Five of the creepiest places in Asia to spend your Halloween

Here are the five spookiest places in Asia to visit this Halloween that will put your local haunted house to shame. 

(Disclaimer: these are not for the faint of heart.)

 
1. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Cambodia

2. Bhangarh Fort, India

3. Lipe Island, Thailand

4. Himuro Mansion, Japan

5. Liu Mansion of Minsyong, Taiwan

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Weretigers or Werecats in Asian Mythlogy

In the cultures of the West, Werewolves and Vampires are very much popular.
However in the East, where Asians lived in, it is instead more about Weretigers.

While werewolves were thought to be the predators of vampire by nature but however, most of the time these predators are in the control of their prey, the Vampires in most stories.

So , Werewolves are by nature predators of Vampires and in turn the are the prey to their predators , the Weretigers whom are mostly Asian, their distant cousin!

We have all heard of the werewolf. The werewolf has a distant cousin, so to speak. Not as well known outside of Asia, is a mythical creature called a weretiger, also more recently known as a werecat. Before the late 19th century they were all known as weretigers. They are not to be mistaken for the spirit tiger which is a familiar under the control of a supernatural being or a “nat”. The familiar is used to do the bidding of the nat.

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Ancient Asian Wonders of the World ( AngKor Wat)

What truly makes this legendary and famous Historical Site, Angkor Wat of Cambodia a wonder of the world ?

Why is it consider as a wonder?
View video to learn more



How Khmer built Angkor that it is very wonderful temple in the world.
Angkor Wat  is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city.



One of the best old ancient complex engineering structures on the world.
Before dying, here the place where we should see




There are two great complexes of ancient temples in Southeast Asia, one at Bagan in Burma, the other at Angkor in Cambodia. The temples of Angkor, built by the Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD, represent one of humankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements.

 From Angkor the Khmer kings ruled over a vast domain that reached from Vietnam to China to the Bay of Bengal. The structures one sees at Angkor today, more than 100 stone temples in all, are the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis whose other buildings - palaces, public buildings, and houses - were built of wood and have long since decayed and disappeared



Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation -- first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.

The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 -- c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day.

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Love spells experience in South East Asia

You may have seen, on this forum or other forums, countless postings from self-proclaimed New Age practitioners, healers, magicians etc promising to reunite lovers, to bring back that ex-boyfriend or girlfriend you never stopped loving.

I, for one, had the privilege of experiencing this wonderful emotion called love with a man five years ago. Some may say it was my downfall to have given so much of my heart to him. He was young and immature. After being fired from his job, he left me from external pressures from worries about work, money...peers telling him he was too young to settle down, that he could do better than me...

I know full well the temptation to sell one's eternal soul just for a few kind words and moments with the man you love with all your heart. Asia's love magic industry is worth billions - Malay/Indonesian bomohs, Thai/Cambodian black magic masters abound to prey on single desperate women yearning for love, be it a new love, bringing home a straying husband or an ex-boyfriend. 99% of these are scam artists. Unfortunately, there is the 1% who are genuine practitioners of the black arts to draw these women into a living hell.

I was broken-hearted after we broke up and fell to the depths of depression. As a result, I was tempted into a dastardly world of Malay bomohs and Thai black magic masters in a desperate bid to bring him back to me. All the nastiest practices you can think of in the black arts, be it dead foetuses in bottles, wax voodoo dolls, using my ex-boyfriend's bazi, personal items etc - I did it all...and was nearly dragged into hell in the process.

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Oriental 7th Month in Cambodia

The 'Hungry Ghost Festival' (中元節 / 中元节 / Tết Trung Nguyên), a Chinese holiday not officially observed here in Cambodia but still kept amongst the country's Chinese, Chinese-Khmer and Vietnamese communities. My neighbors here in Phnom Penh were burning joss paper on the sidewalk several times that day and had me over to take a few photos for them.

 Celebrated on the 15th day (half-moon) of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the Hungry Ghost Festival is the Chinese version of the Khmer P'chum Benh, that time of year the gates of the underworld are opened and the spirits released to roam the Earth, if only briefly. During this period the living (at least the Chinese and Vietnamese ones) make offerings to these souls at the pagoda and at home, both to aid and appease their ancestors, as well as other loosened spirits.

