Whether you're an avid toy collector, or you just like toys, try to visit the BatCat Toy Museum and Cafe on your next trip to Bangkok, Thailand. It's a fun treat, whether you go into the museum or just stop for a Dark Knight Expresso at the cafe. I'm partial to the Green Lantern Latte myself. Located in the Bangkapi area at Lamaslee, it is easiest to access by boat (to the Mall Bangkapi Pier) sky-train to Huamak station, or directly by taxi. Traffic is bad in this area, so opt for the first two.
The Cafe
The front lobby is open free to the public and serves an assortment of coffees and snacks, all with comic book hero names. The chairs and tables are fashioned from props, and there is even a batmobile couch alongside a T2 robotic table. The coffee isn't cheap, but it's still better tasting and less expensive than Starbucks. About 60 to 80 baht for a drink ($2 to $3). I'd drink coffee here every day just for the atmosphere, if my scheduled allowed. Once a week is a fun treat, and this is a great place to meet friends who are also sci-fi or superhero fans.
The Museum
If you decide to go into the museum, it's a little pricey at 100 baht for Thais and 200 baht for foreigners (about $6), but there's a lot to see. Thousands of action figures and toys from 4 decades are on display, including some modern character pieces. I liked looking at all the original packaging exhibited behind each figure.
With unusual effects lighting, you walk though several mazes to see the action figure dioramas and unique displays. The areas include: super heroes, anime figures, robots, movie figures, and monsters - from Godizlla to Gamera, Lizard, Terminator and beyond. I saw more adult fans than kids there, but if you have kids, they'll love it. Your eyes can't absorb it all - too many colors and information to take in at once. They claim to have 50,000 pieces, and that looks to be about right.
Back to the lobby, you can finish your tour by buying some toys of your own. They have several hundred action figures for sale. They are not cheap. Many are limited edition and sell for over $200, but you can find a few less expensive $25 statuettes and action figures to add to your own collection.
Location: How to Find it?
The address is: 7032 Srinakarin Road. It's near the Mall Bangkapi, at Lamsalee junction where Ramkamhaeng and Lad Phrao meet. Seated right on the San Saeb canal, so boat travel is easy. Open from 10:00 am until 7:00pm every day.
They have a facebook page, so check them out. Bat Cat is certainly a "one of a kind" museum in Bangkok.
No comments:
Post a Comment