Getting Stuffed At The National Museum Of Tajikistan

One of the highlights at the National Museum of Tajikistan is the expansive display of animal taxidermy. Lots of local fauna is featured in natural looking, a bit crowded habitats. Time to go hunting.

Big sheep with big horns. "We know we're cute."

Falcon with a little lunch. Bloody. Half moose. A nice bit of trompe l'oeil. You work with the taxidermy you have.

Everybody into the pool. More is more, even if some animals would never be seen together. Looking a little like an over-stuffed Bruegel painting.

More sheep, giving the view of their best side. Butt out. Big growl of a wolf.

A little mountain chase between a leopard and sheep.

Exploring The National Museum Of Tajikistan In Dushanbe

National museums can act as a collective attic and the main Tajikistan museum in Dushanbe is a typical example. Some archeological artifacts, old textiles, some taxidermy, painting, busts of important figures, maybe a koran, some mining information. Time to explore.

The building is new and impressive. Lots of display space.

Starting early, the great cave man hunting party. Pensive dog, sad sheep. A hefty horse, roped off.

Important folks come in threes.

Proud paintings. There's a wall of WWII, Great Patriotic War portraits, looking a bit like folk art. King cotton, the crop so successful that mounds the size of mountains are created. Socialist triumph!

On to the Ice Age. A room re-creating arctic conditions. Chilling.

Getting All Dolled Up At The National Museum In Bangkok

The big National Museum in Bangkok contains all sorts of treasures. Textiles, old pottery, many, many precious Buddha statues. The museum also has a small pavilion devoted to old toys and doll collecting. The highlight is an elaborate dollhouse, a nice example of how the mini half lived, way back when.

C'mon sleepy head, time to get up and get the little day started.

Entrance hall, nice woodwork. Oof, I'm tired already, time to hit the daybed.

I know, let's eat. Just bring me the whole tea set.

Quiet parts of the house. A room to stow random things like a giant safe, Buddha statues and big eggs. And an unpopular portrait. A funky bathroom, shag carpet not quite creeping all the way in.

Afternoon in the music room, a concert for one.

Treasures At The Bangkok National Museum

All sorts of good stuff to see at one of the biggest museums in Southeast Asia, The National Museum in Bangkok. Think of it as Thailand's Smithsonian museums all in one complex.

The architecture of the place is old and traditional. Monks in orange like it.

Gotta have a life size elephant model. All about the golden seating. Mmm, fancy, rich, silk textiles.

Impressive collection of colorful masks, used in the traditional dance performance, Khon.

Fun with ivory carving. Giant elephant tusks and a ceremonial shovel, used to commemorate the construction of a railroad. Not available at Home Depot.

Visiting and praying at the Buddhaisawan hall, an active temple still used in the complex.

Baku's Zeynalabdin Taghiyev Mansion

If you want to see how the .001% lived in old Azerbaijan, head to the National Museum in Baku. The heart of the place is an impressive mansion, once belonging to magnate Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. He made his money in oil in the late 1800s and died in 1924. The Bolsheviks confiscated his mansion and eventually turned it into a museum. Comrade, thanks for the digs.

Living room, ballroom, mega room.

Column and carving details, every color and pattern welcome. The sitting room. Plenty of seats.

Billiards room. Rack it.

Dining room, a study in brown. the circular dressing room, mirrored kaleidoscope ceiling. Trippy.

Main bedroom. Sure, the bed looks like two twin beds "accidentally" shoved together. "We don't know how it happened!"  

Wandering Around Tokyo's National Museum

Tokyo National Museum is the heavy in Japan for cultural artifacts, archeological treasures, all that amazing stuff that defines Japan. Time for a random peek.

The complex.

Inside, plenty of old wood figures and porcelain plates.

Oh yea, samurai swords.

Curious Western-style paintings by Japanese artists, a thing back in the early 1900s. Old tile roof details.

Screen painting, making sure to catch all the secret rhythms of nature.

Early Life At The Khon Kaen National Museum

You can get a quick history of the Thai man at the National Museum in Khon Kaen. They have a set of dioramas depicting those heady times, wandering the plain, hunting, hanging with the village elders. A real historical romp.

Out hunting and strutting.

The landscape. Meeting up with the crew.

Portrait of the Thai hunter as a young man.

Back in the village. Temple in the forest.

Once agriculture emerges, a regular commute to work. Oh, the grind!