 In one of the most apparent manifestations of the festival, believers burn joss paper and place offerings to the spirits on tables and blankets in front of their homes - on the sidewalk, the balcony, porch or just inside the open gates.

  The spread of offerings is often centered on a roasted red pig, candles and burning incense, and may include things such as rice, sugar, fruit, drinks, candy, cigarettes, snacks, etc. Apparently the afterworld is similar to this one and the idea is to provide for the welfare of the deceased to help ensure a comfortable afterlife. Providing for their financial needs, joss paper, including 'ghost money' is burned, the process sending it to the dead for use as ghostly tender.
 
Traditionally, joss paper offerings were gold and silver colored paper and later stylized Chinese currency ('ghost money.') It could also include paper representations of clothing, fabric, houses and other practicalities. But times change. As the neighbor showed me the various joss offerings he was preparing for the fire I discovered that 21st century ghosts get to enjoy the niceties of modern consumerism and even the trappings of conspicuous consumption,
 
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Victims of Cambodia Khmer Rouge Tuol Sleng Genocide Still Haunts

 

At night, we can see a black shadow walking," says Kim Sok, a 25-year-old guard at the museum, which served as the main prison for the 1975 to 1979 Khmer Rouge regime. "We just stay close together so we can take care of each other."

Here, at prison code-named S-21 under the supervision of former mathematics teacher Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, more than 15,000 prisoners were tortured before being hauled to a killing field on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. After the UN-backed Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal began on Tuesday to try Duch for crimes against humanity and war crimes, nowhere seems as haunted as his notorious former prison.

 Belief in spirits is widespread throughout Cambodia and there is particular fear of those who died violently without a proper Buddhist burial. "Many people, including tourists, told me they've seen spirits disguised as a monk, a prisoner and children," says Ith Simorn, 48, who lives in a house across from the ramshackle museum.

Consisting of four buildings and a dusty field, Tuol Sleng was a high school until the Khmer Rouge made it the centre of a network of 70 prisons throughout the country. Documents at Tuol Sleng reveal leaders ordered suspected enemies of the regime to be tortured into signing statements that they were agents of the CIA, KGB and of neighbouring Vietnam.

In all, up to two million people died in Cambodia under the regime because of overwork, starvation, execution and torture.

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Turkish in Medieval Cambodia?

An incredibly busy day today – exams are drawing near – and so Beach is going to put up a cheat post with apologies, using an extract sent in by a reader. This appeared a couple of weeks ago and was pasted under a previous post on Amazons. However, Beachcombing is not interested, at least for present purposes, in the same thing as his correspondent: female fighting and fighters. His mouth though dropped open when the question of the queen’s language in the extract below came up. So much so that he has spent a lazy few minutes, in an otherwise frenetic day, looking into this question and has got nowhere.

On the second day after our arrival at the port of Kailukari the princess summoned the captain, officers and merchants to a banquet she had prepared for them, according to her custom…. When I greeted the princess she said to me in Turkish, ‘How are you? Are you well?’ She seated me near her…She asked me from which country I came. I said ‘From India’. She said: ‘The pepper country?’ I said yes. She asked about that country and events there and I answered her. She said ‘I must invade it and take possession of it. Its wealth and its soldiers please me.’ I said to her ‘do so….

Some basic background. This text appears in the fourteenth century Travels of Ibn Battutah. Ibn Battutah is a generally and demonstrably truthful correspondent, though there are some concerns about later additions to his original. Kailukari, the port where the queen dwells, is a bit of a mystery. But it is certainly to the east of India. Cambodia is one of the solutions given though there is no need to be so exact. It appears that this was a nation in contact with India and also a nation that was not of the faith (i.e. Islam). Let’s keep it generic and just think of the south-east Asia.

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Temple of Angkor

By Tripzibit

In 1860, Henri Mouhot, a French naturalist had gone to Indo-China in search of rare birds and insects. He didn't find rare birds or insects but found monumental highways, artificial waterways and magnificently constructed towers. These he realized were not ordinary buildings but were the remnants of a splendid civilization. Unfortunately Mouhot fell sick and died of tropical fever. His reports were passed on to others. And all the details arrived at one conclusion - that there occurred a brilliant civilization.

