Bangkok - National Museum (Wang Na Palace)

The Tamnak Daeng, or "Red House", was constructed towards the end of the 18th c. by Rama I for one of his elder sisters. It acquired its color, and so too its name, from a plant pigment applied to the teak of which it is built. The house originally stood elsewhere, subsequently being moved to the National Museum. Inside, the bedroom in particular, with its carved and gilded bed, dressing table and towel-horse, vividly evokes the lifestyle of a member of the royal family at the time. Note too the richly ornate lacquered wooden chest in which silken robes would have been kept.

It is not possible here to do more than simply draw attention to the National Museum's extensive and extremely valuable collection of Buddha figures from all the different periods. Special mention should, however, be made of the Dvaravati sculptures from Nakhon Pathom and statues in the Srivijaya and Lopburi styles (both South Wing, upper floor) as well as those from Sukhothai (North Wing, upper floor).

Apart from the blue mosaic gable wall which was added later, this typical Thai temple dates from 1795. It was specially built to house its greatest treasure, a statue of Buddha enthroned beneath a canopy. Once a year, at the time of the Songkhram festival (the old Thai New Year) in April, this much venerated image is carried in solemn procession through the streets of Bangkok. Tradition has it that the figure came originally from Ceylon; historians on the other hand, influenced by its style, believe it is most likely to have been carved in Sukhothai around 1250. Like the famous Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaeo (see Grand Palace precinct), the statue is probably much traveled, having almost certainly found its way to a number of different south-east Asian countries at various times. It was brought from Chiang Mai to Bangkok by King Rama I in 1795.

For some visitors the murals decorating the walls of the bot are of even greater interest than the statue of Buddha. Unlike those in Wat Phra Kaeo they are completely original and therefore almost 200 years old. Executed in tempera colors using mineral and earth pigments, the paintings, eschewing perspective, depict episodes from Buddha's earthly existence. The figures are portrayed in period dress.