Cave discovery revives hidden gold stories in Thailand

The legend of a cave filled with gold that was hidden by the Japanese during World War II has resurfaced in Thailand.

Deep in a Sukhothai mountain lies a cave with a system of chambers that could trigger a new treasure hunt for Japanese wartime gold.

Stories have been told and retold over the years about the large chests of gold hidden by Japanese soldiers during World War II in the mountains of Kanchanaburi.

The 'gold rush' lasted from 1995 to 2001 and the most famous wartime gold hunter was former Pheu Thai Party MP Chaowarin Latthasaksiri, who made headlines about the quest in 2001 when he was a senator.

The former deputy education minister had claimed to have discovered billions of dollars of World War II loot left by the Japanese army in a cave near the border with Myanmar.

The statement reportedly fooled then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who flew to the site in a helicopter, only to emerge empty-handed and red-faced.

Now the mystery surrounding the supposedly historic gold has resurfaced, this time in Sukhothai where a resident took a local journalist on a tour of one of the caves where Japanese soldiers in World War II are said to have built a system of chambers, as yet unexplored, where they hid their treasures.

Kliang (surname withheld), 64, said his fascination with wartime gold began at a young age, when his grandfather forbade him to go into the mountains to collect what he thought were buried ancient artifacts.

His grandfather said that if there was anything of value, the Japanese soldiers would have taken it with them long ago.

He told the young Kliang that tons of gold had been unloaded by the soldiers at the Sawankalok railway station and delivered in boxes by elephants and oxen to the mountain where the gold was hidden in prefabricated rooms.

The chambers were built inside several caves accessible through multiple entrances.

The entry points to the rooms were blasted to seal them.

A few years after the end of the war, local residents saw about 200 Japanese soldiers hiking up the mountain.

They had spent weeks searching for the hidden gold but had failed to locate it.

Mr. Kliang said that when he was young, he slipped into one of the interconnected caves.

Japanese troops had built shafts to allow air to circulate inside the caves.

A visit to a cave revealed a large open area leading to three passages.

At the top of the cave, there appear to be artificial openings of various sizes, believed to be the shafts.

"We have evidence here that chambers have been dug.

Why would someone do that if they hadn't hidden something valuable or searched for such a treasure," said Mr Kliang.

Somchai Duenpen, the deputy mayor of Tambon Nai Muang, said the story of the war gold should not be dismissed out of hand.

Also a local historian, Mr. Somchai said Sukhothai lies on the route that Japanese soldiers used to make military advances during World War II.

The soldiers left the train at Sawankalok station and travelled through the old Sukhothai district and Ban Dan Lan Hoi towards Mae Sot district in Tak, from where they crossed into Myanmar.

Mr Somchai, who is also an expert on world heritage cultural sites, said that during the war it made sense for troops to have gold at their disposal which they could use to buy basic necessities and food.

However, he insisted that it was premature to assume that cave gold existed.

"We should take the World War II gold story with a grain of salt," Somchai said.

See also :

The incredible story of the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit in Bangkok

Source: bangkokpost.com