The minute details were later on discovered by the French government who set up an Exploration Commission. By 1885 they had worked up a chronology of the rulers and developed the outlines of a description of the civilization that had produced the wondrous city. They could document that Angkor had been constructed by a south-east Asian people, called Khmers. They developed militarily and technologically for 500 years. But the question which historians could not answer was that why these ancient peoples suddenly chose to abandon settlements that they labored so hard to build?

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Traditional Malay Mythological Creatures and Legendary Ghosts (Part 2 of 2 )

by Oregon Chang

Dear Readers, please do note that in Malay culture and traditions, much of the be it demonic monsters or ghosts are about same. A monster is a ghost and a ghost is also a monster. They do not make too much of a difference to them.

The locations of these monstrous creatures and ghost are pretty much shared in the Malay archipelago or neighbouring nations. Some of it can in the nation's own version or if not exactly or about the same.

This are the list of countries where these creatures have appeared either in folklore or witness sightings:
1) Malaysia
2) Indonesia
3) Singapore
4) Thailand
5) Philippines
6) Brunei
7) Papua New Guinea
8) Cambodia
9) Vietnam
10) Myanmar (Burma)
11) India

List of Malay Mythological Creatures (11 to  25 )



11) Hantu Bajang




Hantu Bajang is a spirit who takes the form of a fox or polecat and who eats fetuses and drinks the milk of lactating women.

12) Hantu Kopek



A variant is Hantu Kopek (Nipple ghost), who appears as an old woman with pendulous breasts. The striations of pregnancy are said to be the scars left by the attack of the bajang. Sharp metal objects such as scissors placed near the baby will help to protect it from the bajang

13) Polong



Polong is a spirit ghost that can be used by a black magic practitioner to harm someone. It is said to have been created from the blood of a murdered person and this blood is put into a bottle for one to two weeks before the spirit is invoked with incantations and magic spells. The owner must feed the polong daily with blood from his finger.

14) Pelesit



Pelesit is another ghost made by magic, in this case from the tongue of a stillborn child. It enters a house in the form of a cricket or house fly, and spreads misery and unhappiness in advance of the arrival of a polong. It also drinks blood from open cuts or wounds. Both the pelsit and the polong can be forced to reveal the name of their owner through magical questioning.

15) Hantu Raya



A Hantu Raya (great ghost) is the most dangerous of Malay ghosts. It has great strength and can change into any shape, may help its owner become rich and may cause harm or death to the owner's enemies. However, the ghost may also impersonate the owner, making love to his wife. The ghost is said to have a limited range, being unable to go far from its home.

16) Ceplos



Ceplos is a type of childish youthful male ghost which main objective is to protect its owner, especially warding off other black magic practitioner or ghost owner.

17) Hantu Air or Laut



Hantu Air (water phantom) also called Hantu laut (sea phantom) is a water spirit or ghost that lives in rivers, pools or the sea. It may be the ghost of someone who has died through drowning, or may be an independent spirit. Sometimes it appears as a floating log. The ghost or spirit may be dangerous, and may drown or eat people.

18) Hantu Bungkus or Pocong



Hantu Bungkus or Pocong is a ghost wrapped in a shroud that feeds on the blood of babies. It always runs after the victims by the means of jumping as it's hands and legs are tied up or wrapped up.
In some cases, it has been said that it will seek and plead you to untie her/him and in exchange it will grant you only one wish. But again do you really expect them to keep to their words in every case?

19) Hantu Galah (pole ghost)



Hantu Galah (pole ghost) is a very tall and thin ghost found among the trees and bamboos. To make it disappear, a person simply picks up a stick or twig and breaks it.It is normally female

20) Hantu Pari-Pari - fairy ghosts



Hantu Pari-Pari - fairy ghosts. It is normally female.

21) Harimau akuan



Harimau akuan: a were-tiger, or a human in the form of a tiger.It is normally male

22) Jembalang Tanah



Jembalang Tanah are earth demons of virgin forest. Derive from the urine or umbilical cord is buried in the forests.

23) Jenglot



Jenglot is a doll-sized creature that is said to be found in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia, described as a vampire in habit. Dead jenglots are sometimes sold or exhibited, but appear to be man-made.Most of them is female

24) Orang Bunian



Orang Bunian (whistling people) are invisible forest spirits who may lead travelers astray, but may sometimes assist them. There are stories of human men marrying female Orang Bunion, but as a result also becoming invisible.It is normally female.

