The Jim Thompson Museum is a place I must visit this time in Bangkok. Why? Because there is free ticket for the age under 25, and I am exactly 25 this year, if I won't come , I need to buy ticket next time! It is rare to be able to enjoy free treatment at the age of 25, of course I need to seize this opportunity!
Who is Jim Thompson? He is actually not a Thai, but he has made a huge contribution to the development of Thai silk industry.
He was an American. As an American practical architect before World War II. And then during World War II he served in the US Army, and participated in wars in Europe. After World War II, he was attracted by Thailand and settled in Bangkok. Therefore, this museum was actually his private villa!
Regardless of whether you enter free or not, you must register at the reception, they will arrange a tour guide to lead you visiting, not allow enter the villa to visit by yourselves. The commentary are include English, French, Japanese, and Chinese. We follow the English commentator. But my English is too poor to understand !
You can visit outside the main house while waiting. The main building of the villa has 6 buildings, all of which are collected by Thompson from all over Thailand. It is a Thai-style building with a history of more than 200 years and full of traditional style. He moved these buildings to his own land, used his architectural expertise, and renovated these buildings to become the current villa.
The villa is full of tropical style, with green plants and ponds everywhere. Even in the scorching summer, it feels not so hot.
The reason why Thompson stayed in Thailand was because he was deeply attracted by the Thai silk and simple cottage architecture in Thailand. Since he already had his own Thai-style villa, of course, Thai silk was indispensable. Thompson promoted Thai silk to all over the world by himself.
This young lady is so pretty ~ (Errrr, I'm not here to see pretty ladies!)
Thai silk is still made in the villa, and there are also silkworms on a plate. These silkworms are real, they can make silk, and the cocoons of silkworms are made of them! It's a little scary to watch such many silkworms ~
The interior of the main house cannot be photographed. In fact, it is the place where Thompson lives. It can be seen that Thompson was very rich. The furniture came from many places around the world and are so tasteful!
However, Thompson disappeared strangely when he traveled to Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. There is no any clue for what happened to him till now.
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