Art & CultureThailand is home to a rich cultural heritage with distinct spiritual and art lineages. Gain insight into the ways of Thai culture passed down through the centuries in addition to its more modern variations through original Art & Culture articles.
Housed within a giant sculpture of Hindu god Indra’s three-headed elephant steed Airavata (known as Erawan in Thai), the Erawan Museum offers visitors to Bangkok a truly unique experience.
This masterpiece was launched by Lek Viriyaphan, a successful businessman who passed away in 2000. Lek was also responsible for establishing Muang Boran (The Ancient City) and The Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya.
Construction of the museum began in 1994. The museum officially opened in 2003, but modifications and additional construction work has continued to be carried out over recent years.
Jumbo record-breaker With the majority of the exterior and interior complete, the elephant stands as high as a 14-storey building (43.6 meters) and weighs in at 250 tons (the heads weigh 100 tons, the body 150). The exterior of the mighty elephant is covered in hammered copper plates, which have grown darker in color over time. The ErawanMuseumis the largest structure in the world to be covered in copper plates, as well as being the world’s largest elephant-shaped structure.
Once you’ve bought your ticket (150 baht [US$4.73] for adults, or 50 baht for children [aged 6-15] ) and entered the museum, don’t forget to show your ticket at a booth in front of the elephant to receive a set of items to be used when worshipping. Among these is a ceramic bowl, which can be floated in a pool surrounding the Erawan sculpture. Sri Lankan Buddhists call this purnaghata (the “urn of plenty”) and float bowls in the way in pursuit of having their wishes fulfilled.
If you look up now you’ll be made aware of the building’s stunning stained-glass roof. This was produced by the late Jakob Schwarzkopf, a German artist who was 73 when he undertook the feat. In the center, you’ll see an ancient map of the world surrounded by zodiac signs and various human facial expressions.
To approach “Heaven”, you should walk up the silver staircase. When walking down, be sure to use the golden staircase (which confusingly is actually pink). The two staircases have actually been designed to represent the body of an Arnon fish. They support the SumeruMountainand the heaven above called Tavatimsa (or Trayastrimsa in Sanskrit).
Inside the beast Designed in accordance with cosmological aspects of Tribhumi (a form of poetry written in the Pali language), the interior of the elephant houses three worlds – Heaven, Earth and the Underworld.
You start a visit to the museum at the lowest level, where a number of highly-valuable antiques can be viewed, including an example of Ming porcelain, as well as furniture and utensils. This level was chosen to house valuable items since it is thought that the Naga, a race of supernatural beings usually depicted with both human and snake attributes, are highly effective guardians of treasure. According to legend, the Naga occupy an underground world.
Serving as a pedestal, upon which the giant elephants’ body rests, the Earth level is decorated with intricate white stucco and fragments of Thai Benjarong ceramic. The effect is stunning.In the center is a Chinese-style pavilion, which enshrines a priceless 1,300-year-old Guan Yin statue. Guan Yin is known among Chinese Buddhists as the “Goddess of Compassion”.
Many ancient Buddha images, including those featuring rare artistic styles from numerous eras, are on display here. The two most important statues are actually replicas of Thailand’s most famous statues and contain several Buddha relics.
Several of the museum’s pavilions, located in the gardens surrounding the museum, offer the ideal location to rest and check on your photographs. If it’s a particularly hot day, you can always borrow a large umbrella from the museum while you stroll around the grounds and gardens. Look out for a large number of mythical creatures as you enjoy the surroundings.
The Museum– do the math! According to ancient beliefs, Erawan, Indra’s vehicle, is a huge ivory white elephant with 33 heads. Each head has seven tusks, each of which bears seven lotus ponds.
In each pond, there are seven lotus pads. Each pad has seven blossoms and each blossom has seven petals. Seven angels live in each of the petals and each angel has seven ladies-in-waiting.
After a fairly serious calculation, we finally figured out that the Erawan should have 33 heads, 231 tusks, 1,627 ponds, 11,319 lotus pads, 79,233 lotus blossoms, 554,631 lotus petals, 3,882,417 angels and 27,176, 919 ladies-in-waiting! We can safely conclude that a true Erawan is one monster of an elephant.
The museum opens daily during 8 am-6 pm, and an English-speaking tour guide can be hired for an additional 300 baht. For further information please contact Tel: +66 (0)2 371 3135-6.
Transport connections Car: Located in Sukhumvit Roadin Samut Prakarn province, ErawanMuseumis only a few kilometers from central Bangkok. However, the traffic can be really congested here, particularly during rush hours.
Bus: Buses 25, 142, 365, and air-conditioned buses 102, 507, 511, 536 all pass in front of the museum. Buses with a yellow plate are preferable since they take the expressway.
Art & Culture 
Art & Culture
Thailand is home to a rich cultural heritage with distinct spiritual and art lineages. Gain insight into the ways of Thai culture passed down through the centuries in addition to its more modern variations through original Art & Culture articles.
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