The Jim Thompson House
Posted by Sukhumwit Steve on October 7th, 2011 filed in SightseeingThe magnificent old teak house and museum at the end of Soi Kasemsan 2 is the former home of the American-born silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson. Thomson was credited with single-handedly reviving the Thai silk industry after WWII and bringing it to the attention of international markets. He disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1967, in Malaysia, and no trace of him has ever been found.
The Jim Thompson House is actually a complex of six traditional teak buildings which were brought from different parts of the country and re-assembled in traditional Thai-style. During Thomson’s time in Bangkok, he frequented old market districts and managed to obtain a diverse collection of paintings, sculptures and porcelain. The collection is now tastefully arrayed in the wooden structures.
The collections include an 8th century Buddha Bust from Lopburi, colourful tapestries depicting the life of Buddha and blue and white Chinese vases and plates which date from the Ming dynasty. The diversity of the collections, the house itself and Thomson’s intriguing life story have placed his old house firmly among Bangkok’s finer tourism draws. The soi for the Jim Thompson House is opposite the National Stadium. Visitor information at 02 6123744 or http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com/.