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About Owner
Mrs. Patcharee who spent most of her childhood in Chiang Rai, Lam Pang owned and operated a souvenir Sob Ruak Village prior to opening the museum.
Mrs. Patcharee Srimattayakul is the owner of the House of Opium museum. A graduate from the Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Mrs. Patcharee has spent a considerable amount of her time and effort in not only collecting and taking care of curios and antiques but has also spent substantial time in finding ways to share her collections with others. House of Opium which houses some of her prized possessions has now been opened to public for over one and a half decade, and Mrs. Patcharee had made it her first priority to provide the visitors of her museum with nothing but adequate knowledge and a memorable experience. The antiques and curios are not only memories of the opium trade in the golden triangle but are also a part of history and culture of the ChiangRai which is one of the arms of the golden triangle.
Mrs. Patcharee who spent most of her childhood in Chiang Rai, Lam Pang owned and operated a souvenir Sob Ruak Village prior to opening the museum. Her nag for the small antiques and curios soon developed far beyond personal collection and her love for historical and cultural aspect of her hometown aspired her to get hold of antique pieces – as many as she could get. Back then it disappointed her that all those antiques were being sold to tourists in the streets and with that the history was being lost. This was the inspiration for her to open the museum.
However her inspiration was shattered with her financial shortcomings. Her friends and colleagues hardly believed that a museum could be an investment. Nevertheless with whatever she had, Mrs. Patcharee started her museum in 1990. It was the only way for her to keep and maintain her worthy collection of opium tools and educate the people about the history of both the golden triangle and the opium trade in the golden triangle.
The museum since its start has made progressive impressions to both the owner and the visitors. Though it hardly welcomed visitors in its early days, the museum now receives adequate visitors to keep the place running.