One of the latest tourist attractions in Pattaya is the Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. It can be found in the Royal Garden Plaza on Beach Road. You may already be familiar with “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” which is owned by the same company.
The wax museum has only been opened a year in Pattaya, but there are four other branches around the world. The name “Tussaud” is obviously the same as the famous wax museum in London called Madame Tussaud’s. But they are not copying the name. Louis is apparently her great-grandson.
I first heard about this wax museum in October 2009 when it hit the international headlines. To advertise the new museum, a giant billboard was put up with a picture of Hitler and the words in Thai “Hitler is not Dead”. After complaints by both the German and Israeli embassies the billboard was quickly covered up. But by that time, everyone knew about the new wax museum and the work of the PR company was done.
The wax museum has 68 international and Thai celebrities. This includes 8 Thai models (like Paradorn and Tata Young), 20 Asian models (such as Bruce Lee) and 40 international models (like David Beckham, Britney Spears and Barack Obama).
To be honest I was a little disappointed with the quality of the images. They weren’t very lifelike. Can you guess who this wax model is supposed to depict? I asked that question on twitter and only a few people correctly said that it is Princess Diana. I also think that the ticket price at 580 baht is too much. Though it is possible to get a cheaper deal if you buy it as a package.
Thailand has another wax museum in Nakhon Pathom called Thai Human Imagery Museum. This is excellent and the models very lifelike. A branch of Madame Tussaud’s will also be opening in Bangkok in December 2010. I will be going to visit shortly after that.
- Posted from my iPhone
better than KFC and McDonalds lol but the name...
Oscar Arias
26/08/2011 at 6:02 pm
Howdy,
They were constructing this the last time I was in Pattaya back in mid 2009. I was excited, I wanted to see it. Never been to any other wax museums.
So this trip I head over to Royal Garden Plaza and all I had to do was look at the wax copies of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, and knew it wouldn’t be worth the price of admission. The copies looked NOTHING like Brad and Angelina.
Still, I had this feeling…. Maybe they couldn’t use Brad and Angelina’s faces for some copyright reason…
So I investigated online (it’s not even mentioned in the Ripley’s Pattaya website, even though its been open for a year), and I ran into your website.
First, I’d like to thank you for saving me 580 baht! Seeing Hitler looking more like Ghandi in a Hitler costume has convinced me that this attraction is a total waste of money.
Oh well, I’ll definately check out Madame Tussaud’s when I’m back in Bangkok. I had no idea that even existed till I read your blog, so thanks again!
I did find the “make a music video” that they have nearby interesting. 150 baht and the kiosk will spit out a music video staring you and your friends.
Currently doing an Asia travel video blog myself, check out OscarInAsia on Youtube if you get bored or something.