Plearn Wan is a lovingly built recreation of a 1950s and 60s Thai-Chinese community, part open-air museum and part shopping village. The name blends the Thai words for 'play' and 'learn', and the whole two-storey wooden complex is designed for nostalgia. Weathered shopfronts sell old-fashioned sweets, herbal remedies, retro toys, vintage clothing and classic Thai snacks, while faded film posters and antique signs line the walkways. Upstairs there is a small guesthouse, and out back a little vintage-style amusement corner with a modest Ferris wheel that lights up at night. It is compact and more about atmosphere and photographs than serious shopping. Older Thai visitors come for genuine memories, younger ones for the aesthetic. Give it an hour, try the coconut ice cream and the grilled toast, and enjoy the fine detail. It sits on the main road between the town and Cicada Market, so it slots neatly into an evening out.
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