Baan Chinpracha (Chinpracha House)

Baan Chinpracha (Chinpracha House) is one of the Sino-Portuguese houses on our list of 18 nicest mansions in Phuket. Many of the other houses in Phuket are wrecks and abandoned, some were renovated. This one is still in original condition and can be visited for 130 baht: at that price it is worth have a look, but expect something halfway between a museum and a collection of personal items gathered along time.

The lower floor is open to public with its main room half open to the sky and its beautiful Italian tiles. The second floor, still occupied by the owners, cannot be visited. It won’t take you long to walk around two bedrooms, the entrance hallway and the large kitchen. All are kept in good condition with some of the original furniture imported from Europe hundred years ago, tons of old photos hung to the walls. And as most of these privately owned ‘semi museums’, items on display are a bit heteroclite, a mix of objects collected along times, and some recent ones, many of them were probably used by the owners until replaced with something better (that will also end up on the shelves one day).

To serve you a bit of history, the House was built in 1903 by Pratipak Chinpracha, a family originating from the Fujian region of China and migrated to Phuket at the time of tin mining. This type of architecture was called ‘Angmor Lounge style’ by Phuket people at this time. It was also featured is few movies such as ‘Heaven and Earth’ and ‘Young Indiana Jones’.

The house used to be very visible from the main road but now a pair of ugly condos are now hiding it from sight. It was always looking a bit abandoned; renovating such building must be very costly and income is only from the few visitors.So it might be a good stop when walking down Phuket streets, maybe a bit far from the popular Thalang Road. But don’t have to high expectations, a lot of stuff is hanging everywhere, but at the end, there not much to look at :).

Chinpracha House Photos

Baan Chinpracha

Location: 98, Krabi Road, Phuket Town, just next to the Blue Elephant Restaurant.
Open: 9 am – 4.30 pm – Closed on Sundays (to be confirmed)
Phone: 076 211281
Price 130 Baht

Baan Chinpracha Location Map