Jim Thompson House, Bangkok

One of the best museums in Bangkok for sure. We arrived, paid for our tickets and were promptly guided to get our tour information (we weren’t aware that this was included!). We strolled around the beautiful area for about half an hour before our tour started. Our guide was great and informative, the tour lasted about 35 minutes. The houses and gardens are gorgeous, really well taken care of. I think it’s clear how much Jim Thompson meant to Thailand, just being here you really gain a feel of the intense respect and appreciation fostered between him and this country. We spent a relaxed 2.5 hours here, including drinks at the Bar which were fantastic! Especially the mojito :)

My wife and I lived with our daughters in Malaysia for many years. We visited Cameron Highlands a few times and stayed twice in the area where Thompson disappeared. On this trip to Bangkok from Hanoi (where we live now), we decided to see the house he designed and assembled as well as his art collection. Having researched the man's colorful life, I thoroughly enjoyed the 35-min tour. The guide, Mary, was knowledgeable and spoke perfect English. My wife, less the history enthusiast, was also pleased. She was enamored at seeing the actual extraction of silk threads from the moth pupae. We waited about 30 minutes for our turn to tour with Mary. Then post-tour, we had a nice lunch at the restaurant: pomelo salad with prawns, mushroom soup, and Thai iced milk tea. Tasty! As we left, a brief visit to the store convinced us we did not really need any of the silk ties, shirts, dresses, etc. -- a bit pricey. Worth it for some shoppers, but definitely not outlet store bargains.

The entrance ticket is 500 THB. Not too interesting, a little boring but I will reveal my theory. Jim Thompson lives alone, that's what they say. But in my opinion, he has a boyfriend. He and his boyfriend went on vacation to Malaysia, the boyfriend took him away to forest and killed him. There were no witnesses, no one knew where Jim Thompson went. He disappeared into the earth. The boyfriend then returned to Bangkok, took all the property of Jim Thompson. A happy ending for him, he was rich in seven descendants.

Definitely worth a visit. A beautiful garden surrounds a traditional Thai house. The story of Jim Thompson itself is very interesting plus you get to see a glimpse of the old way of making silk threads. There is a very nice restaurant for food and fresh drinks. The store offers a colorful selection of silk products and on the floor above the store there’s a quiet cafeteria.

I went to a wedding ceremony last week and it was amazing. The house itself was made in Thai style which is very nostalgic and beautiful. The food was serve in a full course but in a very Thai taste (interestingly, they serves Thai food but in a full course). In the area there is a museum which show the history of the silk manufactured in Thailand, it was very interesting and insightful. If any of you happen to pass by Jim Thompson House, I suggest you to pay a visit once I'm sure that you will have a great time there.