25) Orang Minyak



Orang Minyak (Oily Man) is a rapist who believes in mystical properties of forced sex. A supernatural Serial Rapist ghost which is hard to see and hard to catch as he is covered in black grease and uses night as camouflage.

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Traditional Malay Mythological Creatures and Legendary Ghosts (part 1 of 2)

by Oregon Chang

Dear Readers, please do note that in Malay culture and traditions, much of the be it demonic monsters or ghosts are about same. A monster is a ghost and a ghost is also a monster. They do not make too much of a difference to them.

The locations of these monstrous creatures and ghost are pretty much shared in the Malay archipelago or neighbouring nations. Some of it can in the nation's own version or if not exactly or about the same.

This are the list of countries where these creatures have appeared either in folklore or witness sightings:
1) Malaysia
2) Indonesia
3) Singapore
4) Thailand
5) Philippines
6) Brunei
7) Papua New Guinea
8) Cambodia
9) Vietnam
10)Myanmar (Burma)
11) India

List of Malay Mythological Creatures (1 to 10)



1) Sang Kelembai



The Sang Kelembai or Gedembai are supernatural beings inhabiting in the forests of Malaysia . Kelembai has powerful magical curse that can turn anyone to stone. Kelembai(s) confines to noise as it is in the forest.
Sang Kelembai is as an ugly woman with thick eyebrows, a flat nose, big elephant ears, fanged teeth, and about three times the size of a normal person. Feda on the soft top leaves of bamboo plants and occasionally fruit and meat.

It has the power of transforming any human or animal into stone and non other forms. For a Kelembai to turn someone to turn into stone, the Kelembai has to begin with by talking to that person or animal, and this can made her even more deadly.

2) Malaysian Dragon




The Malaysian Dragon or Naga (Draco naga) – are species found in the East Indies – modern day Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea which has been long feared by Malay mariners who called it the Naga.

The Malaysian Dragon has been known to reach lengths of 30 feet, thrice the length of the largest known Komodo Dragons. Unlike the Komodo Dragon, the Malaysian Dragon is comfortable at sea and on land, much in the manner of the Arabian Dragon of Red Sea areas. It preys on all manner of wildlife, including forest hogs, birds, deer, fish, sea snakes, crabs, and yes humans.

This dangerous of the dragons, are constant bane to fishermen in the region, often striking small fishing craft with tremendous force, throwing the occupants in the water to be consumed. They are no less a danger in the jungle and in isolated villages, and have discouraged settlement in some of the more remote regions of the archipelago.

They are known to be responsible for many deaths, even into the 20th century they were known to kill explorers and anthropologists working in New Guinea and downed Japanese and Allied aviators in the region during the Second World War. One popular theory has it that a Naga ate Amelia Earhart in her abortive world flight, though in truth where she perished is well out of their known range.

This dragon once ranged into the southern Philippines, but a concerted effort by the United States military resulted in their eradication in the first few decades of the 20th century, after a number of servicemen were eaten during the Philippine Insurrection. There was a plan by the CIA during the Vietnam War to attempt to populate the species in North Vietnam, to deny the Gulf of Tongking to North Vietnamese fishermen and present a threat to shipping. Howard Hughes was even involved, and constructed a special ship, the St. George, to carry them to the region, but the plan was aborted (though provided Hughes’ company valuable experience for the later Glomar Explorer, used to salvage a sunken Soviet sub).

3) Jentayu



In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Jatayu (Sanskrit: जटायू Jatāyū, Tamil: Chatayu, Thai: Sadayu, Malay: Jentayu or Chentayu) is the son of Aruṇa and nephew of Garuda. A demi-god who has the form of a vulture, he was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). He tries to rescue Sita from Ravana when Ravana is on his way to Lanka after kidnapping Sita.

4) Garuda



The Garuda (or giant eagle) has a significant place in many Asian legends and history. Garuda is the Malay form of the Phoenix (or the Roc). The Japanese call the Garuda, Karura. In fact, Thailand and Indonesia have the Garuda as their national symbols: The Indonesian national airline is Garuda Indonesia while the Garuda (the king of birds) is also known in Thailand as Krut Pha (a sign of Royal family).

