Museums in Koh Samui

The private museum of Koh Samui is a great place to go to learn about the history of this island

One of the things to do in Koh Samui is visiting the Private Museum in the island. The name is a very generic one and does not give away anything about what is exhibited in the museum. Visitors, essentially, only get the idea that the museum is private and not publicly owned or state owned. However, labelling the museum a private one is also quite confusing, seeing as this museum is open for public visitors.

The Private Museum is situated by the ring road, which is on the street used to turn to Chaweng. This is located on a side road, its address being 199/11 M.2 T Bophut. The contact numbers are 84320 and 088 249 3901. The museum’s email is privatemuseum@hotmail.com. Those who are considering this museum as part of their itinerary or things to do in Koh Samui should check for directions to the exact location of the museum. This can easily be done searching the address in Google maps.

In the Private Museum’s leaflet, notable claims are made. The museum is home to artefacts from the Iron Age, the Bronze Age, the New Stone Age, and the Middle Stone Age. There is more to it than that – the owner of the museum is a relative of King Rama IV and a past governor of a northern Thai province. The man, who isn’t named in the brochure, studied in Paris and also received a gold medal during the 'Salon des Artistes Francais 1986'. The owner of the museum is M.L. Arachawa Worawan.

The museum is located in a 300 year-old building and is constructed in the island’s traditional wooden style buildings. The exhibits in the museum consist of Ban Chiang Thai pottery and ceramics. The most significant archaeological discovery of Koh Samui, the stone drum discovered by Lamai Beach is sadly not exhibited in the museum. This particular piece is evidence that Koh Samui was occupied ever since Stone Age. Unfortunately, this artefact is not the Private Museum but rather in a different museum located on the mainland of Suratthani.

When searching for things to do in Koh Samui, be sure to include the Private Museum in Koh Samui. It is really a great place to visit. By visiting this museum, travellers will be able to learn something regarding the human settlement in the island of Koh Samui. Although the collection is not huge, which is obvious in the minimal images shown on the museum’s promotional leaflet, they have a collection that is still worth visiting.