A sister of the man who’s crossing Thailand on foot to scatter his deceased girlfriend’s ashes on the country’s highest peak, told media yesterday that she wants her brother to come home — after he has fulfilled the promise made to the love of his life, of course.
The story of 39-year-old Sakchai Supanthamat has gripped the country since first being reported earlier this week. The man has so far spent more than a year and half walking the 1,500 kilometers from Trang province to Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, in order to fulfill a promise made to his late girlfriend that he’d one day take her on vacation there.
After she tragically passed away in October 2016, the fact that he couldn’t afford transportation did not stop him from setting out to the mountain on foot, camping wherever he finds himself each night.
Reporters from Thairath went to his family home in northeastern Udon Thani province yesterday and met his sister, Ornpai Supanthamat, 56, who shared his backstory with the public.
She said that Sakchai is the second youngest of eight siblings in a family of rice farmers. Years ago, Sakchai went to Bangkok to find construction work and there fell in love with a woman, Saifon Singsanan.
Ornpai recalled that Sakchai almost “lost his sanity” after his girlfriend died at just 41 year of age after being attacked by a dog. He later moved in with relatives in Bangkok, but one day, he packed his stuff into a cart and left.
After that, the family didn’t hear from him very much, the sister explained, saying Sakchai calls only once in a while.
Believe it or not, she was unaware of his unorthodox journey until she heard it on the news this week.
“My brother is not mentally ill. He’s not crazy,” she told reporters. “He’s very much sane, and he’s very wise. I think he’s just sad and can’t get over his girlfriend’s death so he wants to travel and be alone.”
“The family in Udon Thani is very worried about him. I’d like to tell him that once he’s scattered her ashes on Doi Inthanon, please come back to our home. Don’t ever stray away again. Come live with your siblings.”
Ornpai said Sakchai previously told her he’d come home in 2020. Given his track record, that’s another promise we’re sure Sakchai will eventually fulfill.
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