Bangkok Post : LANNA LEGACY

This vintage photograph shows members of the family that once owned this property. The picture was not taken at this house though.

As you can see from these ‘before-and-after’ photographs, this particular wooden house was in a very sad condition before the restoration team stepped in. The house may now look more secure than it used to be in the previous years but the fact is it’s still not strong enough to accommodate a constant stream of visitors.

The back side of the ‘Huen Boran Roi Si Sip Pee’, as the old house is known in Thai, faces the Ping River. Over half a century ago, timber was transported along the river, and elephants were used to haul the logs. In those days, as you can see in the antique photo by Boonserm Sattrapai who is now 79, there used to be a number of other wooden mansions along the river bank. Other than this picture, several other works of the veteran photographer are also exhibited in the restored house.

Traditionalstyle roof tiles are bent on the top edge so they hook to the wood bars of the roof structure. Most of these tiles are original.

This long bar of wood serves as a door latch for the main bedroom. Lattice is used on the upper part of the room wall to allow air flow but at the same time maintain the privacy. And don’t tell anybody, there’s an attic concealed behind the tall ceiling of each room!

It’s true the house sits right next to the river but this well made it even more convenient for residents of the house to fetch water for daily consumption. This was before the advent of pipe water, of course.

In the old days, earthen water pots like this one was a common sight in Chiang Mai. Placed at the front of the house, people put drinking water in these pots for both guests and strangers to quench their thirst. However, with fear of Hepatitis B and other diseases, such practice is no longer popular.

Like in other parts of the Kingdom, people of the North take off their footwear before entering a house. To make sure the feet are really clean, there is even a water basin, like that one at the base of the stairs, for washing the feet.

The stair steps are firmly held in place with wooden wedges.

These two pieces of wood on the bedroom floor are actually the lid of a secret opening. In those days, there was no electricity and no toilet. A hole like this allowed children to answer the call of nature during the night without having to venture outside in the dark.

This baby bed is one of the two pieces of original furniture that remain in the house. The other is a four-pole adult bed placed in a larger room. The house has five rooms of different sizes, plus a kitchen and balconies.

At night the old house is beautifully lit up. But the security guard who watches over the wall-less property makes sure nobody gets too close to the house. The open ground, where the demolished shop houses used to stand, is now used as a car park.

This tall ‘window’ was probably a door. It might even have been the main entrance. This side of the house oversees the river, which was the major means of transportation before the arrival of modern roads and automobiles. Like old riverside homes throughout the Kingdom, the side of the house facing the road is now considered the ‘front’ part.

The living area has two levels of floor. This allows children to play on the lower level while grandpa and grandma can enjoy a peaceful nap on the upper level without being disturbed by the stomping of feet. To learn more about Lanna style houses, visit http://art-culture.chiangmai.ac.th/museum/