Museum sights in Thailand
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Phra Narai Ratchaniwet
Start your tour of Lopburi at this former royal palace. Inside the palace grounds is the Lopburi Museum (officially called Somdet Phra Narai National Museum), which houses displays of local history. The museum is divided into three separate buildings. In Phiman Mongkut Pavilion there are sculptures and art from the Lopburi, Khmer, Dvaravati, U Thong and Ayuthaya periods. The Chantara Phisan Throne Hall contains paintings and artefacts in memory of King Narai, while the European-style Phra Pratiab Building has a small display of traditional handicraft and hunting tools.
Built between 1665 and 1677, with help from French and Italian engineers, the palace was used to welcome …
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Siam Society & Ban Kamthieng
Stepping off cacophonous Soi Asoke and into the Siam Society’s Ban Kamthieng house museum is as close to a northern Thai village as you’ll come in Bangkok. Ban Kamthieng is a traditional 19th-century home that was located on the banks of Mae Ping in Chiang Mai. Now relocated to Bangkok, the house presents the daily customs and spiritual beliefs of the Lanna tradition. Communicating all the hard facts as well as any sterile museum (with detailed English signage and engaging video installations), Ban Kamthieng instils in the visitor a sense of place, from the attached rice granary and handmade tools to the wooden loom and woven silks. You can’t escape the noise of Bangkok…
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Forensic Medicine Museum
While it’s not exactly CSI, pickled body parts, ingenious murder weapons and other crime-scene evidence are on display at this medical museum, intended to educate rather than nauseate. Among the grisly displays is a bloodied T-shirt from a victim stabbed to death with a dildo, and the preserved but rather withered cadaver of Si Ouey, one of Thailand’s most prolific and notorious serial killers who murdered – and then ate – more than 30 children in the 1950s. Despite being well and truly dead (he was executed), today his name is still used to scare misbehaving children into submission: ‘Behave yourself or Si Ouey will come for you’. There are another five dusty museums on …
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Bangkok Doll Factory & Museum
It’s no exaggeration to say the dolls crafted in this modest workshop have become the template for dolls sold in countless tourist stores across Thailand. The workshop was founded by Khunying Tongkorn Chandevimol in 1956 after she completed a doll-making course while living in Japan. Upon her return to Thailand, she began researching and making dolls, drawing from Thai mythology and historical periods. Her dolls, often in Thai hill-tribe and rural costumes, have won several international awards. Today her personal collection includes 400 dolls from around the world, plus important pieces from her own workshop, where you can watch the figures being crafted by hand. The mus…
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Royal Barges National Museum
The royal barges are slender, fantastically ornamented vessels used in ceremonial processions along the river. The tradition dates back to the Ayuthaya era, when most travel (for commoners and royalty) was by boat. Today the royal barge procession is an infrequent occurrence, most recently performed in 2006 in honour of the 60th anniversary of the king's ascension to the throne. When not in use, the barges are on display at this Thonburi museum.
Suphannahong, the king's personal barge, is the most important of the boats. Made from a single piece of timber, it's the largest dugout in the world. The name means 'Golden Swan', and a huge swan head has been carved into the bow.…
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Hilltribe Museum & Education Center
This museum and handicrafts centre is a good place to visit before undertaking any hill-tribe trek. The centre, run by the nonprofit Population & Community Development Association (PDA), is underwhelming in its visual presentation, but contains a wealth of information on Thailand's various tribes and the issues that surround them. A visit begins with a 20-minute slide show on Thailand's hill tribes, and exhibits include typical clothing for six major tribes, examples of bamboo usage, folk implements and other anthropological objects. The curator is passionate about his museum, and will talk about the different hill tribes, their histories, recent trends and the community …
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Museum of Siam
This fun new museum employs a variety of media to explore the origins of the Thai people and their culture. Housed in a European-style 19th-century building that was once the Ministry of Commerce, the exhibits are presented in an engaging, interactive fashion not often found in Thailand. They are also refreshingly balanced and entertaining, with galleries dealing with a range of questions about the origins of the nation and its people. Each room has an informative narrated video started by a sensory detector, keeping waiting to a minimum. An Ayuthaya-era battle game, a room full of traditional Thai toys and a street vending cart where you can be photographed pretending to…
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Jeath War Museum
