Jim Thompson House, Bangkok

A nice place for an hour or two. It's really like an oasis in the heart of Bangkok and you get to learn about the mystery surrounding the man who reinvented the Thai silk. The admission fee is same for Thais and foreigners (which is not the standard in Thailand... Just look at the royal palace that charge 500 for foreigners but is free for Thais!), however, the prices in the restaurant are quite high and the prices you can also see on any of the silk products for sale (to compare the price... I bought a silk shirt at a royal project in Chang Mai for 3,000 Baht, at Jim Thompson House the price for just a silk necktie was 3,600 Baht!).

The Jim Thompson house is a former residence of a US Army veteran built in 1959. It's a beautiful Thai-style home that contains a large personal collection of art from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and China (Ming dynasty China, anyone?). The admission and tour costs 150 baht, and the service is outstanding, offering multiple languages. Note that no shoes are allowed inside during your 35-minute guided tour (no touching the objects!) of the house, but they are allowed around the premises and its gardens. The guided tour itself was informative and memorable, as you learn about the quirks of different objects, little facts about Thai traditions and culture, and the lifestyle choices that Mr. Thompson chooses.

This is the old house of the American business man Jim Thompson - you pay your 200b (100b if under age of 22) per person, and with this you get a half hour guided tour of the house, and are then left to look around the grounds alone. Staff are kind, friendly and helpful, well trained. The house it’s self is cool to see, rich business man living in a Thai house with a western twist. Worth a visit, the place is kept well, and they say money from the ticket goes to charity.

I debated whether I should visit as it seemed super touristy, but it was actually pretty enjoyable and reasonably priced (RM 150). The architecture of the building was really cool to see and "mandatory" tour was also interesting. I believe you can choose between English, French, Chinese, and Thai language tours. I wished they spoke more about the life and disappearance of JT (mystery! intrigue!), but you mostly just get to learn about his Asian (design) fetish. They also intermittently have ladies doing mini traditional Thai dance performances outside as well as someone demonstrating silk processing/spinning by the gift shop (no explanation or interaction and you're not supposed to touch the silk threads but people kept stopping her and touching them anyways and she obliged...). Bonus--they have a nice bathroom with free toilet paper.

Really good museum with a tour included. All of the guides were able to answer the questions of our group without problem. Tours in French, English, Thai and mandarin. The house is set up in classic Thai style so it's all open aka no air conditioning. Be aware there are only pictures allowed on the grounds and not inside the house.