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After a bit of a lie in, Narai (the morning member of staff at O'Nidra) ordered us a taxi at 11.00am to take us to Baan Silapin (The Artists House)
It is located on the Thornburi side of Bangkok.
One blogger wrote the following about it and I have pinched it!! :
Escape the fast-paced metropolis of Bangkok and find the quiet life along its Khlongs. Khlong Bang Luang คลองบางหลวง. "A lovely patch of peace beyond the bustle", writes Khetsirin Pholdhampalit in The Nation on Sunday. The famous Thai writer Kukrit Pramoj chose it as the setting for Mae Ploy's birth in his novel "Four Reigns". Between Phetkasem Soi 20 and Soi 28 the wooden shophouses and Ayutthaya-era temples give you a feeling of how Thonburi looked in the 17th century, when it was Siam's capital and the King lived at Wang Derm Palace. Then this was the residential area for influential families and high-ranking government officials. From there comes the name Bang Luang: Bang means "area", Luang refers to the monarchy. Today the official name of the canal is Khlong Bangkok Yai.
One outstanding wooden house on Khlong Bang Luang is Baan Silapin, the artist's house ริมคลองบางหลวง. Admiral Yodchai Raksamruad took possession of it a few years ago after it had belonged to his family of goldsmiths for generations. It was in bad condition. He invited artist Chumpol Akkapantanon to help. He had seen, what Chumpol did for the Phranakorn Nornlen Boutique Hotel. Chumpol and three friends decided to buy, renovate it and turn it into an art gallery. The two-storey L-shaped house is built around an Yor Mum Sipsong-style pagoda in its garden, it has a gently sloping roof and gables, which are decorated with wooden carvings.
We bought a bag of fish food and fed a huge shoal of fish just off the old wooden walkway. It was amazing to see how many of them there were.
We had a very cheap lunch in a restaurant ( off road shack actually) for 70p each and the owners were great. They spoke not a word of English but we got by using pictures and hand signals. It was funny! After lunch we visited a beautiful Wat (Temple) nearby and then headed back to the Artists House for a traditional Thai puppet show at 2pm. It was good - very different to how I imagined it!!
We got back to the guest house around 4pm and in the evening we caught the skytrain to Siam where we had dinner in a very nice Shopping Centre called Siam Paragon. Got back at about 10.30pm and went to bed quite tired.
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