Mystical Thailand is filled with many ancient myths and legends. Through these ancient stories, visitors can appreciate the the exotic, ancient and mysterious character of Esan. One such legend is the story of the ancient city of Ek Thee Tha that lies buried under the waters of Nong Harn lake, in the province of Sakhon Nakhon. It is a tragic love story involving a very beautiful woman and two men. It has echoes of Shakespeare’s finest plays, it has the characters and monsters reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, it describes a land straight out of Game of Thrones.

1000 years ago, during the Khmer empire, the area around Nong Harn lake was ruled by a local governor, who had an extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Nang Ai Kham. Nang Ai Kham was being pursued by two suitors. Thaom Pha Daeng, a handsome prince from the nearby city of Pha Phong . And Thao Pankee, the son of the Naga ruler of the Underworld. Nagas are a race of half human, half serpent creatures. The Prince was given permission to marry the beautiful daughter if he could win the upcoming rocket competition. Unfortunately, the Prince’s rocket failed. Thao Pankee seized his opportunity. He turned himself from a serpent into a white squirrel with a melodious bell, to attract the attention and love of the daughter. The plan worked initially. Nang Ai Kham sent a team of hunters to capture the squirrel, with whom she had fallen in love. Unfortunately, the hunters accidentally killed the white squirrel with a bow. On his death, the white squirrel (Thao Pankee) prayed that his body could be food for the people of the city, that it should be delicious and feed everyone. When the people distributed the squirrel meat, miraculously it multiplied, and fed everyone. When the Naga King learned of his son’s death, he sent a great serpent army to destroy the city. During the night, thunderstorms, lightning and rain happened. Tens of thousands of serpents emerged from the lake and caused the city to collapse and sink into the waters. The Prince tried to rescue Nang Ai Kham, but they were unable to out-run the serpent army, and the rising water. By the morning, the city of Ek Thee Ta had disappeared completely, and all life extinguished.

Today, Esan people continue to believe a great Naga serpent lives beneath the waters of Nong Harn and is responsible for making the rain. Visitors today can visit a vast white Naga statue, by the side of the lake, at the Kasetsart University Lotus Flower memorial pond in Sahkon Nakhon city.

This wonderful, exotic story captures the exotic mystery of Esan, an ancient land of beautiful women, and great myths. A land that time forgot. Thailand’s greatest secret. A paradise hiding in plain sight, ignored by the 40 million visitors to Thailand. It is time to change that.

Esan Girl : Real Thai Beauty, is an art project that celebrates the natural beauty of Esan through female figurative paintings of real-life girls from Esan. Esan sits at the centre of the project because of the special beauty of Esan girls, the natural beauty of the northeast countryside, and Esan’s unique history, culture and people. Through the project, we hope to reveal some aspects of this very special place.

Esan, the Northeast region of Thailand is a “big country”, a larger-than-life place of extremes, a land of ancient history, a place defined by its location, its geography, its weather, and its people. It comprises 20 provinces, is home to 22 million people, and covers an area the size of Spain. It is Thailand’s largest region. It sits on the enormous Khorat plateau, bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast, and the Phanom Dong Rak mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima. It is a vast land, 155000 square kilometers, spread across two great plains, the southern Khorat plain, and the northern Sakhon Nakhon plain. It is an undulating land of rice fields, gentle hills, and 22 national parks, largely forest. It is shaped by water, its magnificent rivers (the Mekong, the Mun, and the Songkhram), and its mighty lakes (Nong Harn and Talay Bua Daeng). Esan experiences extreme weather, intense heat and heavy rainfall. The economy is largely agricultural, based on small family-owned farms, with sticky rice being the most important crop.

Esan history is complicated and has been determined by its location and geography. It is the Northeast border region of contemporary Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Its history has been dominated by its 3 neighbors. While the geographical border of the Khorat plateau has remained unchanged, country borders have changed regularly with the rise and fall of various kingdoms.