around the kitchen, and I went off the idea. I am getting the distinct feeling that Bangkok is one of those places you should see before you die, but once you've seen it you'll want to move on quickly. Two days in Bangkok is probably all you'll ever need. (1) If you don't understand this reference, or just think I've gone totally mad, you should read John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids . Anyway, it's a classic so you really should know what I'm on about, right?
You can read my complete travel journals at http://www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer
Occasionally, Patpong looms up expectedly in front of you, screaming out "Look - Sex here". It doesn't seem to matter which way you go, either, all roads seem to twist and turn until you find yourself back at the red light district. Or is it just me?!? Bangkok also has an unpleasant smell to it in places, which seems to go away if you move a little way up the street: I have absolutely no clue as to what this is. Within ten minutes of walking, it is vitally important to sit down for an hour and take a course of rehydration therapy - I have never been so hot in my life. When I got back to the Dusit Thani this morning, after a little over an hour outside, a maid was making up my bed, and she burst into fits of giggles when I staggered through the door, my previously top of the range shirt looking as though I had been swimming in Limphini lake with all my clothes on:
"You take Tee-Shirt next time," she advised me helpfully. Personally, I think I'd still be sweating if I'd gone out wearing nothing but a loincloth. Tonight, I decided to take a stroll up to a local restaurant for a bite to eat. On the way out of the hotel, I was accosted by a taxi driver who wanted to know where he could take me. Having explained politely that I was only going up the road, he called after me: "You come back later for Massage, yes?" I can only assume that he wanted to take me to a massage parlour, rather than perform the service himself. You never can tell in Bangkok. Trying to cross the road here is really something that has to be experienced. The traffic lights don't seem to perform any real function of value: Red means Stop, and Green means "Look, there's a British tourist - Put your foot down!"
Now, I realise that this might sound a little on the paranoid side, but I really cannot make any sense of the logic behind the system. When a light turns red on a busy crossroads, only one flow of cars seems to stop, the other three just head on into the junction and try to weave around each other. It really is lucky that Bangkok seems to have one of the most modern monorail systems I've seen, its sleek new trains sailing over my head as I walk down the street; its stations long and accommodating and the route maps easy to follow even for foreigners. There's no problem finding your way around Bangkok by train, it's only when you get down to street level at your destination that the head scratching begins. Many a British tourist can be found standing on street corners, dripping with sweat, peering myopically over a large unfolded map and trying not to lose the will to live! On my way to the restaurant, I noticed that Bangkok really does seem to come alive at night: The streets are all lit up Vegas style, and the beggars are replaced by hookers plying their trade. I was propositioned outside Burger King by the most seductive thing on two legs, and she was just trying to sell me a Whopper. I finally reached my destination, and was served a lump of meat which looked as though it had been cooked for all of twelve seconds. I could see the plague coming out. Still, it was a hot meal, so I tucked in and took my chances.
They had something on the menu called "Samurai Pork", which I was strongly tempted to try instead purely out of unwise curiosity, but then I had visions of big Japanese warriors with ceremonial swords chasing squealing pigs around the kitchen, and I went off the idea. I am getting the distinct feeling that Bangkok is one of those places you should see before you die, but once you've seen it you'll want to move on quickly. Two days in Bangkok is probably all you'll ever need. (1) If you don't understand this reference, or just think I've gone totally mad, you should read John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids . Anyway, it's a classic so you really should know what I'm on about, right?
