Welcome to the Bangkokian museum.

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In this museum, there are three houses showcasing the living style of a middle to upper class family in the past Bangkok 1920-1945. They are really old houses so please be mindful when you look around. The Bangkokian Museum consists of three different houses built from 1929 to 1960 in which the family of Mother Sa-Arng lived. Mother Sa-Arng was born into a middle to upper class family where her father is a Chinese businessman.

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House 1 and house 3 were built during Mother Sa-Arng’s time but house 2 was dismantled and rebuilt to be exhibited later. In the past, the size of companies owned reflects the wealthiness of a person, although Mother Sa-Arng's family had two houses at that time they are still considered as a middle class family because of the lack of big companies owed. Mother Sa-Arng was an English teacher in Thailand who married twice and had four children. The house is then gifted to one of her children, Achan Waraporn Surawadee, for heritage. Achan Waraporn Surawadee is a biology Professor at Srinakharinwirot University and is the fourth child of Mother Sa-Arng and her second husband. After Professor Waraporn’s death, the Bangkokian Museum was then established according to the objective and intention of Professor Waraporn to teach younger generations, tourists and Thai people about the lifestyle and Thai culture in the past. Professor Waraporn gave this museum to the government for free. This is also why the visit is free. As the museum is not profit-orientated, the museum is supported by volunteers and it is not modified or as curated to earn profits. You may notice volunteers taking photos of you and that is because they need evidence of visitors to request a budget from the government.  In the following visit, you can see the authentic lifestyle of the family in the past. 

Let’s start with the first house you will see on your left hand side as you enter the museum.The first house was built in 1937. It was built for 2400 baht during that time. The building was extended in the year 1960. The architecture was influenced by western art which was popular during that period of time. The walls are also made of wood but got painted to imitate the look of bricked walls and many windows are designed to get a better airflow throughout the building. The house was built by using a square to square or rectangle to rectangle peg being fitted into a hole more commonly known as mortise. Screws and nails have never been utilized in the process as history has it that furniture built with screws or nails often ends up shaking and vibrating as compared to a piece specifically joined with mortise and tenon in which manually carved wooden pieces fit immediately into each other. This technique is called the Chinese joinery. On the first floor, you will see a library that Mother Sa-Arng’s first husband liked to use, a restroom, a living room and a dining room. On the second floor, there is the bedroom of Mother Sa-Arng, her mother’s bed room, her washroom and a display room that used to be a bedroom in the past. There are descriptions of the room and items in English inside the house so please look into them. 5 years after the death of Mother Sa-Arng’s first husband, she remarried with a Chinese businessman. In this house, you may also see a lot of photos of Mother Sa-Arng and her second husband who is a owner of a mill at klong bang luang nakhon pathom. Mother Sa-Arng and her second husband had 4 daughters.