Satun National Museum Kuden Mansion — Attraction in Satun Province

Construction was started in 1898 and completed in 1916 by Phraya Phumnatphakdi or Tunku Baharutdin Bin Tammahong (formerly Kuden Binkumae), the ruler of Satun, during the reign of King Rama V. The mansion was intended to be a royal residence during a royal visit of King Rama V to the South. However, the king did not stay overnight here. The building was later used as an official residence and as the Satun Town Hall. Until WWII in around 1941, the building was occupied by Japanese soldiers as their command unit. It was also used as the Satun City Hall and other important official places. During 1997–2000, the Fine Arts Department renovated the Kuden Mansion into a western two-storey brick building. Curved doors and windows are in the European architectural style of art. Its Thai-styled hip-roof is covered with Spanish terra cotta roof tiles. Window panels consist of wooden shutters. The top of the pediment is adorned with a star-shaped vent in accordance with Islamic architecture. Inside, there are displays of history of Satun town and ways of life of the people of Satun, such as the sea dwellers of Ko Lipe, pot making, a room of the ruler of Satun’s residence, a room of the Thai Muslim culture depicting arts, culture, traditions, local lifestyles, etc. The museum is open on Wednesdays to Sundays from 9.00 a.m.–4.00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and...

The fee to enter this museum is 50baht per adult. Not sure about the kids. Good thing was, we went for three person but they gave discount so one person didn’t have to pay. Thank you for that!🫶🏻 but to me it was kinda pricey because it was just a small museum and not really well maintained😭

But overall the museum was kinda dusty. Me and my friends were sneezing throughout the visit😭🤣 Not recommended for people with allergies to dust. And we were so sweaty during the visit because the aircond was down and the upper storey was so hot.

The explanations were in audio format but it wasn’t so clear due to the sound quality. But you can still look around. I mean it’s not that bad. Minimal written explanations can be seen. So yeah. Just “look” around literally😅

It was 4/10 for overall experience. If you have nowhere else to go you can visit here…. But if you have other plan, maybe just forget your plan to visit herr🥹🫠 I wish they would improve the cleanliness and ventilation at the museum.

There are public toilets beside the main building and they were clean! 4/5 for toilet! Wheelchair friendly toilet is available too.

Parking provided beside the main building. You can also buy some souvenirs outside of the museum.

Oh but the exterior was well maintained for an old building. You can take...

To me the most interesting point of the museum is the old style house in which it's located. Inside there are some objects and tools used by the locals 200/300 and more years ago. There are some renderings with English legenda which can make you an idea of the ancient lifestyle of the people in Satun (and South Thailand) area. Pictures, old canoes, an elephant skull (meaning?), 120 years old furniture. Obviously is not plenty of things to see, but it's on the average of the asian museums. The ticket for Thais is 10 baht, which is even too cheap. The ticket for foreigners is 50 baht: five times more. Once again I think that such a discrimination is really unfair. It's wrong, not acceptable. It's not a matter of money, because 50 baht is not a huge amount of money. It's a matter of discrimination. Hardly they will understand it. They should travel in other countries and realize that double prices are only in not evolved countries and Thailand claims not to be like those places. Last but not least: workers in the office should pay more attention to the public who are visiting the museum not speaking loudly as at the market. They can be heard in all the corners screaming...