This jungly compound of wooden homes packed with exquisite art and furniture is the essential sight in the area. It’s the former home of Jim Thompson (jimthompsonhouse.org; 250฿), an American silk entrepreneur and art collector who first came to Thailand at the end of WWII as a member of the Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the CIA). His neighbors’ handmade silk caught his eye and piqued his business sense. He sent samples to fashion houses in Milan, London and Paris, gradually building a steady worldwide clientele.
In addition to textiles, Thompson also collected parts of various derelict Thai homes and had them reassembled in their current location in 1959. Some of the homes were brought from the old capital of Ayuthaya; others were pulled down and floated across the klorng (canal; also spelt khlong) from Baan Khrua, including the first building you enter on the tour.
One striking departure from tradition is the way each wall has its exterior side facing the house’s interior, thus exposing the wall’s bracing system. Thompson's small but splendid Asian art collection and his personal belongings are also on display in the main house.
Thompson’s story doesn’t end with his informal reign as Bangkok’s best-adapted foreigner, however. While out for an afternoon walk in the Cameron Highlands of western Malaysia in 1967, Thompson mysteriously disappeared. That same year, his sister was murdered in the USA, fueling various conspiracy theories. Was it communist spies? Business rivals? Or a hungry tiger?
Although the mystery has never been solved, evidence revealed by American journalist Joshua Kurlantzick in his profile of Thompson, The Ideal Man, suggests that the vocal anti-American stance Thompson took later in his life may have made him a potential target of suppression by the CIA.
The compound is open daily from 10am to 6pm. All visitors must join one of the frequent 45-minute tours that are held in a variety of languages.
