Bangkokian Museum, also known as Bangkok Folk Museum, is a real hidden treasure in the Bangrak district of Bangkok. I’ve visited this museum a few times and have often had the place to myself. Today there were another two couples there, and that’s about as busy as it gets.
The museum is made up of three separate houses and shows what life was like in Bangkok in the past. The main house is 82 years old and has been a museum for the last 15 years. The land and houses were bequeathed to the city by the owner, who sadly died a couple of years ago. You can read the last interview with the owner Associate Professor Varaporn Suravadee here.
Varaporn lived in the main house with her parents for most of her life before it became a museum. The house has been beautifully maintained and it would be a real pleasure to live there even today. Sadly, most similar houses in Bangkok have already been demolished to make way for mostly high-rise condo buildings. Old Bangkok is rapidly disappearing, as it is transformed into a modern, global city.
Varaporn’s father was a doctor, so what you see is in the house is how someone fairly well off would have lived in the past. This is not at all how the average Thai person would have lived. Much of the original furniture is on display and there are also cabinets with artifacts of the time.
Above is a photo of Varaporn receiving her degree certificate from King Rama IX and his wife at Chulalongkorn University. The house is two stories, with three bedrooms on the upper floor. Before entering each of the houses you will need to take your shoes off and leave them outside. You are then free to wander around and take as much time as you like.
There is usually a guide available who speaks reasonably good English, so she can help fill you in on details about the houses at the museum. The main house has information in both Thai and English in every room, It details which members of the family lived in each of the rooms. It gives a fascinating insight into their lives.
The second house is much smaller and is dedicated to Varaporn’s father, who was a doctor. Upstairs there is a small display of medical equipment from the past. There isn’t really much to see in this house.
The third house is more like an actual museum and contains many items from the past that people would have used daily during their lives. This was the most interesting of the three houses for me. It starts with how a kitchen would have looked many years ago. You can see in the images below that you’d have needed to light a fire with wood whenever you needed to cook something. This is how many people still cook in the remoter parts of Thailand.
As well as the kitchen display, you will also see sections on sewing, gardening, general maintenance, toys and collections of old tins and bottles.
On the second floor of this building, there is an interesting display of people and buildings from around the Bangrak area. While some of this has English descriptions, unfortunately, most of it is in Thai. I did come across one old photo that was of particular interest to me though. It was of a tennis court complex that was located right across the road from our condo. You can still see the old tennis courts from the upper floors of our building.
Above you can see how the tennis courts look in around 1992-1995. In the background, you can see the foundations being laid for what is now the Jewelry Trade Center. The second photo is the view from the 19th floor of our condo building.
Bangkokian Museum Details
Location: 273 Saphan Yao Alley (also called Charoenkrung Soi 43), Bangrak
Nearest BTS: Saphan Taksin (1.3 km away)
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 09:00-16:00 (Closed Mondays)
Entry Fee: Free
The museum is around a 15 minute from Saphan Taksin BTS station. You can also hail a taxi from outside the station if you prefer not to walk. The cost should be around 40-50 baht (around $1.50).