Explore Thailand

The Royal Barge Museum

There was a time in Bangkok when the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries were the most important means of transportation and the lifeblood of this city. Boats were the main mode of transport for everyone, even royalty.

While the general populace bobbed along in small but rudimentary craft, it was the royal barges that ruled these waters. And the grandeur of those early days can be relived with a visit to a museum entirely dedicated to these special craft.

The Royal Barge Museum is located on in a side klong or canal connected to the main Chao Phraya River. The easiest way to get here is by, surprise surprise, a boat. Heading out on one of the many, typically Thai long tails just adds a little more fun to the journey. This covered museum is a dry dock housing eight of Thailand’s most unique and stunning royal barges. They are as much a work of art as they are a maritime curiosity.

Royal barges are no ordinary craft; they are big, sleek, elaborately carved and powered by an army of rowers. It must have been a magnificent sight to see a flotilla of these craft heaving through the waters in those early dynasties.

It’s only until you get up close you realize the sheer enormity of these crafts. Each boat is carved from huge pieces of teak, their prows engraved with mythical creatures, gilded in gold and intricately decorated with tiny shimmering pieces of glass. These boats are still in working order, leaving their dry dock at festival times and important state occasions for spectacular processions along the river. Which is rare, as they’ve made an appearance on the water 16 times in the last 65 years.

The largest of the barges is the King’s. Named the Golden Swan, its prominent prow boasts the craning neck and head of a golden leafed swan. In keeping with its regal connection, this vessel measures in at 46 meters long and needs 50 oarsmen and 14 crew members to pilot.

Little has changed with these barge’s designs over the centuries. A central place for the dignitaries and numerous pairs of oarsman’s wooden seats set along the barge’s length.

While this museum displays 8 royal barges, there are 52 in existence stored at various locations around Bangkok. Many barges were destroyed or badly damaged during the Second World War and have been painstakingly restored and are still being cared for today.  As the barges get too old to be restored they are retired and new ones take their place. The latest royal barge constructed was the Narai Song Suban built in 1996 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the King’s coronation.

Dating back to the 13th century, the Royal Barge Procession used to involve as many as 200 longboats in an elaborate procession. During this period, the royal barges were used in battles, religious occasions, boat races as well as royal ceremonies such as meeting diplomatic delegation sent by King Louis XIV of France.

These royal barges hark back to a grand period of Thailand and if you’re lucky enough to be in Bangkok when they take to the Chao Phraya River, you’ll get to witness a very special and spectacular aquatic pageant.

Any seafaring lover worth their salt definitely need to add the Royal Barge Museum on their must do list when visiting Bangkok. Getting around Bangkok by water is still part of everyday life. While they may not be royal barges, there are plenty of tour boats and pleasure craft to give you a waters eye view of this constantly energized energetic city.

For more information, visit www.tourismthailand.org