Having a ball with
Visitors can get up close and personal with legends when Madame Tussauds opens in Bangkok next week
This is your chance to sit with US president Barack Obama in the Oval Office, mingle with Hollywood A-listers on the red carpet, slam dunk over NBA star Yao Ming or tee off with Tiger Woods. And you can do it all right here in Bangkok.
IN ON THE ACTION: Martial arts heroes Bruce Lee, above, and Tony Jaa
Madame Tussauds, the world famous chain of wax museums, is set to open in central Bangkok on Saturday, making it Asia's third after branches were launched in Hong Kong in 2000 and Shanghai in 2006.
Madame Tussauds Bangkok general manager Paul Williams said the famous chain's interactive element sets it apart from other wax museums. Unlike at most wax museums, visitors to Madame Tussauds can touch the figures on display.
KUNG FU MEETS COMEDY: Close-up of Bruce Lee sculpture, above, Jim Carrey, right
"You can put your arms around our figures and be photographed with them. [It's] up close and personal," Mr Williams said.
A full-time maintenance team is on hand for daily repairs just in case visitors get a little too close.
"George Clooney sometimes needs to be repaired perhaps every day because he gets so many kisses," he said, laughing.
Madame Tussauds was the brainchild of Madame Marie Tussaud who was born Anna Maria Grosholtz in Strasbourg, France in 1761. Tussaud began developing her wax sculpting skills at the age of only six when she joined Dr Philippe Curtis, a physician and wax modeller, in Paris. At 17, she created a wax model of Voltaire. Later, she sculpted Benjamin Franklin, as well as members of the French royal family, including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Then the French Revolution began in 1789 and Tussaud and her mother were imprisoned. To avoid execution, she made death masks from the heads of those who had been guillotined to prove her loyalty to the revolution. After that she moved to England and took her collection of wax models on a nationwide tour. She found a location to house her works in London and founded the first Madame Tussauds attraction about 175 years ago.
Madame Tussauds is located in prime locations in the world's major cities: London, New York, Las Vegas, Washington, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The London branch currently has the highest number of visitors, at 2.5 million a year.
"We don't like to use the word 'museum'," said Mr Williams. "We prefer to use the word 'attraction'. Museums are very old with stuffy ambience and relics. This is an interactive attraction where you can touch the figures and so forth. So it would be better called a 'wax attraction'."
Madame Tussauds Bangkok comprises 10 themed rooms: Royalty, History, Leaders, Arts and Science, Sports, Music, Film, Television, A-List Party and Authentic History, where visitors will discover how life-sized wax works are created.
The biography of each figure is displayed with the sculpture, enabling visitors to learn about people with whom they may not be familiar.
"We do have, for example, a wax figure of Thai boxing champion Khaosai Galaxy, and kids today might not know who he is," Mr Williams said. "Parents can now teach their children about the figure. It's a fun way of learning, not a museum way of learning things. They are not just name tags or panels you have to read."
Madame Tussauds has also been granted the distinction of receiving royal permission to create wax figures of Prince Mahidol and the Princess Mother, the parents of His Majesty The King.
Madame Tussauds Bangkok is home to over 70 wax sculptures. Among those rendered in wax are: Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth, Barack Obama, Gandhi, Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Michael Jackson, David Beckham, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Bruce Lee, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Jim Carrey.
Renowned names in Thai history and famous figures of today also feature at Madame Tussauds. On display are: Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram, MR Seni Pramoj, MR Kukrit Pramoj, Sunthorn Phu, Buddhadasa Bhikku and Luang Vichit Vadakan. Also exhibited are sculptures of modern figures including: Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan; 2004 Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Pawina Thongsuk; Ad Carabao; luk thung legends Pumpuang Duangchan and Yodrak Salakjai; famed actors Mitr Chaibancha, Petchara Chaowarat and Sombat Metanee. Teen idols on display include: Tata Young, Theeradej ''Ken'' Wongpuapan, Khemanit ''Pancake'' Jamikorn and Ann Thongprasom.
Madame Tussauds' core market comprises those aged 15 to 40, but adults and children alike can enjoy the attraction's interactive aspects, while learning about famous figures and history.
SPOT THE SCULPTURE: Above: Sombat Metanee, now 74 with a wax model of him at 31 years old.
''This is not just a collection of wax figures. It's something different,'' Mr Williams said. ''It will be a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, with pop stars, leaders and the royal family, and people will come away with a great memory of a great day out.''
Madame Tussauds opens on Saturday on the sixth floor of Siam Discovery. Entrance costs 700 baht per person.
WACKY IN WAX: A sculpture of Jim Carrey points the way.
SCREEN LEGENDS: The late famed actor Mitr Chaibancha, right, with Petchara Chaowarat.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
I've never been there but I've heard that it's wonderful. Regards from Hotel Charles de Gaulle
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