Jim Thompson’s Story of Silk
3
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About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-80
Duration: 3h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
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- A half day tour with a professional English-speaking guide.
- Transportation by air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver.
- All entrance fees for visits as mentioned in the description.
- All applicable taxes and service charges
- Entry/Admission - Jim Thompson House
What's not included- Personal expenses such as meals, drinks, tips and gratuities, shopping, portage fees
- Hotel accommodation in the destination of commencement.
- Compulsory Christmas, country-specific festival and/or New Year dinner at included hotels
- Any airline tickets, visa fees, additional transportation cost from and to the general meeting point
- Travel insurance coverage for customers (highly recommendable)
- Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.Pickup details
- Hotel pickup is available from most centrally located Bangkok hotels. Transfer outside these areas, supplements apply.
Hotel pickup offeredDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 8084P318- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour is operated on full private basis with English-speaking guide. Other languages are on request / subject to availability and supplementary charges may apply.
- Transfers are only operated within the downtown Bangkok areas and restricted to main hotels only.
- Regions outside the central business district such as Khao San Road, Rattanakosin, Nonthaburi, Thonburi, Minburi, both International Airports, Ratchadapisek and upper Sukhumvit (Soi 55 and further) are excluded and supplementary charges apply.
- We regret that we are unable to provide pick-up and drop-off transfer services from and to apartment complexes, local guest houses or private apartments. We advise you kindly to head on your own arrangement to the nearest hotel inside the downtown Bangkok area.
- To respect local customs and respecting the religious sites and temples on this tour, it is customary for guests to take off their shoes before allowed entrance. Your guide will inform you in advance for which of these sites this is applicable.
- We always will make efforts to confirm the exact pick-up time upon reservation. For any operational issues in which are not able to confirm the exact pick-up time in advance, we reserve the right to inform you the day before the departure of the tour.
- Natural elements of any kind have a destructive effect on electronic equipment. It is the customer’s own responsibility to ensure that any camera, mobile telephone or other device is properly wrapped and protected against these elements. We cannot be held responsible in any way for negligence and/or not following suggestions for any damage related to this.
- There will be ample time for customers to spend time on their own to admire the sites at their own pace or browse along the shops for souvenirs. When additional time needs to be allocated for more time at leisure or shopping, this can be discussed with the guide on spot.
- It is the responsibility of the customer to provide us with the correct hotel information, should pick-up and drop-off services be included in the package. Any changes in accommodation outside 24 hours will be handled accordingly: changes within 24 hours may be on request.
- In the event of no-show or change of accommodation without prior consent and confirmation from us within 24 hours may result in the applicable cancellation charges as outlined in the terms and conditions.
- Guides are not permitted into the house for guiding purposes; the management of Jim Thompson’s House of Silk only allows in-house guides to conduct tours.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 8084P318
From
$54.88
per adult (price varies by group size)
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Itinerary
- 1Our guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel either in the morning or in the afternoon. We drive from your hotel right into the city centre to stop at Jim Thompson’s House. Jim Thompson was the legendary American architect-entrepreneur who settled in Thailand after WW II and almost single-handedly revived the moribund silk industry. Thompson's achievements during his 25 year stay in the Kingdom of Thailand have won him much fame as the "Legendary American of Thailand". Since his mysterious disappearance in 1967 in the jungle of Malaysia, little has changed in the home that was the 'talk of the town' and the 'city's most celebrated social centre'. Once his official residence, this complex of Thai-style homes and ornamental gardens is a fine example of authentic Thai architecture. The home was constructed by skilfully combining multiple Thai houses. Even today, this museum contains an impressive collection of art, collectables and antique objects continues to be a key stop for visitors to Bangkok. Jim's maze of seven Thai-style teak houses has since been converted into a small private museum filled with his priceless collection of Asian antiques, pottery, and curiosities. A small gift shop sells fine reproductions of Vessantara Jataka and Brahma Jati horoscopes. Yet, at this moment the city boasts with a variety of Jim Thompson’s silk houses in the more up-market shopping areas, where this excellent Thai promotional product can be bought. After touring all the corners of the house and the lush gardens, our guide and driver will safely bring you back to your hotel.
