Cabbages and Condoms
One of the restaurants we often hear recommended is Cabbages and Condoms. (A meal out and a free condom, yes they do give them away with every dinner). The emphasis according to the owner is that condoms should be as widely available as cabbages, family planning and romance I guess are a magic combination. Their slogan of their food not causing pregnancy is all good. (That may preclude an oyster menu). Champagne though may well be another matter. So romance is in the air and all is good.
Thai Belief and Folk Lore
The addition of a winning lottery ticket and you may well have enough cash not to need the condom. If you have an hour spare before dinner you may want to try for that ticket. Around 2km away there is a temple famous among Thai’s. Therein is a story of romance and ghosts. Thailand is the stuff of folklore, where ghosts and love stories are in abundant supply. Towns like Bangsaen in Chonburi are linked by name to tales of love and deception. Watch "Lakhorn" (Soap Opera) on Thai Tv and you will get a feel for the esoteric nature of Thailand where almost every home and building has the coveted spirit house.
Wat Mahabut and The Legendary 'Mae Nak'
Wat Mahabut or Wat Mae Nak Phra Khanong is located at Sukhumvit soi 77. A small local temple it was built in 1762 before the fall of Ayutthaya. Named after its founder the Monk, Mahabut, it came into some prominence due to the folktale that surrounds it.
The story starts with Mae Nak who quite frankly is a bit of a love nut. Mae Nak fell heavily in love and was a little troubled when her husband Maak was drafted into the army. Maak had not visited cabbages and condoms, mostly because the restaurant was not built yet. If it had things may well have been a little different in this story. Heavily in love and pregnant, Mae Nak fell into labour. The labour never went too well and both mother and child passed away. Mae nak however was a very spirited lady (pun intended) and refused to believe in her own death. Mae Nak either loved her husband dearly or hated him a lot because she decided to become a stalker. Now Maak the husband was not having such a great time either and was wounded in battle. After some convalescence in Bangkok he returned home to be warmly greeted by his wife and child. (I am unsure here how the child was persuaded by Mum to help in her quest, but both were waiting on Maak's return). The neighbours I am told had a pretty good idea that Mae Nak was a ghost but for some reason one by one they met their fate whilst trying to warn poor Maak. Mae Nak was at home doing the chores and getting the dinner ready when she drops a lime which falls through the slats in the floor. Quick as a ghost she reaches down and unbeknown to her maak sees her arm go through the floor and grab for the lime. Now to say Maak is a little surprised would be pretty on point.
Later that night Maak nips out to use the outside toilet and decides now is a pretty good time to do one. Now Mae Nak discovers his treachery and goes into stalker mode but Maak has a trick
up his sleeve , he hides behind a bush.(maybe he did need the toilet after all). The bush of course is a little special as its leaves are like a sunlight to Dracula. Mae Nak in her frustration runs all over Bangkok until she lands at the doors of Wat Mahabut. She is unable to enter, ghosts are unallowed in temples (not even for double pricing). In her rage she runs around being pretty anti-social and blaming them for Maak leaving her.
An exorcist is called,(ghostbusters had not been founded). He captures Mae Nak and traps her in a jar (sounding like the genie thing right), and being the nice guy, he is, he throws her
into the canal.
It did not end there as the story here varies, the basis is she is somehow fished out
of the river, (by about now I am sure Tid Maak is truly wishing his night of
romance had started with cabbages and condoms), and the whole exorcism thing is
repeated, but this time she is entrapped in bone and is now said to be in the hands
of the royal family entwined within a belt.
Now how does this help with the lottery you may well ask, well people visit this temple to ask for luck and good fortune from Mae Nak who now has her own shrine there, go along to find the Tokien log and rub the log, supposedly the lucky ones will have the numbers revealed on their fingertips that only they can see. I might add here that since Covid and the loss of jobs this is now one busy shrine for the locals.
So now you know where to go before dinner. I am not sure that truthfully even cabbages and condoms would have saved Maak from Mae Nak, the quality of protection in Thailand is very much questioned, the food may be fantastic the rest I will leave to you.
Author: Gary C.
Editor: Katie K.
Photo Credit: