Bangkok Guide
Ratanakosin
The National Museum
Opening time: Wed–Sun 9am–4pm, some rooms may close at lunchtime; free guided tours Wed & Thurs 9.30am
Price: B200
Address: Thanon Na Phra That
Website: www.thailandmuseum.com
The National Museum houses a colossal hoard of Thailand's chief artistic riches, ranging from sculptural treasures through bizarre decorative objects in the older buildings, to outlandish funeral chariots and the exquisite Buddhaisawan Chapel, as well as occasionally staging worthwhile temporary exhibitions.
Among the most famous and precious highlights are a black stone inscription, credited to King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai (c.1278–99) and celebrated as the oldest extant inscription using the Thai alphabet; axe heads and spear points from Ban Chiang in the northeast of Thailand, one of the earliest Bronze Age cultures ever discovered; and many fine Buddha images from all the major periods in Thai art history.
The second holiest image in Thailand, after the Emerald Buddha, is housed in the museum's Buddhaisawan Chapel, a vast hall of ornate coffered ceiling and lacquered window shutters, enhanced by painted rows of divinities and converted demons, all turned to face the chubby, glowing Phra Sihing Buddha. Said to date back to the thirteenth century, the image was believed to bring good luck to its owner and was frequently snatched from one northern Thai town to another, until Rama I installed it here in 1795. Two other images in Thailand (in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Chiang Mai) now claim to be the authentic Phra Sihing Buddha, but all three are in fact derived from a lost original. It's still much loved by ordinary people and at Thai New Year is carried out onto the nearby park at Sanam Luang, where worshippers sprinkle it with water as a merit-making gesture.
The sumptuous Tamnak Daeng (Red House) was originally part of the private quarters of the elder sister of Rama I. A large, airy Ayutthaya-style house made of rare golden teak, surmounted by a multi-tiered roof decorated with carved foliage and swan's-tail finials, it's still furnished in the style of the late eighteenth-century, with a huge, ornately carved box bed, and the uncommon luxury of an indoor toilet and bathroom.