You can read my complete travel journals at http://www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer
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Phuket, Andaman Coast, Thailand
I had a pretty fair idea of what I wanted to do in Phuket before I even left England, thanks mainly to the amount of people who suddenly turned out to have been here and wanted to tell me all about it. So, when my tour rep turned up in the lobby this morning with his clipboard, hard-sell face and book entitled "1001 ways to get people to do what you want them to do", he was rather surprised to find that it took him all of fifteen seconds to sell me on the idea of doing exactly what I came here to do in the first place. He probably got promoted. So, clutching my tickets for a trip to Phi-Phi Island and to the beautiful bays around the coast over the next two days, I set out to see Patong by day. As with all places, the town is considerably different without the beating music and bright lights of night time. In fact, it was quiet and relaxed this morning, full of couples walking along the beach arm in arm. At the first travel shop I came to, I booked myself onto an "Introduction to Phuket" tour which was leaving within the next few minutes and which confidently promised to show me some of the sights of the island in 4 hours. This tour set me back the princely sum of 300 Baht - about a fiver - so I didn't really expect much more than a basic drive to a couple of temples. On the whole, though, I think it was money well spent: The "English Speaking" guide was obviously from the Chinese school of English, and spoke so fast that it was hard to believe he was speaking English at all, but for 300 Baht I wasn't about to complain. Christ, for that sort of money I think I would've been quite happy with the Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show! I did start to get a bit annoyed with the way the guide kept saying "Yes?" at the end of every sentence, though, as though he was trying to convince himself that he was telling us the facts. And I did start to become a bit sceptical when he informed us matter-of-factly as though talking to a group of 5 year olds that they have to train monkeys to pick coconuts for them as they have discovered that only monkeys can avoid the poisoned fruit on their trees. It apparently takes 6 months to train a monkey to do this, and there is a University for monkeys in Bangkok for this purpose, we were informed. I have just one problem with this. If it takes 6 months to train a monkey to not eat poisoned fruit, what do they do with all the dead monkeys? Our first stop on the tour was at a lookout point at the very top of the island, where we all scurried off to take our first photos of the breathtaking scenery. This is one thing that Phuket has in abundance. According to the guide, who I was starting to think was making it all up as he went along, parts of Jurassic Park were shot on the island - although people disagree as to exactly where and when and nobody seems to actually be able to remember any camera crews or anything. Looking at the views of the forests and beaches stretching away to the horizon, it certainly isn't difficult to imagine a few Raptors down there though. The highlight of the day for me was our afternoon visit to Wat Chalong, a supremely beautiful Buddhist temple built on a traditionally grand scale and somehow exactly the opposite of what I was expecting from Phuket after the obvious excesses of Patong Beach. In fact, the place is such a culture shock after arrival in Patong that it takes quite a while walking around the extensive gardens and market stalls before you even feel worthy to set foot inside. Wat Chalong is the pride of the island, a fact that was obvious just to hear our guide talk about it's history and the miracles said to have been performed there as though he considered it his honour to pass on every drop of knowledge he had ever learned about the place.
The temple had a major part to play in the war between Chinese secret societies in the 19th century. At this time the island was something of a power in Tin Mining, and Chinese workers came looking for work and started to create societies. Unfortunately, the workers started to get a bit upset when the owners of the land and tin mines decided they weren't about to allow them to partake of opium as they were used to, and they took it upon themselves to begin a murderous rampage. Locals fled to the temple where the Abbot did all that Buddhism would allow which was help rally the people to fight back against the attackers. Despite quite rigorous fighting from the Chinese side, the opium finally got the better of them and they were overwhelmed by the locals. When this all got back to the king the Abbot was called before him for a well earned promotion, and Wat Chalong became a royal temple. The temple is filled with statues, and every single inch of it is covered in gold as I should have come to expect by now. The walls are covered in paintings depicting the