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Heart to heart High on ancient teak, Ban Prathabjai is a private house in Phrae that has become a magnet for visiting tourists Called Ban Prathabjai, the house in Pa Mat of Muang District sits on a sprawling 34-rai plot. It was built by Kitja Chaiwannakupt, a successful businessman who ran a wood processing factory. He had a liking for ancient teak houses and didn't want to see them destroyed or fade away, so he took upon himself to preserve them at a time when teak forests were in decline and old trees hard to find. Kitja's wishes are expressed through a poem etched on a board that hangs in front of Ban Prathabjai. He set out by scouring the region for such structures and persuaded their owners to sell them. Later he dismantled them and used the wood to build a big house for himself and his family and two smaller ones, said Thanawat Changthong, who shows visitors around the elegant property. Altogether he bought nine teak houses over a period of several years. Initially, his family didn't have a clue why he was buying them. Even so they didn't ask questions or raise any objection. Ban Prathabjai was completed in 1972. Kitja drew up the blueprints himself, without assistance from architects, engineers or interior designers. Every piece of wood obtained by tearing down old houses was put to use. He oversaw every step of construction, checking into every detail to make sure it's built to specification. It took five years to build the house, which covers an area of 1.3-rai and stands out by its 130 huge teak wood pillars. His siblings were so impressed by the structure that they christened it Ban Prathabjai, which in Thai translates roughly into something like a "house close to the heart." Kitja passed away in 1984 and a year later the house opened its doors to visitors. Ban Prathabjai is a cluster of three traditional northern Thai style houses decorated with simple carved wooden kalae, (glancing crow), the prominent northern V-shaped design built as a rooftop extension at the gable. The one-storey house has a spacious basement and high ceiling. The cemented ground floor is an area for souvenir shops selling handicraft products, leather bags and belts and wooden furniture. Here, visitors can easily spot big teak pillars. One of them is very large with a circumference of 2.5 metres and four metre tall. Some pillars were crafted. Teak columns 20-24 inches wide make up the walls. The house has five living rooms, open-air lobbies as well as a private zone. However, the inner area of house is reserved for family members. Section open to visitors are decorated with items such as old pictures, small bells that once adorned the necks of cows, old coins and bank notes, Thai musical instruments, large crafted wooden furniture, wood decorations and crafted wooden elephants. There are also areas displaying old kitchen utensils made from wood, typical of people living in the northern region, said Thanawat. Visitors can walk freely in the house without the need of a guide, except for area marked "restricted" which can only be accessed by members of the family. "Nothing has ever been stolen from the house so far," he boasted. That could probably be due to the goodwill of visitors towards the family for opening its doors to them. Meanwhile, the owner plans to turn the remaining land into a golf driving range where even non-golfers can have fun. It is also contemplating providing homestay for visiting tourists in due course. Ban Prathabjai is also attracting foreigners, especially those from Europe. It is open Monday-Saturday from 8am-5pm. |