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- davidgQ8197VW0 contributionsThis journey along the Kwai fulfilled all our expectations, and more. Thoroughly relaxing and informative in all respectWhen I first viewed this trip I was concerned at the lack of feedback from travellers so felt we were travelling into the unknown. This was back in early 2024 so apologies for the late review having enjoyed the trip so determined to write a review. My partner has already submitted her report so I will just add on my additional views; firstly Saint Krista, a wonderful German lady who was the cruise manager..no words can fully compliment this outstanding lady for the care she provided during my partners (tummy) illness. I remained on board during the day to provide comfort etc whilst the other folks went off on a day tour. Sitting upstairs on a shady deck during the day, enjoying the Kwai flowing past, whilst both myself and Krista had pleasant chats over coffee or Ricard (good for a poorly tummy) the chef enquiring what sort of a lunch I would like prepared, was five star. I can add that the food prepared for us was outstanding; the chef was quick to adapt her menu to our individual idiosyncrasies - not too many fortunately. Krista was always to hand and passed all our compliments and requests to Chef. Meal timings were fluid, as some of the trip timings changed due to traffic and tides. Breakfast was superb with individual choices freshly prepared. Readers may be interested in the bar, I certainly was! All bottled but containing a Catholic reasonably priced selection of liquor. I certainly needed a few stiff Ricards for medicinal reasons. Beer was local and wine imported, slightly pricy until the friendly barman pointed out a wine bargain. A bottle, purchased, can have your name on it for the next evening etc. A tab is run, payment on the final evening. To sum up, a marvellous mini cruise on a fascinating historic and interesting river, in excellent hands on board a quirky ship and and cabin. I would like to experience it again, if just for the care and comfort we experienced at the hands of Krista and her crew! Happy to answer any questions you have. DavidWritten September 3, 2024
- hazeyhay0 contributionsBeautiful Historical Sites and ScenaryThe sites were beautiful and our guide was full of knowledge, answering all of our questions. We got a lot of pictures of the stunning scenery. Travelling the river between Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand was extraordinary. A must-do when in Chiang Rai!!Written July 27, 2024
- Demons110 contributionsRelax at Hua Hin.Hau Hin was a very relaxing. Plenty of eateries. cheap of course. beach about 50 meters away. Stayed for a month and that wasn't long enough. Anyone thinking of going... "go"...Written July 10, 2024
- 104micky0 contributionsGreat morning on the riverGreat communication, picked up on time in an air-conditioned van. Boat driver had good English with good knowledge of the area and great traditional Khao Soi. Would highly recommend.Written June 22, 2024
- Batti660 contributionsA unique experience not to be missed!Beautiful boat and although small, with single beds, the cabins are cleverly designed and have aircon. The shower and bathroom all work perfectly and there was never any hint of running out of water, power, etc. There were only 9 of us on board when we travelled; I believe the maximum guest number is 20. Krista, the cruise manager, is excellent and looked after me when I unfortunately wasn’t well (nothing to do with the boat or their food), providing me with medicine and reassurance, and also making sure the bed was made more comfortable for me as I personally found it too hard. I sadly missed out on the trips but was content to stay in my air conditioned cabin and watch the world float by. The boat anchors in the middle of the river at night and tows a small tender at all times to transport people to the bank for trips, etc. The staff are all excellent and attentive, led by Krista, with entertainment put on by the staff on the last night. My partner stated that the food was lovely and lots of it (I wasn’t eating at this point!). I was sorry not to have experienced it more but would happily recommend.Written March 23, 2024
- T5271SWandreww0 contributionsFloating market for TOURISTSWe ventured out to see the floating market, upon arriving and boarding a paddle boat it became very apparent that this only run for tourists. Souvenirs shops abound every inch of the water ways . The worst feature I. Our view is the use of long tail motorized boats' they are noisy if uou like to be in an srea with diesel and gas fumes its eonderful. VERY POLLUTING IN MY OPINION GET RID OF THE MOTORIZED BOATS. OVERALL I would give this a very very poor rating however if you like things created only for tourists go for it.Written February 21, 2024
- guy_paenen0 contributionsGood deal - one time experience.Civilized dinnercruise. Well organized. Food served at the table on a nice boat. Relaxing background music. "Nouvelle cuisine" food OK. Not "Waaauuw", but certainly not "Pfff" either. We opted for "free flow wine, beer". Good quality wine available (Prosecco / Rioja). Does not come exactly cheap (100€ pp), but all in all a good deal if you don't like the disco-boats with buffet-food.Written February 18, 2024