Buddha's life, and statues of previous abbots adorn the corridors. The grounds are amazing, gardens stretch out in all directions and are a pleasure to walk around, and today there were market stalls set up on the boundaries through which I spent a good half hour of browsing: just sitting in the grounds in silence for a few minutes is almost enough to make you want to take the vow. One room of the Wat was full of locals praying and we tiptoed respectfully through watching them meditate or sit in silent prayer, although none of them seemed to be remotely bothered or worried by our presence. Buddhists are, of course, nothing if not understanding and tolerant - something which is refreshing to say the least after spending a lifetime in the West where everything is stress and rush. Some would argue, for this reason, that Buddhism is in fact not so much a religion as a philosophy. It is, if you are interested in a slight digression at this point, a set of teachings based entirely on, not the belief in any particular divine entity, but the words of a man called Siddhartha who achieved enlightenment around 2500 years ago at the age of 35 while sitting under a pipal fig tree. These, naturally, were gentler times when a name like Sid Arthur meant you were a respected prince rather than a wheeler/dealer type from the east end of London. Anyway, Siddhartha Guatama was born and raised in ancient India in the region now known as Nepal, and had spent his early life as a prince, being given whatever he desired before being married off at the age of 16 to his cousin. He seems to have led something of a sheltered life because only as he approached his 30th birthday did he decide to actually leave the house and survey his kingdom. It must have come as something of a shock to come across the sick, the old and the dying for the first time because Siddhartha promptly announced that he needed to find the path of enlightenment, packed his bags and headed off to devote the rest of his life to abstinence from all worldly pleasures in an attempt to prevent such unpleasant things as death and old age from happening to him. Over the next few years Siddhartha became a beggar, studied under several hermit teachers, brought meditation down to a fine art and just about managed to starve himself to death by taking abstinence to the ultimate extreme and restricting himself to a leaf a day. To paraphrase the teachings of Buddha slightly here, this is the point at which Siddhartha decided he needed a new plan.
So Siddhartha created the "Middle way", which has a slightly different meaning depending on which branch of Buddhism you listen to but which is essentially a transcendental path away from self satisfaction and worldly pleasures and towards the pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment. Settling down to meditate under the Pipal tree, he told his companions that he wasn't going to get up again until he had understood the truth about everything - this he duly did after several weeks, but not before all his friends had, unsurprisingly, gone home. Siddhartha Guatama had finally achieved enlightenment and become the Buddha, or "Awakened one".
Enlightenment brought with it an understanding of the four noble truths of Buddhism, which would appear to be a series of statements which connect together logically - we crave our desires (some wish to attain pleasure, some wish to attain happiness, some wish to kill and some wish to love, etc); these cravings lead to suffering; to relieve suffering one must eliminate craving; to eliminate craving, one must follow the Eightfold path: correct outlook, correct intentions, correct speech, correct actions, correct work, correct amount of effort, correct mindfulness, correct amount of concentration. Following the Eightfold path will ultimately lead anyone to the state of Nirvana which, as a child, I firmly believed was the next state over from California! Of course, the western way of thinking tells us that happiness is whatever we want it to be. If you find true happiness in meditation and giving up all earthly vices, then that's fine - but if your idea of supreme bliss is going out on a Saturday night, getting totally rat-arsed and waking up in somebody else's bed, then that's fine too. I came across the following story while updating this entry, which I thought I would share with you for it's humour value. It would appear that one of the ex-abbots of Wat Chalong, Luang Poh Cham, was promised by a local girl that she would cover his genitals in golf leaf if he cured her with his magical walking stick. However, after being cured she subsequently forgot about her promise and fell ill again because the Thai's believe that breaking a promise will result in evil falling upon them. The girl's parents returned her to the Abbot for an explanation, whereupon he saved the day by sitting on his walking stick in such a way that it stuck out from the front of his robes and the girl was able to coat it in golf leaf, become cured again, and remain none the wiser...
