Prison Museum

 

No visit to Bangkok is complete without a stop at the Prison Museum. Upon arrival, we had to alert a guard of our interest in the exhibit. He led us to a cellblock, and opened the gates. We walked down the block, and each cell held an "exhibit." They were horrifying, and I couldn't understand why we were the only people there.

 

One of my favorites is the Rattan Ball which was used until 1903, when it seems that all of the really cool torture devices were deemed inhumane by some King Rama or another. They would put the offender in this large ball with long nails, facing inwards. Then, they would have an elephant kick the ball around for a while.

 

After we viewed the exhibits, the guard locked the gates once again, and escorted us to another building with more exhibits. The foyer held a series of painting which were so gruesome that Bev and I just kept moaning and saying, "Ewww!" This is my favorite.

 

Upstairs, we enjoyed some more exhibits displaying a beheading, an execution by gunfire, and the fancy new lethal injection process(since 2003). When we tried to leave the museum, the guard pointed at the donation box, and said, "Donation!" Then, he led us to the Guest Sign-In book, and said, "Sign!" I flipped through the book, and noticed that there were only 2 other Americans listed, and they were from HI, and that's practically Asia, so they don't count. I guess the Corrections Museum is not a tourist hot spot. I signed my name and commented that I would be following all Thai laws. Bev tried to get away with just signing her name, but the guard caught her, and said, "Comment!" So much for free will.