After spending almost an hour inside the amazing Erawan Museum, my friend and I stepped outside to have some fresh air.
From here, I could see the Elephant's trunk and tusks above the building. Moments ago, we were actually inside the Elephant's belly. If you missed that part, click HERE to read all about it.
There's a large tropical flower garden surrounding the Museum building. We planned to take a stroll in the garden.
The stream circling the building was designed for visitors to float the lotus flowers. Read about the purpose for floating the lotus flowers in Part 1.
We were now outside the building and walking along the stream circling the building.
Can you see the lotus flowers? A lot of them got trapped here and did not continue to float along with the water flow. I think that's what happened to my lotus flower!
The sight of the gigantic three-headed Elephant on top of the pink building still amazed me despite having stepped inside its belly!
Anyway, I would just like to share with you some amazing statistics regarding this giant Elephant.
Total height of the building and the Elephant 43.6 metres
Height of the Elephant 29 metres
Width of the Elephant 12 metres
Length of the Elephant 39 metres
Weight of the Elephant's body 150 tons
Weight of the Elephant's head 100 tons
Did you know pure copper was chosen for the surface of the Elephant due to its high durability and heat emissive capacity? The copper's malleability also makes it easy to temper into shape.
The structure of the torso and the head of the Elephant were made from H- and I-shaped steel rods joined together. The legs were made of reinforced concrete to support the weight of the Elephant.
The construction of the Erawan Museum including the Elephant took about 10 years in the making starting from the year 1994 when the foundations of the Erawan Museum was laid. By the year 2003, the Museum was finally completed.
I took this photo from the tropical garden surrounding the Museum building. I did not manage to find a spot where I could view all the three heads of the Elephant properly.
I like this photo below because it seems as if the three-headed 'beast' had just appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a jungle!
Please excuse my indulgence in these Elephant photos. I think I got carried away snapping shots of it. LOL!
OK, enough with the Elephant. Let's tour the garden a bit.
Besides flowers and plants, there were many detailed Thai sculptures.
Two elephants playing in the water.
An amazingly beautiful peacock!
Can you see those ceramic bowls adorning the peacock's body and wings?
A close-up shot of its head.
Ceramic bowls were used just like the decorations I had seen inside the Museum!
Not sure what animals these were. More like mythical creatures than real animals.
More sculptures which I did not know the names to.
There were many more sculptures but I did not take photos of them all.
Garden table and chairs to rest your weary legs after strolling the garden.
By the time we were done with nice garden, I was already feeling a little hungry. We stepped into the souvenir shop and bought a few souvenirs. After that, it was time to leave for lunch!
Overall, I had a great time at the Erawan Museum. If you happen to visit Bangkok, do not miss what I consider a rather under-rated tourist attraction!
Address : 99/9, Moo 1, Bangmuangmai, Samut Prakan, Thailand 10270
Website : http://www.erawan-museum.com
Opens : 8am - 5pm daily
Admission Fee : 300 baht (adult), 150 baht (children)
Direction : Take the BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit line and alight at the last station i.e. Bearing BTS Station. Take a taxi to the Museum which is just 5 km south from the station.
Coming Up Next : My Lunch At Polo Fried Chicken
FIRST COMMENTER
