Jim Thompson Farm (6)

Practical information

Jim Thompson farm is located in Pak Thong Chai district ca. 80 km southwest of Nakhon Ratchasima (usually known as Khorat; the nickname is formed by taking the last syllable of the first word and the first syllable of the last word).

The farm is open to the public for only one month a year. The current season runs from 13 December 2014 to 11 January 2015. This place is worth a visit, if you are in Thailand at the right time. However, it is difficult to get there by public transport. You will need to have your own car in order to reach this destination.

During the season, the farm is open every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. On weekdays the price of a ticket is 120 Thai Bath for an adult and 80 for a child. On Saturdays and Sundays the price of a ticket is 140 TB for an adult and 100 for a child. A child who is 100 cm tall or less may enter for free. Foreigners pay the same price as Thais. There is no double pricing here.

There is a restaurant at station 1 and at station 5. There are toilets at all five stations. You may walk from one station to the next or you may take the shuttle bus that runs clock-wise from station 1 to 5 all day.  There are many buses. If you wish to catch the bus, you will - in most cases - not have to wait for more than five minutes. The bus is free. 

Jim Thompson Farm is a popular destination. Most visitors arrive in a car, but parking is well organized, with several large areas set aside for parking. Security guards will point you to a car park with free space as you arrive. It can be a bit crowded at station 1, which is the entrance as well as the exit, but there are no long lines in front of the ticket booth. I walked right up to the counter and bought my ticket. Once you are inside the farm, it does not feel crowded, because the farm covers a large area.

Planning your visit

It is possible to start from Bangkok in the morning, visit the farm during the day and return to Bangkok in the evening, but it is not recommended. It is a long drive from Bangkok to the farm, almost two hundred km, and since a visit to the farm will always take place around new year, the new year traffic may slow you down.

A better solution is to go to Khorat first and use this city as a base to visit the farm. From Khorat the distance to the farm is only 80 km, which you can cover in two hours, even if the new year traffic may slow you down. If you start from Khorat at 9 AM, you will arrive at the farm at 11 AM. Set aside four hours to visit all stations at the farm. Add one hour if you wish to have lunch at the place. If you leave the farm at 4 PM, you will be back in Khorat at 6 PM, even if the new year traffic may slow you down. Use the next day to drive from Khorat to Bangkok, ca. 250 km.

Directions

Leave Khorat from the southeast corner of the city, going south on route 224. After a while you will reach a large four-way crossing. Turn right here and go west on route 24. After a while you will reach a large four-way crossing. Turn left here and go south on route 304.

After a while you will reach a four-way crossing. A sign says turn right if you want to go to Lam Phra Phloeng. This is what you want to do, but a right turn is not possible here, because the crossing is blocked. Continue straight ahead until the next U-turn and double back on the other side. When you reach the crossing, turn left and go west on route 2421.

From now on there are signs along the road guiding you to the farm. Police may guide the traffic so that all visitors arrive from the left side of the entrance and leave from the right side of the entrance in order to avoid a traffic jam.

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