As you walk along Krabi Road you will be sure to notice the elegant Blue Elephant Restaurant Governor's Mansion standing behind an old wall and a large lawn, but you would never know that just next door to it is Chinpracha House. Just a few years ago the land directly in front had been sold and the new owner developed the site into a row of shop houses and in doing so caused a lot of controversy by destroying the old wall that had surrounded the family's land for over 100 years.
The wall remains intact around the corner of Satun Road and a broken gateway still stands between the two mansions. The railing is said to have been imported from Holland.
So as you walk along Krabi Road look for the entrance just between the new buildings and the Blue Elephant Restaurant.
If you want to get a photo of the house it is not so easy, the main entrance is hidden behind trees and the only place to see much of it is from the alley between the new buildings as seen in reverse in the photo below.
Once you have followed the posters up to what would be the side entrance to the house then you will maybe feel sad just as I did. The beautiful house is looking old and warn, although in the 1990s the house won a conservation, I presume there is no government funding as the house is still owned and lived in by the 6th generation descendants of the original owner, Phra Pitak Chinpracha. Today Khun Pracha Tantavanitj runs the house as a museum open to tourists with an entrance fee of 100 baht and between my two visits the collection seems to have expanded.
Phra Pitak studied in Penang, where he learned to speak Thai, Chinese, Malaysian and English, on returning to Phuket he went into the business of Tin Mining and at the age of 20 built Chinpracha House, the first Sino-Portuguese mansion (known also as Ang Mor Lao อังม่อเหลา) of it's kind in Phuket, followed by the Phra Phitak Mansion or Governior's Mansion which was completed in 1940. Much of the furniture for Chinpracha House was imported from China and Europe and the ceramic floor tiles from Italy.
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| Table top ceramic inlay. |
Thanks to: http://www.lestariheritage.net/phuket/webpages/phi01.html
In 1901 Phra Pitak was made Counselor to the Dept of Metallurgy. He worked for the Government ธelegram and Electricty Dept and over the years was to receive many certificates and awards. In 1916 he was given the surname Tantawanich and in the same year donated money to build the Satree School “โรงเรียนตัณฑวณิชวิทยาคม” whch was opened on 24 April 1917. Over the years he made many donations including buying the land for Sarn Jao Tai Su He had 11 children many of which were to hold positions of importance in Phuket and the Tantawanich family have had much influence in Phuket's development right up to present day.
There are many old photos of the family dating back through the generations, these are perfect documentation of the history of the family and the house itself, as well as the traditional costumes of Phuket.
The house has been used as the location in several films including the Killing Fields and Heaven and Earth by Oliver Stone.
The nice thing about this house is that it is still lived in, so you get quirky things like a line of washing (edited out of the above photo) or a rack of newly washed dishes scattered amongst the otherwise historic objects of the museum collection. Some scenes that can be found Only in Thailand.
In Chinese houses the kitchen is an important room and Chinpracha House has a fascinating example of this along with a collection of typical kitchen utensils as well as the odd modern day PVC pipe!
On top of the cupboard on the left are the typical Thai 'tiffin boxes' or 'Binto' (ปิ่นโต) used as containers for a complete meal. Rice in the larger bottom level, and the curries, vegetables and other dishes in other levels. You can simply separate the layers and there is lunch - no need for plates! These are still used today, albeit sometimes plastic, as a way of transporting food to the office, to school or for a picnic, but most importantly during the Vegetarian festival when the Bintos are left at the temple for collection at a later meal time. Vegetarian food is supplied by the alms house of the temple free, all you have to do is give a donation and join the queue. This is called Pook Binto presumably as every Binto has a label of identification tied (pook) to it. A similar system operates throughout the year when you can make a regular agreement with a curry shop to organise a Binto to be sent to the office or at home.
I had never seen, let alone knew, that fans were paraffin operated in the days before electricity. The one in the photo is sadly missing the glass paraffin bottle. The bottle had a fabric wick, that when lit, produced enough heat to power the fan. It's surprising how much you can learn from a visit to a place like this!
But my favourite part of the house is the central open shaft or 'Chim Jae' (ฉิมแจ้), typical of this style of architecture, that allows light and air to flow through the house and rain to fall into the carp pond below. I couldn't help noticing the large clam shells, now a protected species, set as a decoration in the middle of the pond. Everyday fresh hibiscus and frangipani flowers are laid in the pond bringing it just a little bit more colour. It is a pleasant place that you could sit and relax with guests.
บุคคลสำคัญในอดีตภูเก็ต พระพิทักษ์ชินประชา (ต้นตระกูล ตัณฑวณิช) อ่านต่อ
http://www.phuketcity.info/wizContent.asp?wizConID=318&txtmMenu_ID=7
http://www.satreephuket.ac.th/basic_data/history.html
In Chinese houses the kitchen is an important room and Chinpracha House has a fascinating example of this along with a collection of typical kitchen utensils as well as the odd modern day PVC pipe!
On top of the cupboard on the left are the typical Thai 'tiffin boxes' or 'Binto' (ปิ่นโต) used as containers for a complete meal. Rice in the larger bottom level, and the curries, vegetables and other dishes in other levels. You can simply separate the layers and there is lunch - no need for plates! These are still used today, albeit sometimes plastic, as a way of transporting food to the office, to school or for a picnic, but most importantly during the Vegetarian festival when the Bintos are left at the temple for collection at a later meal time. Vegetarian food is supplied by the alms house of the temple free, all you have to do is give a donation and join the queue. This is called Pook Binto presumably as every Binto has a label of identification tied (pook) to it. A similar system operates throughout the year when you can make a regular agreement with a curry shop to organise a Binto to be sent to the office or at home.
I had never seen, let alone knew, that fans were paraffin operated in the days before electricity. The one in the photo is sadly missing the glass paraffin bottle. The bottle had a fabric wick, that when lit, produced enough heat to power the fan. It's surprising how much you can learn from a visit to a place like this!
But my favourite part of the house is the central open shaft or 'Chim Jae' (ฉิมแจ้), typical of this style of architecture, that allows light and air to flow through the house and rain to fall into the carp pond below. I couldn't help noticing the large clam shells, now a protected species, set as a decoration in the middle of the pond. Everyday fresh hibiscus and frangipani flowers are laid in the pond bringing it just a little bit more colour. It is a pleasant place that you could sit and relax with guests.
The open roof is beautifully reflected in the pond, and believe me those carp were the shiest carp ever, the minute I went near to take a photo they would swim off and hide under the rocks!
บุคคลสำคัญในอดีตภูเก็ต พระพิทักษ์ชินประชา (ต้นตระกูล ตัณฑวณิช) อ่านต่อ
http://www.phuketcity.info/wizContent.asp?wizConID=318&txtmMenu_ID=7
http://www.satreephuket.ac.th/basic_data/history.html
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