5) Jin


A Jin or spirit from the beliefs of the West Malay people of West Malaysia. He is the guardian of a state known as ‘Royal Musical Instruments’ and he is subject to the King of Jinns, Sang Gala Raja

6) Golbin ( Toyol or Tuyul or Tiyanak )



A Toyol or Tuyul or Tiyanak is a mythical spirit in the Malay mythology of South-East Asia (notably in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippine and Singapore).
They can be a small child spirit which is invoked by Dukun (Indonesian shaman) or Bomoh (Malay witch doctor) from a dead human fetus by the means of black magic. Any person can also easily accuquire a Golbin from a Dukun or Bomoh.

Such Golbin can also be babies that died before receive the rites of baptism. After death, they enter place known as Limbo, which is a chamber for unbaptized dead people and such group of dead people are being transformed into evil spirits known to be as Phautasms. Phautasms would then return back into the mortal world as the form of goblins to feast on the living.

However, such golbin can also be the offspring between a demon and a woman . It can as well be the aborted fetus, which comes to life to take revenge on its mother. They are very vengeful creatures.

The owner of such golbin uses it mainly to steal things from other people, or to do mischief. According to a well-known superstition, if money or jewellery keeps disappearing mysteriously from your house, a goblin might be responsible.

A good way to ward off a toyol is to place some needles under your money. This is because goblins are afraid of being hurt by needles.

According to Javanese mythology, the creature is believed to be kept by a person that practicing pesugihan tuyul black magic. This magic helps people to become rich instantly, but in exchange he or she must perform some rituals or offering tumbal (sacrifice something) to keep the goblin happy. The exchange would be that a female member of the family must allow it to breastfeed from her, sucking blood instead of milk.

Most goblins are said to live in forests. If they see a human, they transform into what looks like a normal baby. When the person notices the goblin and comes near to take a look at it, that's when the goblin changes back to its true form and eats its prey.


7) A Bao A Qu



In the Malaysian mythology there is a creature by the name of A Bao A Qu is generally accepted as being pronounced Abang Aku, which means my elder brother

A Bao A Qu was those gods that were caught in this dimension when the gateway closed being unable to return Because it was caught in this world and needed to be able to cross over into its own dimension, it has become attached and dependent on human behavior, beliefs and karma.

A Bao A Qu gains more consciousness, begins to glow in different colors hoping to find itself in the bluish glow of perfection.  It is also said that the many tentacles

8) Pontianak



Pontianak is a Malay vampire. Said to be the ghost of a woman who died during pregnancy or childbirth, or the vengeful spirit of a woman murdered by her own lover. Commonly spotted at the roadside or under a tree, sometime accompanied by a baby. Pontianak appear to be young and beautiful so as to entice men to come near, whereby she would then turn into an ugly old woman with sharp teeth who will attack the victim and try to drink their blood. She can be killed by an iron nail driven into her neck, however if the nail is ever removed she will come back to life. She is depicted as wearing a full white dress, which can be bloodstained, with very long hair, long fangs and long fingernails. When she is close to you, she gives off a strong smell like flowers.

9) Kuntilanak

Similiar to Pontianak is the Indonesian Kuntilanak. It commonly takes the form of a bird and sucks the blood of virgins and young women. When a man approaches the Kunitilanak when it is in a female form, she would suddenly turns and reveals that her back is hollow. The bird, which makes a "ke-ke-ke" sound as it flies, may be sent through black magic to make a woman sick, the characteristic symptom being vaginal bleeding

10) Penanggalan



Penanggalan is another type of female vampire who is attracted to the blood of new born infants. Basically it is only the head of a woman with intestines and stomach below the head, from which her entrails trail is used to grasp her victim.

The Philippine Manananggal is a similar vampire who can separate her upper torso from her lower body in order to fly in the night with huge bat-like wings to prey on unsuspecting, pregnant women in their homes, using an elongated proboscis-like tongue.A similar concept is also found with the Thai Krasue

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Sorcery in Cambodia (ARB the Cambodian Vampire)

by Oregon Chang

At daytime she is a normal person. At night she is a strange, scary creature: half-ghost and half-human.

