thailand: bangkok and jim thompson
oddly enough, one of the most influential people on thailands culture and modern history was an american soldier. jim thompson was born in 1906 in delaware and studied architecture, but failed because his calculus wasn't so hot. however he was able to get work designing rich peoples houses with other architects signing off on his work.
during world war 2 he was recruited into the army and sent off to north africa, europe, sri lanka and eventually thailand. he arrived just as the war ended, so spent a time working for what would eventually be the CIA. eventually he was discharged and set up the thai silk company. his new company received a boost when they were contracted to provide the silk for the movie 'the king and i'.
he invented the bright colors and color combinations that thai silk became famous for. apparently he lifted thousands out of poverty by insisting that the company be run as a cottage industry, allowing the women who were the bulk of his work force to work from home.
in 1958, he started on his magnum opus - his house. because he wanted to have it as an authentic thai house, he used 6 different thai houses - some from ayuttaya, had them dismantled and shipped to bangkok. he used the traditional method of raising the buildings one story of the ground to protect from common flooding that happens in thailand.
surrounding the house is one of the prettiest and best thought out gardens i have ever had the pleasure of walking through. little paths snake through beautiful trees and shrubs, ceramic pots with lilies dot the garden, and the buildings all surround an idyllic pool at the center of the garden. all the pictures in this blog so far are from jim thompsons house. it was fantastic.
having completed his house, he proceeded to fill it with treasures and art that he collected during his time in thailand. his collection is very eclectic, spanning many years and styles, but all predominantly asian. works from china, burma, thailand and cambodia rub shoulders with belgian glass and victorian chandeliers.
this house is now a museum, and if you happen to be in bangkok, i strongly recommend paying it a visit. just having a look at the garden is worth it by itself.
the story of jim thompson ends clouded in mystery. in 1967, while visiting with some friends in the cameron highlands in malaysia, he went for a walk in the forest and never came back. a huge manhunt ensued with up to 500 combing the forest for any trace of him but nothing was ever found.
a word on silk production: silk is produced by the larvae of the silk worm. the cocoons are unthreaded and then the threads are spun together (they are too fine to be used singly.) then the silk is woven into fabrics. thai silk was not used much even in thailand until jim thompson started to market it to the western world.
we ended our lovely journey to thailand's past with a taste of thailand's present: the asiatique mall. this mall is accessible by catching a free shuttle boat down the river. it is built out of a disused warehouse that covers acres and acres of land. its name recounts the past: the east asiatic company was founded in 1897 by denmark in order to trade with siam. now it features 1,500 stalls, all open for business from 5pm onwards.
oh, and there is also a ferris wheel. asiatique is well worth a visit, and i don't even like shopping malls. its worth it just for the romantic sunset ride down the chao phraya river.
