An open door to Thai history

Located in Bangkok, Ancient City or Muang Boran is regarded as the world’s largest outdoor museum. It’s a gateway to Thailand’s cultural heritage. ‘Ancient City’ lingered in my mind from the moment I heard it from Mr Kang, our cab driver who chauffeured us from the airport to our hotel. Many a time, a casual conversation with a local cab driver reveals more about unique places than an expensive travel guide. Kang had made a subtle mention of Muang Boran, stating that it is a city by itself, showing-off Thailand’s culture and distinct architecture.
 
What can be so special about about Ancient City? With Bangkok offering hundreds of other attractions, choosing Muang Boran over others was difficult. But the fact that anything old must be gold was a parallel thought. This inquisitiveness and the lingering desire to explore unexplored territory drew me to this outdoor museum.  And it turned out to be the best decision of my week-long trip to Bangkok.

Every city must surprise you as a traveller. Muang Boran did just that. It seemed like an open book of history and an open door to the real Thailand. It is a place where Thais can perceive and recognise their roots and heritage while visitors like me can gain an insight into the Thai ways of life. Money can buy anything and the wealthy can choose to pursue material gains. Yet, the Chinese-descendent businessman Sia Lek did something totally radical and worthwhile. He founded Ancient city, developed his interest in Thai arts and decided to give back something to society. He either collected or reproduced monuments here in Muang Boran, corresponding to the map of Thailand. Today, it houses 116 monuments, with more to come. You do not need to understand architecture or design displayed in the museum. You are instantaneously in awe. And just like art takes reality by surprise, Ancient City took me by surprise with what she had to offer.
 
Neglected treasure

This place seems to be overlooked by most tourists visiting Bangkok. It’s a pity that a place full of architectural masterpieces and fine arts has limited admirers. It is not so popular among locals and only few international visitors come here. It doesn’t get the promotion it deserves. Even today, the son of Sia Lek takes care of the museum, even after the demise of his father. Located in Samut Prakan province, in the outskirts of Bangkok, it is a 45-minute drive by taxi from central Bangkok costing 250-300 baht. One can also take a bus from the southern bus terminal — Paknam.

Monuments here were collected in many ways, I heard. At times when structures of traditional vernacular architecture were scheduled to be demolished, they were purchased by the Ancient City, dismantled and reconstructed in the park. Also, original buildings from Wat Phai Ngoer, for instance, were bought to show the influence of Chinese art in Thai court during the Rattanakosin period. Reproductions (on a smaller scale) of palace halls, temples, stupas, stone sanctuaries, statues, old wooden stilt houses by the water bodies and traditional houses are seen all over the place. They depict scaled down monuments of Thailand from the various ruling kingdoms (Sukothai, Ayuthaya, Rattanakonsin, Thonburi); some reconstructions apparently are not here any longer.

The replicas of existing or ancient buildings of Thailand are so amazingly identical. I can endorse this. Perhaps, because the replica of Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) here was so similar to the original temple I had visited barely two days earlier. Such was the resemblance of the Grand Palace, the floating market and the Three Pagodas pass of Kanchanaburi. Statues here are 1/3rd the size of the originals.

Cultural representation

A lot of creative thinking and imagination must have gone into coming up with a concept like the Ancient City. The creations were enhanced and subtly merged to reflect Thailand’s social and cultural atmosphere from the past. One such creation was — authenticated communities with their inhabitants doing daily chores and sample villages from all regions of the country. At the other end, new creations such as the Sumeru Mountains, the statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin, and the Garden of the Gods have been incorporated to convey the religious beliefs of people in ancient communities. It is constantly expanding with newer wonders. One such architectural marvel was under construction — a massive temple, which when finished may have close to 1,000 images of the Buddha.

It was getting evident, as we drove through that there was a sense of continuity among the historical, artistic, cultural and religious beliefs of Thai talents. The past and the present of Siam, Thailand could be visually revived. Just like Sia Lek had said, “But one should realise that each structure, reflecting as it does the great splendour of the past, was not constructed in isolation from the next. Each one relates to another in such a way that it conveys a certain meaning in terms of our historical, social and cultural achievements. Therefore, visitors to Muang Boran should not limit themselves to viewing each exhibit in isolation.”

What was even more impressive is the layout, preserved in the pattern of traditional Thai lifestyle, hard to behold in times today. The shutter-bug in me was immensely happy. Sadly, I ran out of space on my camera as this place can offer tons of memorable frames. Go equipped with lots of rolls or digital cards along with good stamina. If you are among those whose heart craves for art, history or monuments, then you should plan on tenting here for a few days. Include Ancient City in your Bangkok-must-see-list.