Jim Thompson’s House is one of the tourist attractions featured in every guidebook and list of things to see in Bangkok. In short, the Jim Thompson House Museum is one of our favorite Bangkok attractions and a must-visit when you are in Bangkok.
This elegant Thai-style wooden house was built in 1959 and is located in an excellent position by the canal, surrounded by a huge and lush harden. It was the home of Jim H.W. Thompson, an American who became famous as an entrepreneur in Thailand’s silk industry after World War II.
This well-preserved house has been transformed into a museum, where you can stroll around the room and feel the presence of its former owner, Jim Thompson. On the museum grounds, you can also find a store selling Jim Thompson clothing and silk products, an art center, and a great restaurant. Finally, you will explore Jim Thompson’s mysterious disappearance. This is a fascinating and mysterious story!
Jim Thompson House Museum Information
Address: No.6, Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok.
Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00/18:00 (last tour guide time is 17:00/17:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
Entrance fee: 200 Thai Baht ~ 6 USD (adults), 100 Thai Baht ~ 3 USD (tourists under 22 years old), free admission for children under 10 years old.
Website: https://jimthompsonhouse.org/
Facebook: https: https://www.facebook.com/jimthompsonhouse/
Things to Know:
- You must remove your shoes and leave your bags in a locker at the entrance.
- You are not allowed to take photos inside the buildings.
Jim Thompson’s House Museum
Who was Jim Thompson?
Jim Thompson’s story is very fascinating! Jim Harrison Wilson Thompson was born in Delaware, USA in 1906. In 1928, he obtained a degree in architecture from Princeton University.
After World War II, he was sent to Bangkok as an officer and fell in love with Thailand and Bangkok. Therefore, after completing his military service, he permanently settled in this beautiful country. He began interested in Thai silk, which was little known and exported at that time. Therefore, he helped the world understand this unique material by establishing his own silk company.
He also developed a strong interest in Thai architecture, purchasing several traditional Thai houses and restoring and transforming them into a large Thai-style house called Jim Thompson House. This house is now a very popular museum in Bangkok.
In addition to promoting Thai silk and Thai architecture, Jim Thompson actively participates in local communities and has helped the people of Bangkok implement several development projects. He also contributed to the preservation of Thai culture by collecting Thai art and exhibiting it at his home in Bangkok.
Jim Thompson
King of Silk
Jim Thompson became fascinated by traditional Thai hand weaving of silk, a long-neglected art craft. At that time, silk products were considered old-fashioned, and their manufacturing was a dying craft.
However, Thompson decided to revive this craft and began designing more modern clothing and silk products. Therefore, Jim Thompson founded the Thai Silk Company in 1948.
He began to introduce Thai silk into the world market. It was soon discovered that fashionistas around the world loved Thai silk, and soon Thompson’s silk business achieved great success. One of the main reasons for its success in the United States is that Rogers and Hammerstein’s famous musical “The King and I” used Thompson’s Thai silk in all their costumes.
Jim Thompson instructs a Thai rural woman to weave silk
Thompson did not invent bright jewelry tones and spectacular combinations of Thai silk colors. However, he helped thousands of poor Thai people escape poverty by providing them with jobs. He did some clever things, allowing Thai rural women to weave silk at home. In this way, they can become housewives and earn income without having to move to Bangkok for work.
Jim Thompson also has a shop at home that sells beautiful clothes and silk products. This is an ideal place to buy Thai souvenirs and gifts to take home. However, equally, these are high-quality silk products, so don’t expect to find cheap prices in this store.
Jim Thompson’s House
Jim Thompson is a unique person in many ways. As an American, former architect, retired military officer, former spy, silk designer and manufacturer, and a famous antique collector, he built a traditional Thai house using some old houses found in the north. This house is called Jim Thompson’s House, which is composed of six teak buildings with a traditional Thai architectural style, and has a history of at least two centuries.
During the guided tour, visitors can learn about the artwork and antiques inside the six houses, as well as the fascinating story of Jim Thompson and his contribution to the development of Thai silk and Thai architecture. He also helped preserve Thai culture by collecting Thai artwork and displaying it in his Bangkok home. The main house itself, where Thompson lived, is beautifully decorated and filled with antiques, including Chinese blue and white Ming pieces, Belgian glass, Cambodian sculptures, Victorian chandeliers, Thai stone pictures, Burmese statues, and a dining table once used by King Rama V of Thailand. Visitors are allowed to walk inside all six houses to admire all the artwork. You are allowed to walk inside all six houses and look at the artwork.
Interior of Jim Thompson House
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The Sad and Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson
On Sunday, March 26, 1967, Jim Thompson and his friend were on vacation in the highlands of Malaysia. They took a walk after lunch and never came back! He left everything, including his passport, at the hotel, so he planned to come back. After Thompson went missing for 11 days, police and several American and British officials and investigators searched for him. This is the most thorough study in Malaysia’s history. But there is not a single clue indicating what may have happened to him.