Shortly after midnight, when all the village people are sound asleep, she would pull her head and all her internal organs out of her body and slip out through the window of her house, leaving behind her empty figure that is separated from the neck down. She would fly from house to house, sometimes from rice paddy to rice paddy, looking for some dirty and unpleasant stuff to feed herself. A villager-if he’s not yet asleep- could spot her easily since there is a bright green light emanating occasionally from her lungs as she goes from place to place.

Perhaps you haven’t heard of this kind of grotesque creature before. Ask any Cambodian what it is called.

Everyone knows it is called Arb, although I believe not many would claim to have seen Arb in real life, except in TV series or in movies. I’ve heard stories of people seeing Arb in my hometown a few times while I was a kid. But I have never been lucky enough to meet and talk to those people.

Usually, in Khmer, the word Arb is followed by the word Thmob. We say Arb-Thmob, meaning witchcraft or sorcery. A Guru Arb-Thmob (a witch) is believed to possess evil power that can cause harm, disease, bad luck or even sudden death to anyone he or she dislikes.

P.S. : It is an South East Asian Vampire basically known differently.
         Arb = Cambodia Malevolent Spirit
         Krasue in Thailand
        Phi-Kasu or Kasu in Laos
        Ma Lai in Vietnam
        Penanggalan or Hantu Penanggal in Malaysia & Indonesia
        Manananggal in Philippines

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Hundreds faint in factory mystery

We've all been tired enough to pass out unexpectedly after a long day, but a series of incidents quickly unfolding in Kampong Chnnang in Cambodia has more than a few people scratching their heads. And it's not the first time either. The mass fainting was originally attributed to the nutritional status of workers, but after a thorough investigation found this may not be the case, investigators are looking more into the sudden and peculiar 'wave-like' fainting that runs through the factory at intervals.

In a single day almost 200 people fainted and it wasn't the first time. What could be causing this sudden strange condition to happen to so many people - many of which are not interacting with one another?

It all began at 8:30 when workers at the H&M knitware factory in Kampong Chnnang began falling over around dangerous machinery and losing consciousness. Fearing something deadly could be making the rounds, the International Labor Organization quickly began investigating to try to find the cause.

Previously a report had come from the garment workers suggesting they could not feed themselves adequately on the $0.30 they had been making. Whether the fainting is related to nutrition or not is something that is still being investigated. According to Cambodian officials there was no "plausible" cause for the faintings. And in addition to that, there are disparate reports on the number of people actually affected.

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Stegosaurus Carving on a Cambodian Temple?

Young earth creationists Don Patton, Carl Baugh, and some of their associates and followers have argued that a stone carving on the wall of the Ta Prohm temple in Cambodia was based on a live Stegosaurus dinosaur seen by the artist. There are problems with this interpretation, even aside from extensive evidence that humans did not appear on earth until at least 60 million years after non-avian dinosaurs* went extinct.



First, the image in question differs in several significant ways from actual stegosaurs. Second, the main evidence for the Stegosaurus interpretation consists of a row of lobes along the back of the carving animal. Although superficially resembling the bony back plates of stegosaurs, there are a number of alternate explanations, including the possibility that they merely represent background vegetation or decorative flourishes, similar to many others on and around other carvings on the temple.

The lobes may also represent exaggerated dorsal spines of a chameleon or other lizard. When all features and factors are considered, the carving is at least as compatible with a rhinoceros or chameleon as a stegosaur. Moreover, even if it represents a stegosaur, the carving could have been based on fossil remains rather than the artist seeing a live stegosaur.

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'Half-Animal' Woman Is Discovered After Spending 19 Years Alone in Cambodian Jungle

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Friday, January 19, 2007 — A woman who disappeared in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia as a child has apparently been found after living in the wild for 19 years, police said Thursday.

The woman — believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, now 27 years old — cannot speak any intelligible language, so details of her saga have been difficult to confirm.

"She is like half-human and half-animal," said Mao San, police chief of Oyadao district in Rattanakiri province. "She's weird. She sleeps during the day and stays up at night."

The father of Rochom P'ngieng, a member of the Pnong ethnic minority, said he recognized his daughter by a scar on her back and her facial features, according to Mao San. The father is a village policeman named Sal Lou.

