During my trip to Bangkok I was staying at Novotel Bangkok Silom Road Hotel at Silom and this Museum was located at a walking distance from my Hotel. Entrance to this place is free. I saw 2 big Thai houses showcasing Thai lifestyle and culture from the past. It was informative and truly interesting experience.

To me the word “folk” gives the wrong impression. I would call it “Old Vintage Homes of Old Bangkok” The main attraction in the white 1927 Panya house which was usually a two story wooden gabled roof white house painted to look like a cement home. The home was owned by an upper middle class family during the time when the area was a neighborhood of homes and tree lined streets instead of high rise apartments, ugly 60ish style cement block shops, and a couple expressways devouring the peaceful post WWII neighborhoods. The daughter, (who grew up in the house) saw the importance of saving the house when she became a well known university professor and saw her whole neighborhood vanishing. She was able to donate the estate to the city for a museum. During the process she was able to move her father’s teakwood clinic to the backyard of the small museum grounds. It was also a joy to see the architecture and furnishings. There is another small building that has a old traditional kitchen on display. If you’re into old homes ( not mansions) this is worth a couple hours to explore. It is about a 25 minute walk from the BTS Thaksin station or take a taxi but make sure the address is written in Thai; for, this is not a major tourist attraction. GPS on Google maps helped my taxi driver. (btw: The museum supervisors there love their work & meeting visitors.)