This small museum resembles the bamboo-ata in which POWs were kept. Newspaper cuttings, letters and artwork line the sides of the long hut and offer harsh reminders of the brutal punishments meted out by Japanese troops. The archives focus heavily on surgeon Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, who saved hundreds of lives by operating on injured soldiers and fighting to improve basic medical conditions. The museum is run by the monks of the adjacent Wat Chaichumphon (Wat Tai), which in itself is worth a visit. Jeath is an acronym of the countries involved in the railway: Japan, England, Australia/USA, Thailand and Holland. The war museum is at the west end of Th Wisuttharangsi (Vis…
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JEATH War Museum
The JEATH War Museum is arguably the pick of the memorials in Kanchanaburi and is a moving testament to war’s atrocities. The museum operates in the grounds of a local temple and has reconstructions of the bamboo huts used by the POWs as shelter. The long huts contain various photographs taken during the war, drawings and paintings by POWs, maps, weapons and other war memorabilia. The acronym JEATH represents the fated meeting of Japan, England, Australia/America, Thailand and Holland at Kanchanaburi during WWII. The war museum is at the end of Th Wisuttharangsi (Visutrangsi), near the TAT office. The common Thai name for this museum is Phíphítháphan Songkhram Wát Tâi…
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Bangkokian Museum
This collection of three wooden houses illustrates an often-overlooked period of Bangkok’s history, the 1950s and ’60s. The main building was built in 1937 as a home for the Surawadee family and, as the signs inform us, was finished by Chinese carpenters on time and for less than the budgeted 2400B (which would barely buy a door handle today). This building and the large wooden one to the right, which was added as a boarding house to help cover costs, are filled with the detritus of post-war family life and offer a fascinating window into the period. The third building, at the back of the block, was built in 1929 as a surgery for a British doctor, though he died soon afte…
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Tribal Museum
Overlooking a lake in Suan Ratchamangkhala on the northern outskirts of the city, this octagonal museum houses a collection of handicrafts, costumes, jewellery, ornaments, household utensils, agricultural tools, musical instruments and ceremonial paraphernalia. The museum was closed for renovations at the time of research.
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Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre
The Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre offers a fine primer on Chiang Mai history. Be warned that when you enter you are ushered into a room for the obligatory promotional film on the history of Chiang Mai, before you can wander around. The 1st floor has engaging displays on religious and cultural elements of northern Thailand. The 2nd floor rooms have been converted into historic settings: there's an early Lanna village, a temple and a train display. From the 2nd floor you can see more of the beauty of this postcolonial building, Chiang Mai's former Provincial Hall, originally built in 1924. It was awarded a Royal Society of Siamese Architects award in 1999 for its f…
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National Gallery
The humble National Gallery belies the country's impressive tradition of fine arts. Decorating the walls of this early Ratanakosin-era building are works of contemporary art, mostly by artists who receive government support. The permanent exhibition is rather dated and dusty, but the temporary exhibitions, held in spacious halls out back, can be good.
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Ubon Ratchathani National Museum
Occupying the former city hall, this is a very informative museum with plenty on show, from Dvaravati-era Buddhist ordination-precinct stones and a 2500-year-old Dong Son bronze drum to Ubon textiles and betel-nut sets. The museum's most prized possession is a 9th-century Ardhanarisvara, a composite statue combining Shiva and his consort Uma into one being; one of just two ever found in Thailand.
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Chiang Mai National Museum
Operated by the Fine Arts Department and established in 1973, the Chiang Mai National Museum functions as the primary caretaker of Lanna artefacts and as the curator of northern Thailand's history. This museum is a nice complement to the municipally run Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre because you'll find more art and artefacts here and the scope of the exhibits reaches beyond the city limits. The best curated section of the museum is the Lanna art section, which displays a selection of Buddha images in all styles, and explains the different periods and influences. Apart from this upstairs exhibit, the museum is a bit lacklustre, although worth a visit to orient you…
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Vongburi House
The two-storey teak house of the last prince of Phrae has been converted into a private museum. It was constructed between 1897 and 1907 for Luang Phongphibun and his wife Chao Sunantha, who once held a profitable teak concession in the city. Elaborate carvings on gables, eaves, balconies and above doors and windows are in good condition. Inside, many of the house's 20 rooms display late-19th-century teak antiques, documents (including early-20th-century slave concessions), photos and other artefacts from the bygone teak-dynasty era. Most are labelled in English as well as Thai.
