As you drive out of Bangkok eastwards along Sukhumvit Road or along the highway, you will notice a monument visible in the distance. As you draw closer, you can make out a huge elephant perched on the roof of a building.
That's Erawan, the 250 ton three headed elephant on the roof of the Erawan Museum. This unusual museum is the brainchild of Lek Viriyaphant who had a vision of preserving his personal collection of Thai art for posterity by retaining Buddhist and other relics within the country to foster cultural tourism.
The architecture of the Erawan Museum and the interior were designed to represent Hindu mythology on the structure and characteristics of the universe; representing the Three Worlds, heaven, earth and hell.
Further down Sukhumvit Road as we drive along the coast, we will encounter another of Lek Viriyaphant's projects. Muang Boran or Ancient City is an outdoor museum with displays of scaled models or life sized replicas of ancient ruins, monuments, buildings which provide an excellent insight into the ethnic and cultural heritage of Thailand.
Covering almost 100 hectares or 240 acres, this outdoor museum preserves the past architecture, art and culture of the different regions in Thailand with ruins and monuments located in an area in the shape of the map of Thailand.
Just outside the beach resort of Pattaya is a 100 m high building made entirely from teak wood without a single nail. The exterior and interior are covered with elaborate wooden sculptures.
The structure consists of four separate wings with separate entrances joined back to back. Each wing represents Chinese, Hindu, Khmer and Thai architecture respectively.
The design philosophy is based on the belief that human civilization is achieved and nurtured through religious truth. Man owes his existence to seven creators, Heaven, Earth, Father, Mother, Sun, Moon and Stars.
This is the Sanctuary of Truth, the third of Lek's projects.
Many of us come and go through life without leaving anything significant behind. The rare few leave their mark by endowing to society cultural monuments of their ideals and lives endeavours. Lek Viriyaphant was such a man.
"Whatever you have done today is of great importance because you gave a day of your life to achieve it"
Lek Viriyaphant
For details and photos of two of these monuments, please see Erawan Musuem and Muang Boran - Ancient City
The author Eric Lim lives in Bangkok Thailand and writes for Tour Bangkok Legacies, a do-it-yourself historical travel guide for independent travelers. He also publishes a monthly e-newsletter Bangkok Travelbug.
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