- Kikka19310 contributionsAVOID!AVOID! I just want also to let you know that - I have 30 years of tours/traveling so this is not my first experience - This is a private tour (but, honestly, 80% of what I am going to write would be bad for a group trip too….) and the price isn’t cheap - After this excursion we had very good tours, so, yes, we were unlucky You can just read title of each point or read the whole thing if you want to know more. 1) English tour guide and no English 😳 ? The guide (Mark) speaks little to no English. To the extent that when we were asking questions slowly, the broken English answers he gave were unrelated to the topic. 2) A real tour guide? - During our car trip to the different attractions Mark didn’t give us any context: we didn’t know we were going, what we would see, and the location’s basic history. Zil, none, zero, nada… we tried multiple times in different ways to let him know we wanted to know more. It always fell on deaf ears. The trip was him either talking to the driver or on his phone. - All the information he gave us was a game of true or false. We would get out of the car and all he would say was “we are at X/Y/Z”. As afore mentioned, he gave very basic information: when asking other guides afterwards, we discovered what he said to be mostly wrong. Since he was checking Google most of the time to answer at our basic questions, I am wondering why he didn’t get the info right? - For Thai people the Royal family has an immense value. This guide wasn’t able to even distinguish one king from another (not even to say if the figure portrayed was a king or not 👀 ) , even in front of photos. This left us wondering whether he even is a real tour guide. 3) Let’s keep up with the pace! Mark would quickly walk ahead, neither waiting for us nor checking where we were, leaving us slightly lost at times. 4) History and math test time! I think this is less important but was a kind of the cherry on top of the pie. - His answers assumed we were already aware of every step in Thai history and that what he was saying was common knowledge. - When we were asking for dates on events/buildings, Mark replied using the Thai calendar. When asking for clarification, he would always say either 100 or 250 years ago, which we later discovered was also not true for most information. To sum up, RUN away from this tour!Written February 17, 2024
- Tripyukjoice0 contributionsCozy Chiang MaiGood size of city with beautiful mountainous view. Not too crowded, but it is easy to get anywhere in the city. Beautiful temples. Good food of course. Night markets with music are pleasure evening entertainment to be after a beautiful day.Written January 21, 2024
- 514sianh0 contributionsFloating Markets - don’t botherWe booked our visit to the floating markets privately. The markets were a long drive from Bangkok city centre. The market was very disappointing, a few stalls all selling what can only be described as ‘Tat’. We went past a sign on the waterfront saying that the noise and pollution was making the residents of the area ill- makes you wonder what impact your visit has.Written January 7, 2024
- svgp0 contributionsExcellent tourWe went to doi Suthep, phra lay, and chedi luang. Timi was an excellent guide. She customized the trip for us per our request. At the end of the temple tour we went to warorot market. She knows the market like the back of her hand, took us to best shops for street snacks and food. Overalll, we had an excellent experience. Do not miss Phra Lat!Written January 1, 2024
- caddyandbellA0 contributionsGood day out but very touristyWe did not book our trip through Asian Trails but Viator.Just getting to the meeting point to catch the bus was an experience in itselk with catching 2 trains and a water ferry to meet at the pick up point.Big bus and airconditioned.I see some peoples reviews of disappointment but Im not sure what you had expected to see.I was really happy with our time there and the whole tour was very inexpensive for value we got.I loved floating around the waterways and really bought nothing but fruit.The lunch at the pier was delicious and very cheap.Paying for the toilets was a rip off and she took all my change out of my hand when I asked her how much it was (only day 2 in Thailand) my mistake.I would not do it again but so glad that we did.Ticked the box and we enjoyed ourselvesWritten December 13, 2023
- Sigg720 contributionsBrilliant tours and amazing staff!I stayed at Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok where Supada (Pla) was the representative for Asian Trails. She helped me plan an itinerary to include everything I wanted to do and went way above and beyond to assist me. She drew me maps to help me navigate my surroundings and even gave me her number to contact should I get lost or needed assistance. I thoroughly enjoyed all the tours and would recommend Asia Trails for their professionalism and value for money. Once again thankyou Pla for your kindness.Written December 2, 2023
