Jim Thompson Museum

Jim Thompson was a silk magnet. An American who served in Thailand shortly after W.W.II and returned to live in Bangkok. A bonafide eccentric, Thompson is credited with reviving the ancient Thai tradition of silk weaving and introducing it to an international market. The Jim Thompson House was Thompson's residence and was comprised of six traditional Thai structures from around the country. The buildings were disassembled, transported to his compound and reassembled on site. Some of the buildings are over 200 years old. Thompson's eccentricity and mysterious disappearance in the late 60's make for an interesting afternoon's entertainment.

Since most of the museum can be experienced under shelter, this is the perfect event for an afternoon of pounding rainfall as we found out. Set aside some time though. It is well off the beaten path and you may actually have some difficulty finding a taxi driver who knows where it is located. We had one driver simply refuse. The sky train supposedly has a station nearby.

Two good websites:thailandforvisitors.com & the official website


	The pictures above are the main house and the drawing room which is open to the courtyard. To the left is one of the three pavilions (I believe this was the "silk pavilion"), essentially the most beautiful gardening sheds that I've encountered.
	A stairwell in the main house. A blurry photo, but since photos are not allowed inside the main house, I'll take what I can get.
	Dated from the 6th or 7th century, this sculpture from Central Thailand was the oldest sculpture in Thompson's extensive art collection.