A Motor Museum with a Difference … Jesada Technik Museum, Nakhon Chai Si, Bangkok.

If two hours of unexpected fun at ”UPside DOWN WORLD” had softened my negative view of Nakhon Pathom, the next destination for our Grand Day Out would reverse that view completely.

.......... Wan poses with the iconic Citroen DS 19 and DS 21 at Jesada Technik Museum

When it comes to cars, given the choice between a Ferrari and a Ford, on grounds of practicality, I’d probably take the Ford. But, whilst I’ve never had any yearning for cars that would be the envy of others, I’ve always appreciated the quirkiness of automotive design and function. To illustrate this point, the car of my dreams would be a Citroen DS and the most fun cars I’ve ever driven are probably the Austin Mini and the Citroen 2CV, the iconic deux chevaux.

.......... A dozen deux chevaux

If “UPside DOWN WORLD” had been chosen for Mrs. PoorCirculation and our niece Wan, then the Jesada Technik Museum had been chosen for our nephew Opor and I. However, as my camera was sitting in my shitty-little-Nissan back in Nakhon Pathom, the girls with their cell phones were firmly in charge of modeling and photography.

.......... Three wheels each, but different fuels required

When I see the title Museum, I think of exhibits that are far older than myself, but even though I’m a lot older than I used to be, almost every vehicle on display at Jesada Technik Museum was produced during my lifetime. That is quite a scary thought, but, the fact that I’ve grown-up surrounded by many of these vehicles added an amazing level of nostalgia to the experience.

.......... A pair of VW Beetles in Mrs. Poor Circulation’s favorite colors

Jesada Technik Museum isn’t really a Museum. It’s more of a random display of curious automotive creations, and the entire collection of 500 vehicles is in fact, an accidental one. Successful Thai businessman Jesada Deshsakulrith began randomly collecting curious cars in 1997, and as his private collection outgrew his storage space, he built the infrastructure here at Nakhon Chi Si, about 40Km West of Bangkok, in order to house all of those vehicles in one convenient place.

.......... Pedal Power at Jesada Technik Museum

With the structure completed, in 2007 Jesada decided to open the doors and allow the public to share in the enjoyment of his hobby. There are no frills to this museum, no information plaques, no air conditioning and no helpful tour guides to tell you why somebody thought it would be a good idea to cover a 3-wheeled car in a leather skin. But those points are excusable, because there’s also no admission charge here. Jesada Technik Museum is free to all, and even here in Thailand, that in itself is something of a curiosity.

.......... Opor loves the red Mustang, but has no idea who Steve McQueen was

I suspect that most of the vehicles here are roadworthy and many have current, or at least very recent, road tax certificates. And although the doors to most of the exhibits are locked, there are no barriers to keep interested viewers at a distance. These are dusty, usable, and unrestored cars and motorcycles that for most visitors might actually be affordable.

.......... Mrs. PoorCirculation color coordinates with the Velorex 350s

For me, some of the stars of the exhibition were the line of Velorex 16/350’s, the leather covered three-wheel cars built in Czechoslovakia and powered by the Jawa 350 motorcycle engine. Velorex only ever made 12,000 of these vehicles (1963-1971) and I suspect that half of those remaining in the world are located here at Jesada.

.......... A trio of iconic Bond Bugs in Orange, Green and White

Then of course there are the three Bond Bugs, in Orange, Green and White. The famous three-wheeled wedges of cheese with their lifting canopies that were produced by Reliant in England from 1970-1974. They only built around 2,000 of these quirky cars and with three of them here at Jesada, all road legal and in full working order, I suspect that’s also a high proportion of the world’s surviving Bond Bugs.

.......... Wan gives the thumbs-up to the bubble cars, but prefers her Toyota SUV

Continuing on a three-wheeled theme, it was good to see a nice selection of Bubble Cars from BMW, Isetta, Messerschmitt, Heinkel and FMR. Again, these examples are all in full working order and currently legal for use on the road. I love these cars, from a spectator’s point of view, but I suspect that driving and owning them might be a nightmare.

......... Opor has never seen the movie ‘Back To The Future’, but likes the DeLorean

As mentioned earlier, the car of my dreams today would be a Citroen DS, and Jesada didn’t disappoint me. In yellow there was the DS19, and in black, the DS21 Vanden Plas. Had the ignition keys been available, I would’ve happily stolen either of them. But there again, the DeLorean parked alongside them was also very tempting.

..........Jesada’s own steam locomotive, but it’s a shame there’s no submarine moored alongside it

Jesada also has its own steam locomotive. It’s parked a few hundred meters away from the museum, but is still an integral part of the collection. Although I don’t know where they would have parked it, Jesada also bought a retired, but fully operational, Russian submarine. But sadly, the submarine never arrived. It sank in heavy seas whilst steaming towards Bangkok, but hopefully, nobody was injured.

.......... Yellow Cab v The Mini – USA v UK

If like me, you enjoy the feelings of nostalgia that proximity to icons from your youth can invoke, or you simply enjoy the beauty of vehicles styled with the designer’s pen rather than the accountant’s slide-rule, then you’ll probably love the Jesada Technik Museum here in Nakhon Chi Si.

.......... A row of Honda Super-Cubs. With 600 million already built, and still in production today, it’s the motorcycle that mobilized the world

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person that requires polished perfection and plaques detailing history, provenance, and price, then it’s probably best to stay way, because you’ll find absolutely none of that kind of garnish here at Jesada Technik Museum.

.......... The beautiful Messerschmitt KR200