Bangkok in a Nutshell: 10 Fun Facts, Bangkok, Thailand

Off the main street, down a quiet narrow lane, a lush tropical garden full of ferns and orchids, planted with frangipani and palm trees, and where lotuses grow on a pond opens up on the dark teak wood Thompson鈥檚 house. In the heart of busy and bustling Bangkok, a stone鈥檚 throw away from the luxurious shopping malls of Siam Square, the quietness and peacefulness is only briefly disturbed by the noise of the water taxis running up and down the聽khlong聽鈥� or canal 鈥� that serves the back side of the house. Today the Jim Thompson Museum, the estate was built by the silk businessman and possibly American spy in the 1950鈥檚.

In the luxurious house, European furniture and聽Carrara marble highlight the refinement of the antique China vases, wooden Burmese Buddha statues, and oriental decors. East and West meet in the utmost refinement and taste. The avid art collector and architect even imported parts of the house itself from the former capital of Siam, Ayuttaya.

In Jim Thompson鈥檚 bedroom, a few of his portraits remind the man shrouded in mystery. An agent of the US Office of Strategic Service (OSS, today鈥檚 CIA) during World War II, Thompson (1906-1967) served in Northern Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to support the Thai liberation movement. He set up the local Bangkok OSS office after the Japanese occupation ended in 1945. After the war, he settled in Thailand. From a wealthy and influential East Coast textile family, in 1948, he went back to his roots, buying shares in the Thai Silk Company Limited that was on the verge of collapsing. Reviving Thai silk by taking it from Hollywood to Broadway via Vogue, and supplying the Thai Queen Sirikit, a true model and advocate for the delicate fabric, Thompson saved the local industry. He provided jobs to the Cham weavers of the Muslim Ban Khrua community who used to live opposite the canal behind his house, and to many rural women weaving from home until well after his disappearance. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).

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Guide Name: Bangkok in a Nutshell: 10 Fun Facts
Guide Location: Thailand » Bangkok
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Article (B))
Author: Marcella Van Alphen
Read it on Author's Website:
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:

Thompson鈥檚 house
The Grand Palace
Chinatown
Lumphini Park
Ban Baht
Khlong Lat Mayom
Chatuchak weekend market
Wat Pho

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