What's the Jim Thompson house like?
 

We are leaving for BKK next week and have been told our group will visit the JTHouse. Can anyone tell me whatit's like?

Are you visiting the JT "home" or the JT House that is a store? We visited both. The house is a wonderful teak home with his furniture, etc., just what you'd expect when you visit someone's historical home. Did not take long to go through it. <BR> <BR>The store is not nearby and is a big department-store type place full of expensive silk, too expensive for us. We were not on a tour and had a hard time explaining to the taxi driver that we wanted to see JT "home" and not the store. BTW, there are two stores and he took us to both before we ever actually got to the home. <BR> <BR>Sandy

Actually, we were told it was a restaurant.Does that sound familiar?

The Jim Thompson house in central Bangkok is an old-style Thai house built almost entirely of wood. It is set in a beautiful garden alongside a busy klong or canal. The home is filled with gorgeous pieces of Southeast Asian art. Because the floors are all of polished teak wood, you remove your shoes at the entrance. A lovely lady docent took us through the house, explaining many of the pieces of art to us. The home is located down what appears to be an alley alongside tall buildings. You would never guess that such a garden spot exists in busy central Bangkok. It is well worth your time to spend an hour or so there.

The house is definitely worth visiting - really interesting and is a little oasis of calm in a very hectic city. There is a small restaurant there which does excellent food. If you want to buy silk, then I wouldn't buy it in the JT shop as it's probably the most expensive place to buy it. Try Shinawatra on Sukhumvit 23 - they have better prices and a great selection.

The Jim Thompson house does have attached to it a small restaurant for light meals - not in the actual house but in a a partially open-air out-building. They have also opened a new restaurant in an old house in Saladaeng, which is pleasant enough, albeit with a somewhat limited menu. <BR> <BR>One should hurry to visit the JT House, as there is now a plan to plant the support column of an overhead motorway right in the middle of it and extend the motorway right over the house. The implementation has been postponed several times but I fear that the ultimate outcome is inevitable.