BANGKOK MUSEUM THAILAND

BANGKOK MUSEUMS

Bangkok Museums - Some of Bangkok's museums are housed in buildings that are as interesting as their contents. Kamthieng House offers a glimpse of Thai rural life in the past and the Royal Barge Museum offers an insight into Thai tradition. There are more than one hundred museums in Bangkok, devoted to a huge variety of subjects. The National museum holds ethnographic exhibitions as well as memorabilia from past kings and a large collection of funeral and coronation chariots.

The Museums in Bangkok are mainly devoted to Thai art and architecture. English language tours are available in some museums, and many of the exhibits are labelled in English. A small admission charge is payable at most museums.

The National Museum
Na Phrathat Road, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. Near the Grand Palace
Hours are from 9 am to 4 pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
This eighteenth-century palace, houses the largest collection of Thai art and artifacts in the country. English language descriptions are available and free English language tours are given by volunteers.

Kamthieng House
131 Soi Asok Location North of Sukhumvit on Soi 21
Hours from 9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Saturday
A 19th rice farmer's teak house transplanted from Chiang Mai's Ping River and now the headquarters of the Siam Society. Holds a collection of agricultural and domestic items, including woven fish baskets and terracotta pots.

Royal Barges Museum
Khlong Bangkok Noi near Thonburi side, not far from Phra Pin Klao Bridge
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm daily.
Eight Royal barges are on display. The boats are hand carved from pieces of teak with prows carved into gilded mythical creatures. Used for ceremonial and state occasions.

Royal Thai Air Museum
Phaholyathin Road, near Wing 6 of the airport.
Hours: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.
Includes a Spitfire, several Nieuports and Breguets, and the only Japanese Tachikawa still in existence

King Prajadhipok Museum
Near Phanfa Lilat Bridge, Lan Luang Road
Hours: 9 am to 4 pm, Tuesday to Sunday
Formerly called the Parliamentary Museum. An elegant building of a National Heritage Site, the museum exhibits the biography and lifework of King Prajadhipok, Rama Vll, who agreed to a constitutional monarchy for the People of Thailand and became the first king in Thai history to rule under a legal constitution.

Prasart Museum
9 Soi 4, Krungthep Kritha Road, Bang Kapi District.
Hours: 10 am to 3 pm, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
A vast collection of artifacts from prehistoric periods onwards. Replicas of Thai architecture are constructed within the complex.