Bangkok - Jim Thompson's Houses

Jim Thompson's Houses

The story of the American-born James ("Jim") Thompson reads like an adventure novel. Having made Thai silk famous throughout the world he suddenly disappeared without trace, at the peak of his business career, in 1967 while taking a short break in Malaysia.

The extraordinarily beautiful old Thai houses that Thompson found near Ayutthaya and brought by river to Bangkok have not vanished however. Now owned by a charitable trust, they are used to display the splendid art collection the American had built up. All the proceeds of admission go to various charitable institutions in Thailand.

The seven wooden houses - which every visitor should try to see - are now almost unique in the country and contain treasures representing every period of Thai art. They are picturesquely situated in Soi Kasem San, in a pretty garden by the side of a klong on the opposite bank of which the silk weavers once worked.