Rumours of Japanese gold hidden in Thai caves

 In 2001 there was a lot in the Thai media about large quantities of gold hidden in Thai caves in Kanchanaburi. A man claimed to have found 2,500 tonnes of valuable items believed to have been left behind by retreating Japanese soldiers during World War II. He had spent 5 years searching for the gold. The place is Liijia (Li Jia) cave near Kanchanaburi, close to Thailand's western border with Myanmar.  The Prime Minister travelled to the cave by helicopter but wasn't allowed to go in, stopped by the man who claimed he found the treasure. He wanted an audience with the King and said he would leave the treasure to the nation.

Chaowarin had never actually seen the hoard or even been in the cave, but was basing his claims on the story of an elderly monk who used to meditate in the cave. The monk says he stumbled across a hidden hoard of 50 chests of gold, a steam train and the skeletons of Japanese soldiers who had committed hara-kiri. He later told the story to two men who submitted a report to the king. Chaowarin was citing a document to His Majesty, as he believed that in this country nobody would lie to the king.

After digging through into the cave with rock breaking equipment and finding nothing, the treasure hunt was called off. 

The Thai government then faced legal action and growing ridicule for sanctioning the massive treasure hunt that left Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra red-faced. 

In 1995, the same man Chaovarin had reported finding a train carriage inside a cave in Kanchanaburi, which he claimed contained Japanese treasure. He was also inspired to go on another treasure hunt by a monk who claimed he had seen visions of gold piled high in the labyrinthine cave. But Chaovarin himself admitted later that there was no truth to that story. 

In July 2020 six treasure hunters succumbed to suffocation after venturing deep into the Sangkla Buri cave near Wat Lijia. They were searching for gold believed to have been buried by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War Two. The cave was then sealed. Chaovarin resumed his search in February 2001 after authorities opened the cave to his team in a bid to end speculation about a gold hoard and to prevent future treasure hunters. 

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Then in Feb 2021, there was more news about gold hidden in a Thai cave, this time deep in the mountain of Sukhothai. The Bangkok Post on 21 Feb 2021 "Cave discovery rekindles hidden gold tales. Japanese soldiers said to have secreted WWII stash in mountains". 

This time a resident, Kliang, led a local reporter on a tour of one of the caves where WWII Japanese soldiers were believed to have built a system of chambers, which are unexplored, where they supposedly hid their treasures. 

A torch light shines on an opening in one of the caves believed by locals to hold a large amount of gold left in Sukhothai by Japanese troops during World War II.

When Kliang  was young, his grandfather had told him that tonnes of gold had been offloaded by the soldiers at the Sawankalok train station and delivered in buckboards by elephants and oxen to the mountain where the gold was stashed inside pre-built chambers. The chambers were constructed inside several caves accessible through multiple entrances. The entry points to the chambers were dynamited to seal them.

A few years after the war ended, local residents witnessed about 200 Japanese soldiers trekking to the mountain. They spent weeks looking for the hidden gold but were unable to find its location. Kliang said that when he was young, he slipped into one of the interconnected caves. The Japanese troops had built shafts to let air circulate inside the caves.

A tour of a cave revealed a large open area leading to three passages. At the top of the cave there appear to be man-made openings of various sizes, which are believed to be the shafts.

"We have here evidence of chambers having been dug. Why would anyone do that if they hadn't been hiding something of value or looking for such treasure?" Kliang said.

Somchai Duenpen, deputy municipal mayor of tambon Nai Muang, said the tale about the wartime gold should not be dismissed out of hand. Also a local historian, Mr Somchai said Sukhothai lies in the route which the Japanese soldiers used to make military advances during WWII. The soldiers left the train at Sawankalok station and marched through Sukhothai's old precinct and Ban Dan Lan Hoi on their way to Mae Sot district of Tak from where they crossed into Myanmar.

Mr Somchai, who is also expert in World Heritage cultural sites, said that during the war, it made sense for the troops to have at their disposal gold which they could use to buy necessities and food. However, he insisted it was premature to assume that cave gold existed. "We should take the tale about the wartime gold with a grain of salt," Mr Somchai said.