The temple had a major part to play in the war between Chinese secret societies in the 19th century. At this time the island was something of a power in Tin Mining, and Chinese workers came looking for work and started to create societies. Unfortunately, the workers started to get a bit upset when the owners of the land and tin mines decided they weren't about to allow them to partake of opium as they were used to, and they took it upon themselves to begin a murderous rampage. Locals fled to the temple where the Abbot did all that Buddhism would allow which was help rally the people to fight back against the attackers. Despite quite rigorous fighting from the Chinese side, the opium finally got the better of them and they were overwhelmed by the locals. When this all got back to the king the Abbot was called before him for a well earned promotion, and Wat Chalong became a royal temple. The temple is filled with statues, and every single inch of it is covered in gold as I should have come to expect by now. The walls are covered in paintings depicting the Buddha's life, and statues of previous abbots adorn the corridors. The grounds are amazing, gardens stretch out in all directions and are a pleasure to walk around, and today there were market stalls set up on the boundaries through which I spent a good half hour of browsing: just sitting in the grounds in silence for a few minutes is almost enough to make you want to take the vow. One room of the Wat was full of locals praying and we tiptoed respectfully through watching them meditate or sit in silent prayer, although none of them seemed to be remotely bothered or worried by our presence. Buddhists are, of course, nothing if not understanding and tolerant - something which is refreshing to say the least after spending a lifetime in the West where everything is stress and rush. Some would argue, for this reason, that Buddhism is in fact not so much a religion as a philosophy. It is, if you are interested in a slight digression at this point, a set of teachings based entirely on, not the belief in any particular divine entity, but the words of a man called Siddhartha who achieved enlightenment around 2500 years ago at the age of 35 while sitting under a pipal fig tree. These, naturally, were gentler times when a name like Sid Arthur meant you were a respected prince rather than a wheeler/dealer type from the east end of London. Anyway, Siddhartha Guatama was born and raised in ancient India in the region now known as Nepal, and had spent his early life as a prince, being given whatever he desired before being married off at the age of 16 to his cousin. He seems to have led something of a sheltered life because only as he approached his 30th birthday did he decide to actually leave the house and survey his kingdom. It must have come as something of a shock to come across the sick, the old and the dying for the first time because Siddhartha promptly announced that he needed to find the path of enlightenment, packed his bags and headed off to devote the rest of his life to abstinence from all worldly pleasures in an attempt to prevent such unpleasant things as death and old age from happening to him. Over the next few years Siddhartha became a beggar, studied under several hermit teachers, brought meditation down to a fine art and just about managed to starve himself to death by taking abstinence to the ultimate extreme and restricting himself to a leaf a day. To paraphrase the teachings of Buddha slightly here, this is the point at which Siddhartha decided he needed a new plan.
So Siddhartha created the "Middle way", which has a slightly different meaning depending on which branch of Buddhism you listen to but which is essentially a transcendental path away from self satisfaction and worldly pleasures and towards the pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment. Settling down to meditate under the Pipal tree, he told his companions that he wasn't going to get up again until he had understood the truth about everything - this he duly did after several weeks, but not before all his friends had, unsurprisingly, gone home. Siddhartha Guatama had finally achieved enlightenment and become the Buddha, or "Awakened one".
Enlightenment brought with it an understanding of the four noble truths of Buddhism, which would appear to be a series of statements which connect together logically - we crave our desires (some wish to attain pleasure, some wish to attain happiness, some wish to kill and some wish to love, etc); these cravings lead to suffering; to relieve suffering one must eliminate craving; to eliminate craving, one must follow the Eightfold path: correct outlook, correct intentions, correct speech, correct actions, correct work, correct amount of effort, correct mindfulness, correct amount of concentration. Following the Eightfold path will ultimately lead anyone to the state of Nirvana which, as a child, I firmly believed was the next state over from California! Of course, the western way of thinking tells us that happiness is whatever we want it to be. If you find true happiness in meditation and giving up all earthly vices, then that's fine - but if your idea of supreme bliss is going out on a Saturday night, getting totally rat-arsed and waking up in somebody else's bed, then that's fine too. I came across the following story while updating this entry, which I thought I would share with you for it's humour value. It would appear that one of the ex-abbots of Wat Chalong, Luang Poh Cham, was promised by a local girl that she would cover his genitals in golf leaf if he cured her with his magical walking stick. However, after being cured she subsequently forgot about her promise and fell ill again because the Thai's believe that breaking a promise will result in evil falling upon them. The girl's parents returned her to the Abbot for an explanation, whereupon he saved the day by sitting on his walking stick in such a way that it stuck out from the front of his robes and the girl was able to coat it in golf leaf, become cured again, and remain none the wiser...
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