Those familiar with the history of the traveling circus know Chang and Eng Bunker as the original Siamese twins.

They were born in Samut Songkhram, a small village of Thailand (formerly Siam) in 1811. The conjoined twins, bound together by a band of cartilage at the chest, toured both the United States and Europe in the 19th century as human wonders. Dressed in elaborate Chinese costumes early in their show career,  they became icons of exoticism in the West, but remained more or less unknown to their homeland until the 1980’s. 

In 2001, as a sign of respect to the Bunker brothers and their fascinating life, local officials decided to raise a statue of the inseparable duo. Cast in bronze donated by fishermen’s broken propellers, the Chang and Eng monument stands today in their hometown in a middle of a floral park, a tribute to the brothers and their extraordinary story.