Thaipusam 2021

Thaipusam was 28 Jan 2021. But this year it was more or less cancelled, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysia was under a lockdown, so the MCO (movement control order) meant there could be no celebrations. In Kedah the State government cancelled the Thaipusam public holiday. 

In Kuala Lumpur the famous Thaipusam chariot was allowed to travel from the Jalan Bandar temple to Batu Caves but without a procession. 

Photo from The Star -

I don't know what the entry fee is, I assume it is for a car.

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See my 2007 blog on Thaipusam.

Oldest cave art again found in Indonesia

 Once again the oldest rock art / cave paintings have been found in Indonesia, again in Sulawesi. This time it is a 45,000 year old painting of a Sulawesi warty pig from the Maros-Pangkep area. In mid Jan 2021 there were plenty of media reports about this. 

Science Advances carries the full article on 13 Jan 2021, "Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi". This is their abstract -

I was in the Maros area in 1994 and saw this babi rusa in Pettakere Cave in the Leang Leang Park -

Gunung Kanthan Sakyamuni monastery cave

An article in the Perak China Press about the ongoing attempts to save the Gua Dhamma Sakyamuni monastery at Gunung Kanthan, Perak. Gunung Kanthan is being quarried and the monastery has little protection. I was invited to visit the monastery and its caves in June 2013 and have been following the progress since. Cave register number Prk 47/09.

The article was published 13 Jan 2021. It is in Chinese, this is the online English translation :

Hundred-year "Sakyamuni Sacred Rock" hopes that the government approves it to stay in the original site

In order to ensure that the "Sacred Rock of Sakyamuni" in Kanthan Mountain's century-old Buddhist temple can be kept on the original site forever, the temple hopes that the government will assist and approve the temple on the premise of maintaining the country's multi-religious, cultural and ethnic harmony. Continue to stay at the original location.

Master Fashan, a representative of the "Sacred Rock of Sakyamuni", said that since the temple has been built for a century and has been supported by many believers at home and abroad, and Kanthan Mountain has a variety of rare species, it is necessary to retain it.

Venerable Fa Shan held a press conference today with the assistance of the director of the Perstate Public Service and Complaints Center of Barisan Nasional Rawai to seek assistance from the Perstate Government.

Master Fa Shan said that as early as 2013 to 2015, someone asked the temple to be relocated, but it was approved by the then state government to keep it on the original site. Unexpectedly, the same thing happened again in December 2020. Therefore, he hopes that the state government can extend its hand. But he declined to give more details.

He said that the temple called on the government to help solve the survival crisis of the temple based on five main reasons. That is, the temple is a centuries-old cave Buddhist holy site, a spiritual sanctuary for thousands of Buddhist monks and believers, and is built in a cave. The Buddha statues are the sacred symbol of Buddhism, the world's unparalleled meditation temple, and the rare animal and plant species that exist in Kanthan Mountain are priceless treasures of the country.

Rawai later pointed out at a press conference that he would assist the "Sakyamuni Rock of Sakyamuni" to reflect its appeal to the Minister of State of Perak, Datuk Sharani, and seek assistance from the state government to keep the temple on its original site.

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There is also a video with the article. 

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Additional articles :

And an article in Ipoh Echo on 12 Jan, "Appeal to preserve monastery in Gunung Kanthan".

Sin Chew 12 Jan "Temple appeals / Sakyamuni sacred rock is facing crisis and hopes the government will keep this holy place forever".

Oriental Daily 12 Jan (in Chinese)

Suaraperak 12 Jan "Pengurusan kuil mohon gua Gunung Kanthan sebagai tempat ibadat penganut Buddha (The management of the temple requests the Gunung Kanthan cave as a place of worship for Buddhists) :
Malaysian management Dhamma Sakyakumi Caves Monastery hopes the cave area on Mount Kanthan, Chemor is recognized as a place of worship for Buddhists.
His representative, Dr. Chiong Sai Tin said, his party has sent an application to the state government and hopes it will be considered.
He said the cave area existed more than 100 years ago and became a place of meditation for thousands of Buddhists.
“In this cave there is a temple that is home to 15 monks.
"This is the second time we have applied to the state government after the first application in 2014," he told reporters here today.
Meanwhile, Perak Barisan Nasional Service and Complaints Center chief Mohd Ravi Abdullah said he would meet with Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad this week to discuss the issue.

