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Experiences

Step back in time: 5 house museums to visit in Bangkok

These are former residences of Thai royalty and famous personalities that have been carefully preserved and turned over to the nation.

Step back in time: 5 house museums to visit in Bangkok

(Photo: Bangkok Publishing Residence, Oriental Residence Bangkok, Jim Thompson House)

Mention Bangkok and, inevitably, images of glitzy shopping malls, crowded street food stalls and marble-lined hotels spring to mind. However, the city rewards a little deeper scratch beneath the surface. For hidden away in side streets is an incredible haul of house museums – specifically, the former residences of Thai royalty and famous personalities that have been carefully preserved, and turned over to the nation. 

These now welcome a new generation of nosy visitors curious for a glimpse of old Bangkok, and how the other half used to live. In almost every case, these gracious old homes and palaces have been preserved with such care you almost feel as if the former occupants might step through the front door at any time.

(Photo: Facebook.com/jimthompsonhouse)

THE JIM THOMPSON MUSEUM

Probably the most famous of Bangkok’s house museums, the former residence of the man responsible for reviving Thailand’s silk industry is also one of the most crowded. Fortunately, the staff are pros, so the wait is rarely long, especially if you arrive early. Thompson painstakingly took apart six classic teak houses from the provinces, reassembled them in the middle of Bangkok next to a klong (or canal), and furnished them with rare fine art, potteries, and antiques from Myanmar and Sukhothai. This extraordinary villa is pretty much as Thompson left it when he disappeared so mysteriously in 1967 in the Cameron Highlands.

(Photo: MR Kukrit Heritage Home)

M.R. Kukrit Heritage Home

By every account, Thailand’s former prime minister Mom Rachawongse Kukrit Pramot was a Renaissance man. A great-grandson of King Rama II, the Oxford grad published the Siam Rath newspaper, started Thailand’s first political party, acted with Marlon Brando in the 1963 flick, The Ugly American, and was a prolific writer of novels, plays and poetry. His residence – a remarkable snapshot of a bygone era – is a gracious collection of interconnected teak houses stuffed with an incredible collection of books, furniture and antiques. Spend time in the lovely garden – a lush Eden of lily ponds, miniature fruit trees and wide-eaved pavilions.

19 Soi Prapinit, South Sathorn Road, Thungmahanek

(Photo: Kamthieng House Museum)

Kamthieng House Museum

With its distinctive peaked roofs and beautifully aged interiors, this gracious teak house – originally built in 1848 by Mae Saed, a royal grand-daughter of a prince of Mueang Chae in northern Thailand – was transported, plank by plank, to Bangkok’s Asok neighbourhood in 1963. Today, under the auspices and royal patronage of the Siam Society, the spacious home vividly captures the daily life in a traditional Lan Na Thai household, complete with kitchen, ancestral shrines, 3D animation, and living areas furnished with painstakingly sourced ceremonial accoutrements.

Suan Pakkad Palace. (Photo: Tourism Authority of Thailand)

Suan Pakkad Palace Museum

This tranquil oasis is a real gem. In 1952, the former residence of Prince and Princess Chumbhot of Nagara Svarga was turned into Thailand’s first museum. Very little has changed since then. The centrepieces are eight small traditional teak houses – including the Lacquer Pavilion built in Ayutthaya in the 17th century – set in an unexpectedly large garden. Inside, each house has been beautifully preserved – the teak floors are cool under the feet, and the rooms decorated with ancient artwork, lacquer and gold, elaborately carved religious motifs, and antiquities from the royal couple’s vast personal collection.

Vimanmek Mansion Museum. (Photo: Tourism Authority of Thailand)

Vimanmek Mansion

Built entirely of golden teak, this royal mansion is one of several grand old piles in the Dusit Palace complex. Originally located in Chonburi, it was dismantled from its original location on Si Chang island and reassembled (with wooden pegs and not a single nail) in Bangkok on the orders of Prince Naris who had taken a fancy to the building’s European neo-classical silhouette. The interiors of the sprawling 70-plus-room home are decorated in a charming mix of Victorian chintz and Thai touches, along with faded portraits on the royal family, and treasures and furniture collected by King Rama V (who lived here from 1901 to 1906) during his trip through Europe. 

16 Ratchawithi Road, Dusit. Tel: 66. 2 628 6300

WHERE TO STAY

(Photo: Oriental Residence Bangkok)

Oriental Residence

As Bangkok accommodations go, the location of the Oriental Residence is flawless, its Wireless Road address within easy reach of the swanky Central Embassy, Siam Paragon, Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World, and the lush greenery of Lumpini Park. Swathed in creamy hues, deep seated sofas and slatted Venetian blinds, the Residence’s décor is inspired by traditional Thai heritage home designs, a feature particularly evident in the lobby that has been styled with traditional pah fakoh panels and subtle nods to colonial-style architecture. 

(Photo: Bangkok Publishing Residence)

Bangkok Publishing Residence

Once a publisher’s family home, the former offices of the much-loved Bangkok Weekly magazine is now a retro-fabulous 8-bedroom boutique hotel, and museum that is open only to guests. All the original factory architecture – including a wire-cage lift – has been preserved, alongside old printing machines and vintage typewriters that furnish the public spaces. The nostalgic mid-20th century vibes are best experienced in the bedrooms, each dressed with antique furniture and timber floors.

(Photo: Chakrabongse Villas)

Chakrabongse Villas

A hundred years ago, Prince Chakrabongse built himself a home along the Chao Phraya river where he could get changed before attending ceremonies at the nearby Grand Palace. Today, his grand-daughter Narisa has converted the villa and gardens into a plush 7-room hotel. Probably the best room in the house is the Riverside Villa, whose old-world style is paired with views of the celebrated Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn. 


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