Ganesh Museum - Chiang Mai

Ganesh or Ganesha, the elephant headed Hindu God of wisdom is nearly as well known in Thailand as in India. In Chiang Mai, followers of the Lord Ganesh are extremely fortunate in having the very first Ganesh Museum in Thailand. In Thailand, ganesh or Ganesha is known as Phra Pikanayt. The Ganesh Museum is the result of a lifetimes work by Khun Pandara Theerakanond, known as Mike. Born in Bangkok, Mike has been collecting images and paintings of Ganesh for many years after receiving a Ganesh Amulet from his father when he was 19 years old. After moving to Chiang Mai, it became apparent that the growing collection of Ganesh artifacts was outgrowing the house in Chiang Mai and Khun Mike, in 2004, decided to purchase some land in San Patong on the outskirts of the city and began to create a suitable environment for his private collection of Ganesh Images.

Khun Pandara Theerakanond is perhaps the leading authority on Ganesh in Thailand and has made many trips to India to study and further his knowledge. To date, the Ganesh Museum has over 1000 Ganesh artifacts, collected from all over Asia, on display

The Ganesh exhibits are housed in 3 attractively designed buildings but unfortunately photography is not allowed. In addition to the Museum, there is a shop selling Ganesh images, paintings and everything else to do with the worship of the Lord Ganesh. The Museum is open daily from 9am until 5pm and entry is free of charge.

At the Ganesh Museum there is also a Worshiping Hall where every Sunday at 10am a service of worship is held and to which all visitors are welcome to attend.

The Ganesh Museum is located at;
227 Moo 10, Yangkram, Doi Lor, San Patong, Chiang Mai and more information is available at
☎ +66 (0)53 024287-9 ☎ +66 (0)89-8555852
http://www.ganeshmuseum.com (Unfortunately the website is in Thai only)