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Ban Chiang National Museum
This excellent museum exhibits a wealth of pottery from all Ban Chiang periods, plus myriad metal objects, including spearheads, sickles, fish hooks, ladles and neck rings. The displays (with English labels) offer excellent insight into the region's distant past and how its mysteries were unravelled. Hidden in back is a room showcasing the culture of the Tai Phuan people, who migrated here about 200 years ago and founded the town. One kilometre east at Wat Pho Si Nai is an original burial ground excavation pit , with a cluster of 52 individual burial sites dating to 300 BC. It shows how bodies were laid to rest with (infants placed inside) pottery.
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Hariphunchai National Museum
Across the street from Wat Phra That Hariphunchai is the informative Hariphunchai National Museum. Run by the national Fine Arts Department, this museum has a collection of Mon and Lanna artefacts and Buddhas from the Dvaravati kingdom, as well as a stone inscription gallery with Mon and Thai Lanna scripts. The curator's passion for the museum and Lamphun's heritage is infectious. There is a small bookshop with some English titles.
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Hor Kaew Mukdahan
One of the most oddly out-of-place landmarks in all of Thailand, this 65m-tall tower was built for the 50th anniversary of King Rama IX's ascension to the throne. The nine-sided base has a good museum with displays (labelled in English) on the eight ethnic groups of the province. There are great views and a few more historical displays in 'The 360° of Pleasure in Mukdahan by the Mekong' room up at the 50m level. The ball on the top holds a locally revered Buddha image supposedly made of solid silver.
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Ayuthaya Historical Study Centre
Getting a handle on the religious and historical importance of the temples at Ayuthaya is difficult without some preliminary research. Ayuthaya Historical Study Centre has informative, professional displays that paint a clear picture of the ancient city. Other museums in town include Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, which features a basic roundup of Thai Buddhist sculpture with an emphasis on Ayuthaya pieces, and Chantharakasem National Museum, a museum piece in itself, in the northeast corner of town.
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Chantharakasem National Museum
Getting a handle on the religious and historical importance of the temples is difficult without some preliminary research. Ayuthaya Historical Study Centre has informative, professional displays that paint a clear picture of the ancient city. Other museums in Ayuthaya include Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, which features a basic roundup of Thai Buddhist sculpture with an emphasis on Ayuthaya pieces, and Chantharakasem National Museum, a museum piece in itself, in the northeast corner of town.
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Ancient Siam
Billed as the world’s largest open-air museum, Ancient Siam covers more than 80 hectares of peaceful countryside scattered with 109 scaled-down facsimiles of many of the kingdom’s most famous monuments. Visions of Las Vegas and its corny replicas of world treasures might spring to mind, but Ancient Siam does have some architectural integrity and is a preservation site for classical buildings and art forms. It’s a great place for long, undistracted bicycle rides (rental from the admission office is 50B), as it’s usually quiet and never crowded.
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National Museum
The 1878 building that now houses the national museum was originally built in a Chinese architectural style as the residence of a luminary. This museum is easily the most picturesque national museum in Thailand and contains exhibits from all Thai art-style periods, particularly the Srivijaya. Also on display are Thai and Chinese ceramics and sumptuous Chinese furniture owned by the local Chinese aristocracy.
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Hall of Opium
One kilometre north of Sop Ruak on a plot of about 40 hectares opposite the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa, the Mah Fah Luang Foundation has established the 5600-sq-metre Hall of Opium. The goal of this impressive facility is to become the world's leading exhibit and research facility for the study of opiate use around the world. The multimedia exhibition includes a fascinating history of opium, and examines the effects of abuse on individuals and society. Well balanced and worth seeing.
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King Prajadhipok Museum
A visit to a royal museum might sound like a royal bore, but this collection uses modern techniques to relate the rather dramatic life of Rama VII (King Prajadhipok; r 1925–35), while neatly documenting Thailand’s transition from absolute to constitutional monarchy. The museum occupies a grand neocolonial-style building constructed on the orders of Rama V for his favourite firm of Bond St merchants; it was the only foreign business allowed on the royal road linking Bangkok’s two palace districts.
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