National Museum, Bangkok

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This teak house was originally one of the private living quarters of Princess Sri Sudarak, the elder sister of King Rama I. It was moved from the old palace in Thonburi to the Grand Palace for Queen Sri Suriyen, wife to king Rama II. After King Rama III passed away, one of her sons, King Pin Klao, became the Second King to King Rama IV. He had the house, in which he had once lived as a child, moved here to the Palace of the Prince Successor, now the National Museum compound. Today the Red House is furnished in the early Bangkok period style with some of the objects that once belonged to Queen Sri Suriyen.

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This chapel is located in the grounds of the National Museum and was built in 1787 to house the important Buddha image, Phra Buddhasihing. Legend has it that this image was originally made in Sri Lanka in the mid 15th century and was sent to Sukhothai through Nakhon Si Thammarat. It later travelled to Ayutthaya, Kamphaeng Phet, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai before being brought to this chapel when it was built. Inside the chapel are wonderful mural paintings depict scenes from the life of the Buddha.

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This superb museum was established and opened in 1874 by King Rama V to exhibit relics from the rule of King Rama IV's rule. Today the galleries contain exhibits covering Thai history back to Neolithic times and shouldn't be missed. Other exhibits of interest include the old monuments and historic buildings such as the Buddhaisawan Chapel and Red House, originally one of the private living quarters of Queen Mother of King Rama IV and King Pinklao.

The Art History Gallery, located in the North Wing Building, displays sculptures and exhibits from the Dvaravati, Srivijaya and Lopburi periods, (before 1257 AD) up to the Bangkok period (1782). Other exhibits include games, ceramics, ivory, weapons, royal regalia and gold treasures, stone inscriptions, wood carvings, textiles and costumes, musical instruments, royal funeral chariots, and coins and banknotes.

Open: 9am-4pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission: 40B.

Don't miss, especially if you love history and archeology and l if you are planning to visit ancients town in Thailand, in north or northeastern region. I usually go there on my way back to BKK to understand better the background of what I've seen on my journey in Thailand
It consists in palace buildings and the real museim
Wang Na, the residence of Prince Successor, is in front of Royal Palace. Here, the apartments were designed for the seasons,north wing was occupied in summer, south rooms in rainy season and north rooms in winter. Then you proceed to the throne room. Wonderful is Tamnak Daeng (Red House) with furnishing od XVIII century. In the same complex you may see Phra Thinang Phuttaisawan the palace private chapel with fine mural paintings.

Museum.
1. Gallery of Thai History. Manuscripts, stone inscriptions etc. Don't miss stine inscription of King Ram Kamhaeng recording rhe history of Sukhotai. It seems that the King have invented Thai alphabeth inspired from Khmer.
2. South Wing. There are a lot of pieces influenced by chinese and indian art and a bronze Roman lamp. In first floor you may see exhibits from Dvaravati period: terracotta head of Budda, Hindu deities, wheels of law and coins. On second floor you may see signs of the Hindu influence: a wonderful Ganesha, finds from Chaya (seated Budda witha naga canopy), Si-Thep, exhibits of Khmer art.
3. North wing. There a lot of Budda images: the best are one enormous statue of Budda (Dvaravati period) a head of Bodhisattva (Khmer style), large Budda image from Ayuthaya. On first floor there are hindu gods and statue of Budda from Sukhotai and Ayuthaya.
In the cpmpound you may found restaurant and toilettes.
The museum is open from wed to sun hour 9 am - 16 pm. There are free tours on english, french, german and spanish starting at 9.30 and lasting about 2 hours. Admission fee: 40THB.

I wondered past the museum on my way to the Grand Palace and thought to myself, why not go in? I'm glad I did. I spent 2 hours wondering around the actually quite small museum and in the process learnt a lot about Thailand's history. I believe it was 40 Baht entry fee. Worth it to expand your mind a little bit and learn a little about the country you're in!

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Unlike other national museums housed in imposing buildings, Thailand's has a more relaxed ambiance owing to its setting - a cluster of traditional buildings scattered around an expansive area of lush gardens and reflection ponds. Key highlights include the Buddhaisawan Chapel famous for its well-preserved murals, the Sivamokhaphiman Hall which houses prehistoric art collection and the History Gallery which takes visitors to a diorama tour from the Sukhothai period (13th century) to the Rattanakosin period (1782 onwards).

Given the massive collection, history and culture buffs need to allot at least three hours to fully enjoy the museum. Admission as of January 2008: 40 baht.

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Within walking distance from the Grand Palace to the north across Sanam Luang, is one of the largest and comprehensive museums in Southeast Asia. The National Museum houses over one thousand artifacts ranging from Neolithic times to the present Bangkok period. The complex, also founded in 1782, consists of several old but beautiful buildings of colorful Thai architectural design.

The Museum is open daily everyday from 09.00 – 16.00 hours except Monday, Tuesday and public holidays.
Admission fee is 20 Baht for Thais and 40 Baht for Foreigner. Guided tours are provided in the mornings at 09.30 – 12.00 a.m. as follows: from the ticket desk every Wednesday and Thursday.

go to the national musuem to see national arts and crafts, ancient boats and vehicles used by the king; entrance fee is less than 100baht, open till sundays, there's a restaurant inside where you can buy food, they have clean restrooms