National Museum

From the Market, Annie called for a tuk tuk and we paid 200THB to go to the museum. Tuk tuks are for the experience, not economy -- a Grab was quoted at 80THB. The National Museum (200THB/person) is too large to do in the two hours we had before closing, but it was as much time as we had energy for, so we focused on Building 4 and 5 which covered the history.

It is a very well done museum with excellent information panels and very nice artefact displays. It is interesting that 'prehistory' (i.e. before written records) lasted to the 6th century CE, long after Egypt, for example, entered into the historical era. Looking at the artefacts, it seemed to Doug that Stone Age development was very similar in southeast Asian and middle eastern areas in terms of technological and artistic development at about the same time, so he was not certain why the historical record is lacking. Were records lost due to decay in the tropical climate, or was language and writing delayed?

Overall, an excellent overview and context for the different eras and regimes in the history of Thailand up until present. The main artefacts were statues of the Buddha and the influence of time and cultures on it. North to south cultures: Lappan, Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. There was also east to west convergence with Cambodian Khmer art impacting on the Buddha images, One notes specifically the change in the Ushnisha, the top of head of the Buddha (the symbol of his Enlightenment and Enthronement), as squarer, then flame, and finally the influence of European art with more of a bun and soft draping of the clothes.

After closing, we walked home, and since we had so much to eat on the food tour, we just had some beers and instant noodles picked up in the hotel lobby and rested in our cool room!Read more