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Pan Malaysia Cement began their attack on 14 Jan. They issued a media statement in English entitled “A tragedy waiting to happen – monastery built on volatile structure prone to limestone fall”. This was published in Perak Chinapress on 14 Jan, in an article "There is a potential risk of falling rocks in the Gongqiaoshan [Arch Bridge Mountain]. 

Gunung Kanthan media updates 2016 - 2020

I haven't posted anything on this blog about Gunung Kanthan since 2015 (apart from Tony Whitten's memorial) so thought I should do an update. However I have been putting some news on my Caves of Malaysia wwww : Archives 2020, Archives 2019, Archives 2018 Geopark, and Archives 2016.

11 July 2017, LafargeHolcim published an article, " LafargeHolcim accelerates biodiversity efforts in Southeast Asia". This is a general article, not directly related to Kanthan. 

2017 Lafarge study on snails at Kanthan.

2017 Rimba report on the snail study.

Zookeys report on the snail study.

In 2019 YTL acquired LafargeHolcim’s entire 51% stake in Lafarge Malaysia Bhd and LafargeHolcim exited the Malaysian market.

YTL website published a feature story "Kanthan Biodiversity Initiatives" on 20 Oct 2020. It says "YTL Cement continues to play its role in the biodiversity conservation by developing rehabilitation plans at the Associated Pan Malaysia Cement (APMC) Kanthan Quarry site located in Chemor, Perak.". It sounds good but I wonder if anything is actually being done. 

There is a really nice diagram about Gunung Kanthan, its quarrying, flora and fauna etc on Coogle -

YTL Executive Chairman's Letter to Stakeholders 2020 -
In the section BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION says "YTL Cement and Malayan Cement Berhad have continued to invest in conservation and biodiversity initiatives. These include preserving endemic species of flora and fauna in the limestone reserve of Gunung Kanthan and other karst outcrops.".

Formation of stone forests and pinnacles

 An article appeared in arsTechnica in Sept 2020 "Mathematicians may have unlocked the secret of how “stone forests” form".

The article mentions stone forests such as those in China's Yunnan province and the tsingy in Madagascar. There is no mention of Mulu's pinnacles. The article says "These pointed rock formations, like the famed Stone Forest in China's Yunnan Province, are the result of solids dissolving into liquids in the presence of gravity, which produces natural convective flows". And "Soluble rocks like limestone, dolomite, and gypsum are submerged under water, where the minerals slowly dissolve into the surrounding water. The heavier water then sinks under the downward pull of gravity, and the flows gradually form karst topographies. When the water recedes, the pillars and stone forests emerge."

This is a controversial subject. The mathematicians based their findings on dissolving candy in a water tank. However in the case of limestone formations, these are generally thought to be subaerial erosion features. There are a few discussions about this in the comments. Also reference to an article in an international caving journal , "Origination of stone forests in China", which I think is  more credible!

Guar Kepah skeleton, Kedah, Malaysia

Not cave related, but still interesting. 

A human skeleton was found at the construction site of the Guar Kepah archaeological gallery in Kedah, on 17 April 2017. Guar has nothing to do with a cave, and the word doesn't translate into English. 

The skeleton was sent to Florida where it was dated at 5,710 years old, which makes it Neolithic. Scientists also found the person had eaten a shellfish diet. Photo taken from Borneo Post -

In addition to the skeleton, a 5.49 m high shell midden was found at the base of the site. This contained artefacts such as pottery, stone tools and food remnants. The finding of this midden revealed the human burial process in the Neolithic age. It is the only evidence of a burial under a shell midden in Malaysia.

The only other skeleton found of a similar age was Perak Woman found in Lenggong in Perak, but this one was buried in a cave. It was dated at 8000 years old. 

Guar Kepah historic site is older than the Bujang Valley and Sungai Batu in Kedah, and is the only location in Peninsular Malaysia which shows evidence of ancient human settlements close to the sea.

See more on the Guar Kepah skeleton in NST and the shell midden in Malay Mail 2013 .