Ban Khampun

Ban Khampun is the home and museum of Khampun Srisai, a National Artist celebrated for reviving north-eastern Thai silk weaving, set in the family’s compound in Warin Chamrap on the edge of Ubon Ratchathani. For more than a century the family has produced fine brocade silk — some of it woven for the royal household — and the museum gathers that legacy under one roof.

Inside, antique looms and weaving tools sit alongside displays tracing the silk-making process from mulberry and silkworm to the intricate mat-mee and brocade patterns the region is known for. The compound also holds a hall of Buddhist scripture and a room enshrining a Buddha relic, reflecting the spiritual side of the family’s work, with a small café to pause at. Lengths of finished silk are on show, and sometimes for sale, so you can follow the craft from raw thread to bolt of cloth.

The setting is quiet and personal — more a visit to a working artisan’s house than a formal institution. The museum is open daily and easily reached by tuk-tuk or taxi from central Ubon Ratchathani; the wider Ban Khampun grounds open to the public mainly during the city’s Candle Festival each July. Admission is free, and it makes a rewarding stop for anyone interested in Thai textiles and Isaan craft heritage.