As a little child, I remember going to the historic Wax Museum in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. I was really stoked how lifelike these wax figures of famous people looked, it seemed like some of them were going to say something or move. I also remember going to the cinema to see the horror classic House of Wax starring Vincent Price. In the movie, the museum had on display some of the most heinous villains in history. These indelible memories of my childhood were triggered when I visited this past November The Hall of Fame, Thailand’s version of the Wax Museum, at the Siam Cultural Park in Ratchaburi Province. Talk about déjà vu!

In this particular Wax Museum, the emphasis was on Thai and Asian heroes from the last 100 years or so. I got the opportunity to “meet” famous people like H.E. Professor Dr. Sanya Dhammask, Thailand’s greatest lawyer, who died in January 2002 at 95 years, in addition to the legendary Ho Chi Minh from Vietnam and China’s Mao Tse Tung, founder of China’s Communist Party. The personage that I was most impressed with was Seb Nakhasathine - one of Thailand’s foremost conservationists - who died tragically by taking his own life in 1990 at the relatively young age of 41 years old. His suicide was a result of his growing disenchantment with man’s negative impact on the environment and the wildlife that he loved so much. Somehow Mother Teresa snuck into the “the mix”, but she was a true heroine in Asia as well – to many poor, disenfranchised people in the world (especially in India), Mother Teresa was considered as an guardian angel. She’s the only non-Asian represented in the exhibit, where she’s portrayed in a praying posture - looks so real!

The Siam Cultural Park was such a pleasant place to visit on lazy Sunday afternoon. Besides the Wax Museum Exhibit, there are some very ornate Buddha sculptures from three different time periods, and representative models of Thai Houses from the four regions of Thailand. There is even an artificial waterfall – very well done, I may add. A nice little walking path encircles the park; along the way there some lovely shaded areas where one can relax and meditate. Highly recommended! I will return there on my next trip to Bangkok.

The park is about a 1 1/2 – 2 hour drive from Bangkok. While you’re at it, you can also stop by and visit nearby Udom’s Plant Nursery as well!