Kru Kang House Museum

Thai History Preserved

By Grant Cameron

May 1^st, 2019

Olde worlde charme

The fascinating museum of Kru Kang house, in the Klaeng district of Rayong, was first opened in 2016 in a ceremony presided over by the then culture minister Weera Rojphotchanarat and attended by the provincial governor and local government officials.

It is a reminder of things gone by, of objects that many teens would, today, not recognise for what they are: abacuses and typewriters, mobile telephones without a screen, phonographs and much more.

A tiger in your tank

The museum is owned by retired teacher Somkiat Boonchuayleau, or Kru Kang, who has been collecting bric a brac and antiques since the 1970’s.

Many of the pieces on display were found in local markets, gifted to Kru Kang, or sometimes found in dustbins and in rubbish.

The museum comprises two floors, with objects being spread throughout, including in the gardens, front and rear.

25,000 objets d'antiques!

Kru Kang, who is in his mid-sixties (at the time of writing) believes his museum houses over 25,000 artifacts and objects from life in a bygone era.

Such articles may comprise objects as small as brushes, combs, bobs of thread, 35mm film rolls, all the way up to bicycles, scooters and motorbikes, a tuk-tuk, jeep, a horse and cart, and cars.

Snacks in the garden

In the front yard, there is an old country cafe (which will still serve drinks snacks if there are enough visitors), a mobile juice van, and a "petrol station/garage" with motorcycle and car petrol pumps, vehicle tyres and petrol wall signs.

It all sounds incongruous and chaotic, but in its own setting, it is not, as you will see when you visit as I hope you will.

Two floors

Inside, the museum is spread over two floors.

Downstairs there is an old fashioned women’s hairdresser salon and separate barbershop, with old fashioned razors, strops and other objects and layout such that they are almost the real thing, just frozen in time.

In the barber-shop, the topless photo seems to be of a famous Page 3 topless model of the 70’s, Linda Lusardi, but I stand ready to be corrected by any eagle-eyed reader who may dispute this.

for Beamer Lovers

Elsewhere on the ground floor is a dress-maker’s shop, camera shop and studio, and toy shop.

The camera shop was my favourite; the collection of old film and cameras, Agfa, Kodaks and Ricohflex, was just exquisite. For the speed demon, there is a well maintained BMW Mottorad R50 on display.

Education, work & Romance

The ground floor also contained a school room, traditional bedroom of the time, local shop and post office, and an agricultural area of farming implements .

Upstairs

On the second floor there is a large display of old and outmoded gadgets: mobile phones, telephones, appliances, vessels, measuring cans and jars, typewriters, calculators, slide-rules, sewing machines, wall-clocks, grandfather clocks, cuckoo clocks . . . . . . .

. . . . . . televisions, vacuum cleaners, hifi equipment, tuners, and amplifiers, musical instruments, radios, scales, chests, vases, statues, pictures, paintings and photographs, some of them being of the Royal family members of 40 and 50 years ago.

Time to Go

Our walk round this old house was an hour very well spent.

It is truly amazing to see how quickly time marches on, and that things that were familiar to us and frequently used 30, 40, 50 years ago are now so old as to be forgotten, and almost lost to our memory.

If you do try and visit, and it is worthwhile, as an aid to watching the GPS you will recognise the museum with this old green Chevrolet parked right outside.