A Night Out with Ya Mo

Last night, I ordered take out pizza from the Pizza Company and had 35 minutes to kill, so I took a walk around the Ya Mo monument in downtown Korat. Ya Mo, or grandmother Mo, is the matriarch of Korat.


Ummm.... sometime in the past, while the men were off somewhere supporting the King of Thailand, invaders from Laos came and attacked Korat. Instead of handing over the city, Ya Mo led an army of women against the Lao invaders and was able to hold them off until the men of Korat were able to return and eventually turn them back.

To this day, people from Korat call themselves the children of Ya Mo.

Here's a picture of her monument and people paying homage to her and/or making a wish. I asked her for a favor myself. Hope she comes through for me.

This year from December 6th to the 15th, the SEA Games (Southeast Asia Games - like the regional Olympics) are being held in Korat. Here's the mascot, the Korat Cat, which is a famous breed of cat.

Here's a real Korat cat. The place was teaming with them.

With the SEA games being here, Korat has really outdone itself putting on performances and fireworks for all the athletes and visitors. Here's a show being put on next to the Ya Mo monument.

Not a great picture, but here's another monument, representing Ya Mo and her army of women.

This was strange. Behind the Ya Mo monument was a 100 ft long bulletin board with lists and lists of names. Turns out that these are the names of all the citizens of Korat who are registered to vote in the upcoming election - over a million people. They can come here and check their name to make sure they are properly registered.

Hey, Korat's Finest are here, too.