Nai Lert Park and Heritage Home

The other week I had to go out to Ploen Chit neighborhood to pick up a document that I needed to have officially translated and legalized (a very boring story that I won't go into here). While I was out that way, I decided to be kind of spontaneous and pay a visit to an interesting attraction that had always been on my radar but which I had never actually went out of my way to visit in all of my years living in Bangkok.

Set in a beautiful green space surrounded on all sides by towering skyscrapers, business parks, and shopping malls, the Nai Lert Heritage Home is a house museum dedicated to Nai (an archaic way to say "Mr.") Lert Sreshthaputra, an influential businessman and developer in the early-modern Rattanakosin Kingdom who was granted title "Beloved Millionaire" by King Rama VI.

Mr. Lert, born to a Chinese-Thai family in 1872, founded an imported goods business known as the Nai Lert Store. Among the many products it sold was ice produced by one of Thailand's first modern ice-making operations, making ice available to Bangkok residents at a time when it was still a remarkable novelty.

His success soon extended far beyond ice. Nai Lert pioneered Bangkok's first motor bus service, introducing the iconic white buses that gave rise to the White Bus Company. Not content with transforming travel on land, he also launched the White Boat Company, whose scheduled passenger boats carried commuters up and down Khlong Saen Saep, the canal that still runs between Siam Square and the Golden Mount (a route I've taken my family on each time they've visited me in Bangkok).

As I stepped through the gates, I was greeted by one of these iconic white buses, lovingly preserved on the grounds as a reminder of Nai Lert's pioneering transportation empire.

The house itself is surrounded by a large, verdant park, a rare oasis of greenery in the heart of the Big Mango. Nai Lert opened the expansive grounds of his estate to the public, believing that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy nature and fresh air. Though he passed away in 1945, his family has continued his legacy, preserving the grounds and keeping them open as a free private park for the people of Bangkok.

When I booked a ticket for the daily tour online, the email I received said to meet my guide at the bomb shelter. It turned out that I was the only person who had signed up for a tour at that time slot, so it was to be a private tour!

The main family bomb shelter, which was constructed during the Second World War after a Japanese bomb destroyed part of the original house, was converted into a well after the war, and a second, smaller personal bomb shelter, a sort of concrete jar which could fit just one or two people in an emergency, sat nearby.

The house is a beautiful semi-open-air mansion, not terribly unlike the nearby home of famed silk magnate, art collector, and OSS operative Jim Thompson.

The house was made from golden teakwood and built in the iconic tropical bungalow style that blended Thai craftsmanship with Western colonial influences. Designed by Nai Lert himself in 1915, its open-plan layout, wide verandas, and high, double-tiered roof were intended to maximize airflow and provide comfort in Bangkok's climate.

The tour was excellent, and the house remains furnished with the family's original belongings: carved wooden furniture, porcelain collected from China and Europe, family portraits, and display cases filled with medals and decorations bestowed upon the family by both Asian and European monarchs.

Particularly striking were the many honors from the Swedish royal family, with whom Nai Lert's family has enjoyed a longstanding relationship.

There were only two places that I was not permitted to photograph: the family shrine, out of respect for its sacred nature, and the upstairs bedrooms, which belonged to Nai Lert's last living daughter, who passed a few years back, and which remains private to this day.

As the tour came to a close, I was led to the veranda from which Nai Lert would sit upon his teakwood pedestal and direct his business operations. From this elevated seat he would look out over his estate and oversee the constant movement of his commercial empire.

Finishing the tour, my guide led me back onto the lawn to show my Nai Lert's car. A common sight in Bangkok in those days was that of Nai Lert driving around town in his iconic white Fiat with his beloved pet leopard in the passenger's seat.

Check out his license plate!

Out behind the mansion stood the family boathouse, still housing Nai Lert's original riverboat from the early 1900s and his larger canal boat from the 1940s. These two boats, which look like museum pieces, are still used by the family to traverse Bangkok's waterways.

It's always fun to explore a new corner of Bangkok, especially one that has long occupied a special place in the city's international community. I had a coffee at one of the on-site cafes before heading back home.