Amata City: Take a step into the house of the past

Take a step into the house of the past

Displaying everyday objects from years gone by, the House of Museums is an immensely interesting and surprisingly fashionable destination on the outskirts of Bangkok

Published: 9/05/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Brunch

'Keep it! Tomorrow's antique," is the short yet meaningful slogan inspired by Anake Nawigamune, one of the founders of the charming House of Museums on Sala Thammasop Road.

Though relatively small in size, the museum compound run by Anake and like-minded art connoisseurs who call themselves the Cultural Affairs Association encompasses an immense variety of exhibited items and acts as a real-life time machine to bring people back to the blissful years of their youth.

The concept behind the museum is simple, that the everyday objects of today will one day be priceless and rare relics from the past.

Anake said 70% of the items exhibited come from donors who continuously contribute their possessions of countless kinds - toys, books, film posters and copious amounts of outdated implements once deemed necessary in the daily lives of Thai people. He added that the rest of the items have been collected through almost two decades of buying and rescuing.

The three-storey structure on the outskirts of Bangkok was originally a storehouse for a huge and diverse stockpile of collectible memorabilia compiled by the group. It wasn't until nine years ago that the members decided that the unique items didn't deserve to fade over time in a concealed godown and made plans to share their treasures with the public. They held fundraising activities and events to cover the high cost of the site's renovation into the House of Museums, which officially swung its doors open in 2001.

The displays of assorted everyday items that were once overlooked narrate and shed light on the country's past. Children stepping into the ground floor of the three-storey main building are invariably enthralled with the toy corner, which boasts hundreds of cute and quaint clockwork toys, along with model robots and dolls in many shapes and hues.

Next to the toy zone is a replica of a traditional convenience store called Heng Huad. The store exhibits goods and commodities that are almost impossible to find now, each with stylish old-time packaging. The opposite side of the floor showcases the fascinating Jee Min Pharmacy.

Perfecting the time-warp ambience are a multitude of antique objects arranged and incorporated in vibrant time-referenced and life-like settings on the second floor. These include sections of a printing press, a barber shop, a book rental store, a photography studio, a miniature cinema showing black-and-white movies and a kitchen featuring ancient household utensils.

In a nearby corner there are displays of miscellaneous historical items such as old lemonade bottles, lanterns, wax-papered straws, vintage lozenge cases, toy cars as well as a cigarette card series, all offer younger generations a profound glimpse into how life used to be back in the days of their grandparents.

Equally interesting on the third floor is an old school classroom equipped with wooden desks, old textbooks and blackboards, and the office of a district official from an earlier era. Not to be missed are the vinyl displays of an old record store.

The stroll through the past is concluded with the museum's latest section set in an adjoining building - a replica of a riverside market which houses an atmospheric old-world coffee shop, Chinese gold shop and a dentist's workplace complete with an antique chair that looks as though it has seen thousands of patients come and go.

In a world where such things as time machines only exist in classic Hollywood movies, immersing yourself in the atmosphere of these old-world gems and, for a while, letting yourself be lost in the ambience of days gone by, can fulfil the sensation of being transported back through time.