- camilleo9870 contributionsWant my refund asap.Tide too high, the guy called us just when we arrived in to the meeting point to say that he will not come to pick up us today but can move the activities the day after because of high tide. As everyone knows, no matter what days, tide follow hours during a period so probably they could not make it for few days but surely did not discovered that 5mins before.Written November 1, 2023
- luxuryvoyage0 contributionstotally disappointingWe visited the floating market on a private tour together with the railway market. You can forget about this excursion. The journey from Bangkok is long and the experience disappointing. While the Railway market is small and only exists for tourists, it still has a certain uniqueness. The absolute disappointment, on the other hand, was the Floating market. Except for a few staged market boats, there were only tourist boats to see, next to a large hall with food stalls and souvenir stores. I can not recommend the trip in any case and would advise against it.Written October 23, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
3.0
9 reviews
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drltravels
Evergreen, CO9 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
Our guide was great so this is not a reflection on her. However, it was not necessary to use a guide for this trip. We should have taken a tuk tuk there and bought an entrance ticket directly. The tour was interesting but not as detailed into the history of silk as I had hoped. It was more about the story of Jim Thompson. I don’t regret going though!
Written December 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LynskieinFenwick
Pelham, Canada56 contributions
Nov 2018
The guided tour lasted about 20 minutes. The house is not very large and the volume of visitors is such that they rush you through. We could have gone back and looked at the place again, but it seemed like it wasn't worth it.
Written November 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hwartonxx
Melbourne, Australia12 contributions
Dec 2018
we didnt book a tour wen made our own way there and then did the in house tour Excellent English french or German speaking guides , beautiful gardens you can also what the famous Jim Thompson silk shop. watch the process from the worm to the fabric
Written July 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Hwarto
Many thanks for sharing your personal experiences through one of Thailand's national products - silk - and the story behind the man who revived the silk history back to life. It has been a pleasure reading that you have enjoyed Jim Thompson House and got the guided tour to learn all there is to know.
Looking forward welcoming you again to Amazing Thailand in not to far a future.
Kind regards
Asian Trails Thailand
Written July 21, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
TFH04
Henley-on-Thames, UK211 contributions
This is a non tour, its a taxi service. The tour itself is conducted by the people at the site and the tickets can be bought at the ticket office for 200 BAHT. This trip should not exist, it's a scam
Written February 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katherine C
Bath, UK11 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Wonderful that Jim Thompson salvaged so many historical artifacts of Thai culture and tradition. We found the trip fascinating and informative. The question is where is Jim Thompson now?
Written February 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear 346kath
Reading your reviews affirms you’ve made the right choice in choosing to follow in the silk footsteps of Jim Thompson and his permanent place in the Thai history books. His former residence turned museum is indeed a wonderful place to get the ins and outs of his life-long dedication of putting Thailand at the summit of silk-producing countries.
And…you’ve asked a very good question which remains at this stage still unanswered. Who know what may unveil as theories about this disappearance remain coming up.
With many more historical and cultural landmarks available in the Land of Smiles, time to see you soon again and explore some more?
With kind regards
Asian Trails Thailand
Written February 2, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Russell E
Las Vegas, NV45 contributions
Nov 2018
200 baht for the tour of the 6 House about 200 years old that were transported and set up high off the ground by Jim Thompson to make one large home.
I recommend the tour which takes 45 minutes.
I recommend the tour which takes 45 minutes.
Written November 12, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MikeLovesNerds
Atlanta, GA13 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
The house has a wonderful history and so does Jim Thompson... but they need a good story/script writer for the tour guides... the most interesting part of the story was given away at the beginning of the tour. They should really get the groups hooked on his story before they give away that he vanished without a trace....
Written October 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hugh M
1 contribution
Jan 2023 • Couples
The tour was $111 for two and barely lasted a half hour (it did include a short taxi ride to and from our hotel). We learned nothing that was not readily available on the internet.
Written January 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.