Chinpracha House

Chinpracha House, or Baan Chinpracha, is one of the grand family homes built by Phuket's tin-rich Hokkien families in the early twentieth century. It stands on Krabi Road in the old town and was built around 1903, in the reign of King Rama V, by Phra Pitak Chinpracha, also known as Tan Ma Siang. Born in Phuket in 1883, he was the son of Luang Bamrung Chin Prathet, a Hokkien immigrant, and was only about twenty when he built the house, at a time when tin had made several Hokkien families in Phuket Town very wealthy. Today it is shown to visitors as a house museum.

The mansion is a fine example of the Sino-Portuguese style that defines Old Phuket Town. Its central living area is laid with patterned Italian tiles and opens onto an indoor pond under an open roof, which brings light and air into the heart of the house. Some of the furniture was brought from Europe over a century ago, which gives a sense of how a wealthy Phuket family lived during the tin boom.

Film fans may recognise it: the house was a key location in Oliver Stone's 1993 film Heaven and Earth, standing in for Saigon, and scenes from The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones were filmed inside. Only the ground floor is open to visitors, so a visit is short, but it gives a rare look inside one of these private mansions rather than just at its façade.

There is an admission charge. Opening times have changed over the years, so check before you go, ideally by phone, and avoid visiting at the very end of the day. The house suits anyone interested in architecture, history or old Phuket; it is less suited to young children, as it is a family home with fragile furniture. Behave as a guest, avoid touching the furnishings and ask before taking photographs.

Chinpracha House is a few minutes' walk from Thalang Road, so it combines well with the Thai Hua Museum, which is also on Krabi Road, and with a walk around Soi Romanee and Thalang Road. The old town's cafés and Phuket-style noodle shops are close by for lunch afterwards.