The Folk Museum – preserving a lifestyle in a bygone era

The Folk Museum, Bangkok
preserving a lifestyle in a bygone era

The Folk Museum was originally the home of the Suravadi family, an old Bangkok family who built the cluster of four houses in 1932. It's tucked away in Soi Charoen Krung 43, off the famous Charoen Krung Road, the oldest road in Bangkok, built in 1860 during the reign of King Rama IV.

In 1992, the family home was converted to a museum to preserve the lifestyle of early Bangkok and also to record the history of Bangkok and the Bangrak district, where the museum is located.

There are four buildings set in a lush garden in half an acre of land in the busy commercial district of Bangrak near the Chao Phraya River. Three of these buildings are open for public viewing. Ms Woraporn, daughter of the original owners, lives in the fourth and it was through her tireless efforts that the Folk Museum was established.

The first building, which used to be the family home, is a two storey wooden building with a covered verandah at the back. The ground floor consists of an anteroom connecting to the dining room, guest room and library.

There's an air of nostalgia in the house where there's a grandfather clock and an old gramophone that has to be started by a lever. An old 75-rpm record of "Would I Love You" by Doris Day and Harry James is still on the turntable.

The dining room has a collection of European porcelain around the 1899 – 1913 period and Chinese ceramics from the Ching Dynasty. In the guest room stands the old piano belonging to Ms Waraporn's mother.

The rooms in the Folk Museum have been so meticulously preserved that even the old toilet complete with its ancient pots is intact; so are the old round black electrical switches. Looking at the wireless set of 1920 vintage in the library, one gets the feeling that time had stood still.

The four rooms upstairs have a comfortable and well lived in feel about them.

The first was the ancestors' room where relics of family members are kept.

The old Benjarong jar, the Thai porcelain in five basic colours, was from the days of King Rama V (1858 – 1910).

Some of the other porcelain pieces in the Folk Museum are from the early Rattanakosin era.

All the bedrooms have also been kept just the way there were; colourful face towels neatly folded into shapes of animals; an early 20th century porcelain washing bowl and old shaving sets; a dressing table with three sets of mirrors and a 100 year old European wardrobe. The altar has a Buddha image dating back to the Ayutthya period.

The second building in the Folk Museum is a two-storey house to the rear. This was meant to be the home and clinic of Dr Francis Christian, Ms Waraporn's stepfather. A room upstairs displays medical equipment used in the early 1930s. Dr Christian's fondness for cigars is evident from the old cigar boxes on display in his bedroom.

The third building has a collection of traditional kitchen and household paraphernalia on display on the ground floor. A walk through the wide hall on the ground floor is like walking through a time warp.

The upper floor of the third building houses the Bangrak Museum a community museum set up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to preserve the history of Bangkok and Bangrak district.

The Folk Museum is a depository of relics and a way of life in a bygone era. As a historical record of the lifestyle in the early 1900s in old Bangkok, it's invaluable and truly a Bangkok legacy preserved for posterity.

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