In addition, a controversial figure, a renowned psychological investigator from the United States, also joined this study. He sat on the balcony where he last saw Thompson, holding a photo of Thompson in his hand, stuttering, saying he could “see” a truck parked near the house, and 14 people kidnapped Thompson with chloroform. In the weeks after Thompson’s disappearance, more than 118 mysterious media swept through the jungle, and they all had different ideas about what happened!
Jim Thompson with his frequent companion, Cockatoo
What is also strange and frightening is that astrologers had told Thompson the day he moved into his house in Bangkok that he should be extra careful in 1967 because it could be a very dangerous year for him. His horoscope hangs on his bedroom wall to this day, where it says so (read it for yourself when you visit the house). As puzzling as it is, the mystery of Jim Thompson has prompted many people to draw their own conclusions. Why was Thompson visiting the Malaysian Highlands in the first place? And what was on his mind after his trip to Malaysia? According to his friends, he had arranged a trip to Singapore the day after his disappearance. In Singapore, he had made a reservation to dine with several Americans, including the ambassador and a man exploring the possibility of establishing a textile business in Singapore.
One theory is that Thompson staged his disappearance. A man claims to have spotted Thompson in Tahiti several years after the disappearance, getting into a car with a woman. The taxi driver who had driven Thompson and his friend on a sightseeing trip the day before he disappeared also claims that they talked about Tahiti. To this day, they are still searching for the answer to what happened to Thompson. But, sadly, we will probably never know for sure what happened to him, whether he moved to Tahiti or whether he was killed or died of natural causes. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Jim Thompson was a very talented man with an eye for design and fashion and that he truly loved Thailand.
Restaurant in Jim Thompson’s House
Today, there is a fabulous restaurant at Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was famous for his hospitality and grand dinners for his international friends and celebrities and having a Thai restaurant in his house is quite fitting. You can eat delicious Thai food, and it is one of our favorite Thai restaurants in Bangkok.
The restaurant offers different set menus (lunch or dinner) and a la carte. On the menu, you’ll find classic Thai dishes, such as green papaya salad (Som Tam Goonf Sod), chicken or shrimp green curry (Gaeng Khwe-Wan Gai Goong Street), Australian beef red curry, coconut soup (Thom Kha Gai), chicken curry musaman (Ga eng Musaman Gai) and Phad Thai (fresh). They also have different fish and seafood dishes.
Jim Thompson Restaurant in Bangkok
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Jim Thompson’s Silk Shop
Jim Thompson is one of the largest and most famous silk brands in Thailand. Their product is high-quality silk made in Thailand. The silk manufacturing process involves local farmers and weavers, and the silk produced from silk is transformed into beautiful patterns and fabrics.
Tourists are deeply impressed by how Jim Thompson’s designer revitalized Thailand’s ancient silk weaving art. They produce modern, cool, fashionable, and high-quality clothing and products. They provide interior items such as clothes, scarves, bags, accessories (such as hats), pillows, tablecloths, and towels for women, men, and children. This is not cheap silk, it is mass-produced and of very high quality.
You will find Jim Thompson’s shop in several places in Bangkok and Thailand, but the main shop is at the Jim Thompson House Museum.
Jim Thompson Main Store in at Jim Thompson House Museum
Jim Thompson Art Center
On the grounds of the Jim Thompson House Museum, you will find the Jim Thompson Art Center. You can see exhibitions of traditional and contemporary art by local Thai artists and international artists. The art center also hosts events, seminars, lectures and workshops. The museum plans to build a large new and modern art building with a public rooftop garden and two art galleries. A visit to the Jim Thompson House is a fantastic experience that gives you a great insight into the architecture and culture of the old Thai house. It is not all like an ordinary museum, here you feel like you are in someone’s private home. You will also learn about the fascinating man Jim Thompson, both his personality and how much he truly loved Thailand, its history, and culture. And of course, the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
Jim Thompson Art Center
How to get to the Jim Thompson House’s Museum?
If you want to visit the Jim Thompson House Museum in Bangkok, Thailand, there are several transportation options available:
BTS Skytrain
By Taxi
You can take a taxi from anywhere in the city. Be sure to let taxi drivers use taxis to avoid excessive transportation costs. The museum is located in the central area of Pathum Wan and takes approximately 30 minutes by car.
By Skytrain (BTS)
The BTS Skytrain is a convenient way to get to the museum. Get off at the National Stadium Station and depart from Exit 1. From here, you can walk for 5 minutes according to the signs to reach the museum.
By Boat
You can also take a boat from Chao Phraya River to Saphan Taksin Pier. From here, you can take the free museum shuttle to Jim Thompson House.
We hope this information will be helpful for you to visit Jim Thompson’s former residence museum. Jim Thompson’s house is worth a visit if you are in Bangkok! We like the beautiful Jim Thompson Museum very much, and we have included it in many recommended itineraries. If you plan to include the itinerary of the museum, please check our best itinerary in Thailand and contact us to make your dream visit come true.