Rochom P'ngieng, then 8 years old, disappeared one day in 1988 when she was herding buffalo in a remote northeastern jungle area, said Chea Bunthoeun, a deputy provincial police chief.

She was discovered this month after a villager noticed that food disappeared from a lunch box he left at a site near his farm.

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[Wild child?]

[Silent jungle girl poses yet more riddles for Cambodia]

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What are Thai Vampires all about? ( อะไรคือ Vampires ไทยทั้งหมดเกี่ยวกับ? )

Among the Vampires of Asia, Thai/Myanmar and India Vampires are among one of the most ferocious ones of Asia.

Phii / Phi- ( Other names : Phii Song Nang - Phii Krasue)



The Phii was one of countless spirits from Thai mythology. Phi were believed to inhabit the countryside and were the ghosts of people killed by animals, women died in childbirth, dead people who did not have proper funeral rites, and those sudden unexpected deaths. These were the sources of various forms of attacks including vampirism. They bit, scratched, and caused disease.

For the Various occult practitioners, the ways of the Phii were pretty well known to them. Maw Du or a Seer would be called upon cases where a person had been attacked by the Phii. The Maw Dus will use various spells and incantation to get rid of the phi. They also sold charms to prevent the attack of the phi.

Phii Song Nang



Phii Song Nang is basically identical to the Pontianak of Indonesia and Malaysia. They appeared as beautiful young women and attacked and vampirized young men. A seer or 'Maw Du' can be called upon to make spells and incantations to get rid of this Phii.

Phii Krasue




The Phii Krasue is a very scary ghost in Thai mythology. The Phii Krasue is very similar to the Pelagganan of Malaysia and Kappa of Japan as in that it It is a flying head with entrails hanging from below. It has a voracious hunger for blood and intestines and a tendency to feed from people's bottoms with its long tongue. It uses its long flicking tongue to lick the dead carcass and sharp teeth to chew on it. It has a similarity with a ghost type from Malaysia called the penanggalan

The Phii Krasue is a phenomenon which has some similarities to the vampires of Eastern Europe in that it is an ‘undead’ creature that exists by drinking the blood of the living. It often takes the shape of a handsome man or beautiful woman in order to lure its victims.

Unlike the Manananggal of the Philippines, the Penanggalan of Malaysia/Indonesia the Nukekubi of Japan, a Phii Krasue cannot be killed/destroyed. Destruction of its carcass is ineffectual, as its spirit will transmigrate to another body. But, to the very maximum it can be temporarily disabled by wounds to its physical body.


The only way to be permanently rid of a Phii Krasue is to appease the spirit that inhabits it. Since a Phii Krasue is created by an intense desire for revenge at the moment of death, the way to appease it is to find out what wrong has been done, and to right it. If this can be achieved, the spirit will be free to be reborn to a new life in the natural cycle of reincarnation.

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The Robam Komchat Uptrop Changrey (Chasing Away Bad Spirits Dance)

This dance originates from the Cham Muslim ethnic group who live in Kompong Tralach District, Kompong Chnang Province. The dance depicts elements of the Cham’s traditional spirit possession rituals.

Under the supervision of Prof. Chheng Phon, the piece was choreographed in 1983 by 18 principal dancers of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Traditional Folk Dance Refers to all kinds of dances that are passed on from one generation to another and that are often linked to an ethnic group's traditional' ceremonies. In Cambodia, traditional dances mostly involve animism and express beliefs in the super natural. When people have problems thought to have been caused by super natural or spirits, they offer lively dances to appease them.

Folk dances are performed at religious ceremonies, festivities, and for leisurely entertainment. Traditionally, all dances were performed in the village in large clearings or public areas at times of birth, marriage, death, during planting and harvesting, hunting, war, or at a feast. Some dances are related to Buddhist beliefs such as Kgnork Pailin and Trot dances. Others are performed once a year according to various spiritual and cere monial calendars.

Khmer folk dances are highly spirited dances that follow popular themes with lively movements and gestures. Dance motifs are usually based on local legends and the everyday life of the people. Dancers dance with easy, improvised yet.

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Spirits blamed for girls fainting

PHNOM PENH - TEACHERS of 10 teenage girls who collapsed one after another at their rural Cambodian school blamed the mysterious ailment on angry spirits on Saturday.

