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The Pho Sam Ton camp: where King Taksin recovered Ayutthaya in 1767
The Pho Sam Ton camp lay about 6 kilometres north of Ayutthaya's city island, in what is now Bang Pahan district. During the Burmese siege this was the camp of Ne Myo Thihapate, commander of the northern Burmese army, and after the fall it was the camp held by Suki. At the end of October 1767 King Taksin brought a fleet from Chanthaburi and retook this camp in about 3 days. The recovery of Ayutthaya was thus achieved at Pho Sam Ton, only 7 months after the city fell.
This place through the periods
A riverside community on the Lopburi River north of the city, with no military camp as yet. The name Pho Sam Ton, "three bodhi trees", is said to come from the bodhi trees in the area.
According to works based on the Burmese chronicles, in September 1766 Ne Myo Thihapate moved his camp to Pho Sam Ton, about 5 km north of the city. At the end of November a Siamese flotilla was ambushed and broken here, and in December a Siamese force came to attack the camp, without success.
After the fall the main Burmese army withdrew, leaving Suki, a Mon commander, to hold this camp and to round up people and property. King Ekkathat was brought here and died. On 25–27 October 1767 King Taksin brought his force and took Mong Ya's camp on the east bank, then surrounded Suki's camp until he won. On 6 November he left here to go down to Thonburi.
After King Taksin went down to Thonburi the camp was abandoned, and the area went back to being a riverside community. The name Pho Sam Ton is still remembered as the battlefield of the recovery of the capital.
Today it is Pho Sam Ton subdistrict, Bang Pahan district. No remains of the camp can be seen. The province holds a merit-making ceremony here every 6 November in memory of the recovery of the capital.
The Burmese camp north of the city
English-language works based on the Burmese chronicles say that in September 1766, when the Burmese gave up moving away from the floodwater and decided to continue the siege, Ne Myo Thihapate moved his camp to Pho Sam Ton, about 5 kilometres north of the city. At the end of November a Siamese flotilla was ambushed and broken at Pho Sam Ton, and in December a Siamese force came to attack the camp, without success.
After the city fell on 7 April 1767, the main Burmese army withdrew because it had to meet the Chinese invasion in the north of Burma. A small force was left at the Pho Sam Ton camp under Suki, a Mon commander, who gathered people and property to send to Burma. The Thai chronicles say King Ekkathat was brought to this camp and died here.
Three days at Pho Sam Ton
After taking Thonburi on 22 October 1767, King Taksin's fleet came up to Ayutthaya on 24 October. At dawn on the 25th he divided his force in two. One part attacked Mong Ya's camp, the Pho Sam Ton camp on the east bank, in the area of Wat Hong; the other went against Suki's camp, the headquarters. Suki's camp was built of tall, heavy timber and was strong, and it could not be broken into on the first day, so King Taksin had it surrounded and had scaling ladders made.
On the third day, as the soldiers were climbing into the camp, Suki surrendered, sending out Chaophraya Chamnan Borirak, the acting Okya Phra Khlang, who had known King Taksin before, to negotiate. On this point the chronicles contradict each other: some versions say Suki fought to the death in the camp, others that the king spared his life and that Suki later fled to join Prince Thepphiphit at Phimai.
After the camp was taken: the cremation, and the decision to go to Thonburi
Between 28 and 30 October King Taksin sent men to win over the governor of Lopburi and to bring back the members of the royal family who had fled there. He had King Ekkathat's body exhumed and cremated, and surveyed the damage to the city. The Phan Chanthanumat (Choem) version and the British Museum version of the chronicle say he stayed at the Pho Sam Ton camp during this time, while other versions say he went to stay in the Song Puen Throne Hall in the Royal Palace.
On Friday 6 November 1767 King Taksin left the Pho Sam Ton camp and went down to establish Thonburi as the new capital. This is the date Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province uses for its annual merit-making ceremony in memory of the recovery of the capital, held in Pho Sam Ton subdistrict.
Pho Sam Ton today
Today Pho Sam Ton is a subdistrict of Bang Pahan district. No remains of the camp can be seen, and there is as yet no official marker for the position of the camp on either bank. Studies give a picture of the main camp strung along the Pho Sam Ton River from Wat Pho (deserted) to Wat Kamphaeng (deserted), with another camp on the opposite bank in the area of Wat Hong. The name Pho Sam Ton is also found at Thonburi, and Silpa Wattanatham magazine has asked whether the two are connected.
Where historians still disagree
- Suki's fate: some versions say he died in the camp, others that his life was spared and he then fled to Phimai.
- Where King Taksin stayed after taking the camp: the Pho Sam Ton camp, or the Song Puen Throne Hall in the Royal Palace.
- The date of the recapture: Silpa Wattanatham's date calculation has the camp taken on 25–27 October, while the province's ceremony uses 6 November, the day he left Pho Sam Ton.
Visiting information
- There are no remains of the camp and no guide signs; use a navigation app to reach Pho Sam Ton subdistrict, Bang Pahan district.
- If you go on 6 November you will find the merit-making ceremony the province holds in memory of the recovery of the capital.
- You can go on to Wat Phu Khao Thong, to the south, on the way back to the city island.
Frequently asked questions
Where was the Pho Sam Ton camp?
In Pho Sam Ton subdistrict, Bang Pahan district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, about 6 km north of the city island. No remains of the camp are left to see.
When did King Taksin take the Pho Sam Ton camp?
At the end of October 1767. Work calculating from the chronicles gives 25–27 October, and he left Pho Sam Ton for Thonburi on 6 November.
Who was Suki?
A Mon commander whom the Burmese army appointed to hold the Pho Sam Ton camp after the fall.
- From Ayutthaya to Thonburi: A chronology of key events in the life of King Taksin – Silpa Wattanatham (in Thai)
- "The Pho Sam Ton camp", the Burmese base of 1767, and the other "Pho Sam Ton" at Thonburi – Silpa Wattanatham (in Thai)
- "Suki", a Mon commander of Ayutthaya who "defected" to the Burmese – Silpa Wattanatham (in Thai)
- Ayutthaya makes merit in memory of the recovery of independence at the Pho Sam Ton camp – Daily News (in Thai)
Last updated 13 November 2026