BANGKOK NATIONAL MUSEUM

An advice to take advantage of this museum, which is said to have one of the richest collections in Southeast Asia, to take a guided tour (free of charge) which will be much more instructive than lapidary labelling... One regrets indeed the lack of explanations and the impression of an accumulation of little studied objects. The museum was founded on the site of the Second King's Palace (Wang Na Palace) and consists of 3 wings, one for the hot season, one for the cool season and one for the rainy season. Today the palace houses collections of ceramics and textiles, collections of musical instruments and theatrical objects, as well as an interesting collection of weapons. The museum traces the history of the country. The south wing consists mainly of representations of Buddha dating from the 7th to the 13th centuries. The north wing contains representations of Buddha from the Lanna and Sukhothai periods to the present day, as well as the collection of ceramics.

The "Red House" was built in teak for the sister of King Rama I, Princess Sudarak. Inside you can see the collection of furniture that belonged to the princess. Also of interest is the gallery of the funeral floats; beautifully decorated and maintained, these floats and palanquins are still used by the royal family. The Buddhaisawan Chapel was built in the 18th century for the king's younger brother. The representation of Buddha (Phra Buddha Sihing) is the second most important in the country.