The Two Sisters Who Saved Phuket: Thao Thepkasattri and Thao Sri Sunhon
Every day, thousands of people drive past the big statue of two women on the road between Phuket Airport and Phuket Town. Most know it as the Heroines Monument. Fewer know the real story behind the figures; two sisters who helped turn a small, leaderless town into a force that made a Burmese army give up and go home.
Their names were Chan and Mook, but history knows them as Thao Thepkasattri and Thao Sri Sunthon. Locals still call them Ya Chan and Ya Mook – Grandma Chan and Grandma Mook.
A Kingdom On Shaky Ground
The year was 1785. Siam was still picking up the pieces after the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767 and the turbulent reign of King Taksin. General Chakri had just founded the new Chakri dynasty in Bangkok, later crowned as King Rama I, but his grip on the kingdom was far from secure.
To the west, the Burmese Konbaung King Bodawpaya saw his chance. He launched one of the largest invasions Siam had ever faced, sending multiple armies through different passes and fronts. Thai history calls it the 9 Armies War.
One of those armies headed south for Thalang, the main town on the island we now call Phuket. Thalang was rich from tin and trade, and its fall would give Burma a strong foothold on the Andaman coast.
No Governor, No Army – But Two Sisters Step Forward
When the Burmese advanced, Thalang was in a terrible position. The governor had recently died, leaving the town without its main leader. There was no large standing army, no easy way to call for help from Bangkok, and a powerful enemy at the gates.
Into this vacuum stepped two women from the governor’s family: his widow, Lady Chan (Khun Ying Chan), and her younger sister, Lady Mook (Khun Ying Muk). In a society where military command was almost always male, they took charge anyway.
They rallied the people of Thalang; men, women, elders, even teenagers, and organised them into a defence force. Some accounts describe women shaving their heads, dressing as men, and joining patrols so the town looked more heavily defended than it really was.
The Month-Long Siege of Thalang
The Burmese laid siege to Thalang and settled in for what they expected to be an easy victory. Instead, they found a town that refused to crack.
Chan and Mook used a mix of practical defence and psychological tricks:
– They placed defenders along the walls and key points, making sure the Burmese always saw movement and activity.
– They had groups march out of town by one route and circle back by another, so it looked like fresh reinforcements were arriving from Bangkok.
– They used smoldering coconut husks, improvised weapons, and noisy demonstrations to suggest heavier firepower and larger numbers.
For about a month, the Burmese hammered at Thalang but could not break its spirit or its defences. For the attackers, supplies ran low, morale dropped, and the attackers realised they were stuck in a costly stalemate far from their main bases.
On 13 March 1786 (often remembered locally as 1785, the year the invasion began), the Burmese force withdrew. Thalang had held. Phuket had been saved.
A Trick Also Used At Kanchanaburi
The “march out and back” trick wasn’t unique to Phuket. The same Nine Armies War saw similar tactics on the western front near Kanchanaburi, where King Rama I and his brother, the famous General Maha Sura Singhanat, faced the main Burmese thrust.
Thai commanders there also played with perception. According to accounts, Maha Sura Singhanat ordered troops to withdraw at night and return in the morning, making the Burmese believe fresh armies were constantly arriving. He even had wooden cannonballs made from local timber to simulate endless ammunition, keeping up heavy fire without wasting real shot.
Today, the 9 Armies Battle Historical Park north of Kanchanaburi town marks that battlefield, with dioramas and displays explaining how a smaller Siamese force used strategy, terrain, and deception to stop a much larger Burmese army.
If you consider the distance between Kanchanaburi and Phuket, you can imagine the massive war that was taking place, and they were not the only targets of the Burmese forces.
In both Kanchanaburi and Thalang, the pattern is the same: outnumbered Siamese forces, clever use of psychology, and local people pulled into the defence. The difference in Phuket is that two women were at the centre of the story.
Royal Titles And New Name In History
When news of the victory reached Bangkok, King Rama I honoured the sisters with some of the highest noble titles a non‑royal woman could receive.
– Lady Chan became Thao Thepkasattri (ท้าวเทพกระษัตรี).
– Lady Mook became Thao Sri Sunthon (ท้าวศรีสุนทร).
