PREHISTORIC PRIDE

The 'Thainosaur' exhibition at Museum Pier showcases ancient fossils from around the country

- STORY: SUWITCHA CHAIYONG

Piriya Vachajitpan, the founder of Museum Pier, has been interested in dinosaur fossils and prehistoric animals since he was a high school student in the US.

Piriya saved money from his part-time job as a dishwasher in the school cafeteria to travel to view dinosaur exhibitions and fairs in many American cities. It was an eyeopening experience which encouraged him to collect fossils.

"There were many dinosaur exhibitions in the US. Notable events featuring dinosaur fossils were held in Tucson, Arizona, in February and Denver, Colorado, usually in June. Since I was a student, I would buy same-day round-trip flights to view those dinosaur fairs because I could not afford a hotel room. Although it was exhausting, they were eyeopening experiences," Piriya explained.

"In those fairs in the US, fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals from all over the world were sold. As a student, I could afford some small fossils such as those of shellfish or fish. Back then, a complete dinosaur fossil cost 1 million baht and it now costs 100 million baht."

During school breaks, Piriya spent his time in Thailand and he suddenly got the idea to search for fossils in Thailand.

"I went to Chatuchak weekend market because it has all kinds of stuff. While I was browsing, I saw a fossil being used as a paperweight in a pottery shop," he said.

"The shop owner did not know that it was a fossil, but he told me that there were a lot of similar items like it in his neighbourhood in Nakhon Ratchasima. I asked him to take me there and when I got there, I discovered there was a deep sand pit where a pottery shop owner was dredging sand to sell to construction sites. He used a large pipe to suck up sand from the pit and as fossils came up, he would pile them next to the spirit house.