The girls, aged between 14 and 18, were treated in hospital after fainting but doctors could not ascertain why the youngsters were struck down, said Ruos Lim Chhee, head of the high school in Pnov, northern Cambodia.

He told AFP that all of the girls were found to be healthy, with no signs of food poisoning, although two were a little low on glucose.

'We are afraid we are under a spell because we didn't offer any traditional dancing and music to the spirits on the opening day this year,' he said.

'But we have just offered fruits, boiled chickens and wine to the spirits today, and we hope the students will get better and the spirits will take care of us.' Mil Khim, a teacher who witnessed the string of incidents on Thursday, said one of his students started to complain of chest pains early in the morning and then suffered convulsions before falling unconscious.

'The strange phenomenon lasted only a few hours, as eight seventh graders and two from eighth and ninth grade fainted subsequently,' he said. Cambodians in rural areas often believe supernatural forces are behind unexplained events. -- AFP

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Yantra (Magical) Tattoos of Cambodia

Tattoos With Magical Powers

A Yantra tattoo is a form of magical tattoo. It was once widely practiced throughout Asia - most commonly in Cambodia where the tattoo's purpose is primarily for self-protection. Many Cambodians believe that yantras have magical powers to ward off evil spirits. It is believed to be one of the most powerful ways to ensure good fortune with these sacred tattoos. With the ever increasing modernization this practice is becoming less common. Despite Cambodia’s modernity, its culture is still pervaded by superstition and its religious traditions are quite tolerant of these older beliefs.

With yantra tattoos as practiced in Cambodia the relationship between the tattoo artist and person being tattooed is that of master and disciple, a relationship that continues throughout both their lives. The symbols the master uses, copied from his masters, are always close at hand for reference, and are specifically chosen to fit the disciple’s personality.

Yantras or symbols imbued with magical powers are usually obtained from a religious person or monk. The tattoo artist guarantees that the person cannot receive any physical harm as long as they follow certain conditions. A person is not supposed to talk to anyone for three days and three nights. There are usually two elements which make up these tattoos; one is a geometric pattern or yoan (yantra in Sanskrit) and Vedic chants known as muon (mantras in Sanskrit). The practice, rooted in pre-history, has gradually integrated elements of Hinduism and Buddhism.


Cambodian man with yantra tattoos © Frank in Asia

Once the yantra tattoo is finished it must be consecrated. The master and disciple light five candles and five incense sticks representing the five incarnations of the Buddha. The master places petals, incense, perfume and betel leaves inscribed with protective enchantments into a silver container with water.

Those with traditional tattoos may not show pride or arrogance, steal from others, take more than one wife, eat dog meat, or walk under houses (traditionally Cambodian houses are built on stilts). If these rules are broken, the tattoo’s power is lost, becoming "like a drawing on paper." Sometimes disobeying the rules can even result in madness.

Yantra tattoos are also popular in Thailand and is also written in ancient Khmer and Pali text. Most notably it is widely recognized that Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has had yantra tattoos done. Although many people believe that the underlying power and meaning of yantra tattoos will disappear and be replaced by empty aesthetics.

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German scientists discover rare ape species in Asia

BERLIN — German scientists said on Tuesday they had discovered a new rare and endangered ape species in the tropical rainforests between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by its distinctive song.

The new type of crested gibbon, one of the most endangered primate species in the world, is called the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon or Nomascus annamensis, a statement from the German Primate Centre (DPZ) said.


Crested gibbons are found only in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China


"The discovery of a new species of ape is a minor sensation," said Christian Roos from the DPZ.

"An analysis of the frequency and tempo of their calls, along with genetic research, show that this is, in fact, a new species."

The distinctive song "serves to defend territory or might even be a precursor of the music humans make," the statement added.

The male of the new species is covered with black fur that appears silver in sunlight. His chest is brownish and his cheeks deep orange-golden in colour. The females are orange-beige in colour.

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Cambodia Evil Mango tree spirit

In Cambodia, it has been said that if you walk at night during a certain hour, you shouldn't think of anything evil or else it will happen! A group of kids was hungry (this was during khmer rouge regime) so they decided to go look for food in the woods. There was a mango tree with a lot of fresh mangos. Everyone decided to climb it and picked the fruits. Suddenly, one the kids yelled ghost!

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