The title “Thao” marked them as high-ranking nobles; the rest of their names became part of official history. Yet in everyday speech on Phuket, people kept calling them Ya Chan and Ya Mook, a sign that they belonged as much to local memory as to royal chronicles.
From Thalang To The Heroines Monument
Thalang remained Phuket’s main town through much of the 19th century, before the focus shifted to Phuket Town as the tin industry boomed and Chinese towkays built the shophouses we see today. But the story of the heroines never faded.
In the early 1900s, King Rama VI proposed a monument to honour them, but it took decades before the plan became reality. The Heroines Monument we know today was built in the 1960s and officially unveiled in 1966–67.
Standing on a busy roundabout on Thepkasattri Road, the monument shows Chan and Mook in traditional dress, calm but resolute. For many visitors, it’s just a landmark on the way to the beach. For locals, it’s a symbol of Phuket’s identity and resilience.
The Heroines Festival And Living Memory
Every year around 13 March, Phuket marks “Thalang Victory Day” by celebrating the Heroines Monument Festival. There are ceremonies at Wat Mueang Komaraphat in Thalang, processions, cultural performances, and offerings at the monument.
During this period, you’ll see school groups, officials, and ordinary people laying flowers and incense at the base of the statues. Some come to pay respect to the heroines as historical figures; others treat them almost like guardian spirits of the island.
Beyond the big monument, smaller shrines and local stories keep Ya Chan and Ya Mook alive in daily life. Ask an older resident in Thalang about them and you’ll often get more than dates and titles, you’ll get a sense that these women are still part of the family history of Phuket.
Why Their Story Still Matters
The tale of Thao Thepkasattri and Thao Sri Sunthon fits neatly into the bigger picture of Thai–Burmese wars, but it stands out for a few reasons:
Women At The Center
In most war stories from this period, women appear in the background as victims, supporters, or symbols. Here, two women are the leaders, organisers, and public faces of resistance.
Community Defence, Not An Army Victory
Thalang didn’t have a professional army. Its strength came from ordinary people like farmers, traders, fishermen, and their families, who all pulled together under pressure. That makes the story feel close to home for many Thais, especially in the south.
Parallel to Kanchanaburi
The same war, similar tricks, but very different landscapes: the plains and passes of Kanchanaburi versus the tin-rich island of Phuket. Together, these stories show how widespread and coordinated the Siamese resistance was in 1785–86.
For visitors today, the Heroines Monument is more than a photo op. It’s a doorway into a moment when Phuket’s fate hung in the balance and two sisters helped tip it the right way
Visiting Sites Connected To The Heroines
If you want to follow this story on the ground, there are three main places to consider:
The Heroines Monument (Thao Thepkasattri–Thao Sri Sunthon Monument). It’s on Thepkasattri Road (Highway 402) between Phuket Airport and Phuket Town, in Thalang district. Open 24 hours as it’s on a roundabout; best visited early morning or late afternoon for less traffic, although it’s always busy.
Thalang National Museum A short distance from the monument, this small museum has exhibits on local history, including the 1785 defence and the heroines. It’s a good place to add context before or after seeing the monument.
Nine-Army Battle Historical Park, Kanchanaburi About 3 hours drive from Bangkok in a remote area, this park commemorates the main battlefield of the Nine Armies War. Dioramas, maps, and displays explain the tactics used by Rama I and Maha Sura Singhanat, including the decoy troop movements that echo the tricks used in Thalang. One of the soldiers who look after the place will open the museum and describe the scenes.
Putting these together makes a powerful historical route; from the central front in Kanchanaburi to the southern island defence in Phuket, all under the shadow of the same war.
A Story Worth Telling
Writing about Thailand, it’s easy to focus on beaches, viewpoints, and food. But places like Thalang remind us that every landscape has layers. Under the busy roads and tourist signs is a history of invasion, resistance, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Chan and Mook didn’t set out to become national heroines. They simply refused to let their home fall without a fight. That decision, made in a month of siege and uncertainty, still shapes how Phuket sees itself today.
Next time you pass the two statues on the roundabout, it’s worth slowing down for a moment. Behind the impressive monument are real people, a real siege, and a story that helped define an island.