The Royal Barge National Museum houses nine of Thailand's ceremonial royal barges, including the magnificent Suphannahong (Golden Swan), a 46-metre carved teak vessel that serves as the King's personal barge during the rare royal barge processions on the Chao Phraya. The barges are works of art as much as vessels — gilded, lacquered, and decorated with mythological figures to an extraordinary standard of craftsmanship.
The museum is located on Khlong Bangkok Noi in Thonburi and is most easily reached by boat, either on the Chao Phraya Express via the Bangkok Noi pier or by hiring a longtail boat from the main river. The last full royal barge procession was held in 2019 for the coronation of Rama X. The museum is well-presented and the scale of the barges, seen at close range in their covered dry-dock, is genuinely impressive.