ANOTHER ADVENTURE: Jim Thompson's House

Silkworm cocoons
and dyed hanks of silk

Before we visited Thailand, I researched places that might be good to visit. Sarah, my fellow volunteer in our local community shop, lent a book to me, about a house in Bangkok that she felt was a very special place. Jim Thompson was an American, born 1906, who began life as an architect, then joined the US army in 1941 and was recruited to the Office of Strategic Services. He was due to be sent into Thailand as part of the liberation from Japanese occupation, then WWII ended when the Japanese surrendered. He was sent anyway, fell in love with the country, and decided to make his home there.

Silk spinning demonstration

Jim T had noticed that the silk industry was dwindling due to Chinese imports, and he formed a company producing Thai silk. There are stories of him standing in Bangkok's Mandarin Hotel with swatches of cloth over his arm, selling bolts of silk to anyone who showed interest. Jim Thompson's marketed his silk as traditional Siamese fabric, and although it was different to the silk previously made in Thailand, his clever marketing and use of 'Thai' patterns created a brand which became very popular with Americans. His contacts in the USA included the husband of the author of 'Anna and the King of Siam', and when the book became 'The King and I' musical, in 1951, the costume designer made use of his silks, which created a trend in fashion and interior design. The bright dramatic colour combinations are his creation, but he kept his company 'cottage-based', which meant that his largely female workforce could work from home, and Jim Thompson is credited as saving thousands of poor Thai people from poverty.

In 1958 Jim Thompson used his architectural skills to construct a house which made use of six wooden houses, mostly a hundred years old. They were dismantled and brought from up-country using the river from Ayutthaya, and then pieced together in a clever layout which made use of his own touches, such as turning wall panels so that decorations faced inwards to the room.
The 'House on the Klong' became a showcase for Thompson's collection of antiques — Ming porcelain, Belgian glass, Cambodian carving, Thai and Burmese statuary.

In 1967, Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared while visiting friends in Malaysia. Conspiracy theories abound, including (non-established) connections to the murder of his sister in the USA, a few months later. Bones (untested) discovered in the 80s may have been his, and is possible that he was merely involved in a hit-and-run accident.

After his death, his wealth passed to a relative, who then donated it to a foundation to preserve the house.

On board a ferry on Khlong Maha Nak

The 37 golden spires of Loha Prasar

Klong (or khlong) is the Thai word for canal, and the house had a 'water entrance' as well as road access, exactly as traditional Venetian buildings. The house is situated across the Khlong Maha Nak from where many of his weavers lived and worked. We thought it would be appropriate to use the klong to get there, so we set out to find the nearest boat stop. We walked along a busy main road, passing the photogenic Wat Ratchanatdaram with its Loha Prasar or 'iron castle' with 37 golden spires. We had to dodge Bangkok drivers to get to the klong stop on the other side of the road interchange. It was unclear where boats were headed, and the next boat seemed to be travelling in the wrong direction, but a young girl who spoke English assured us that it was the right boat, and so we boarded. The helpful girl also told us how much to pay (9 baht), and said that she would tell us where our stop was.

Sure enough, the boat went under a bridge, made a multi-point turn, and turned round to head in the other direction. We paid our money and I tried to look for stops as I had worked out how many to go past until our stop. The klong boat travels at very high speed, and has plastic draped along the sides to protect people inside from being splashed. I hadn't realised that it only stops if someone indicates that they want to get off, so it was lucky that the friendly girl told us when we got to Hua Chang pier.

We walked along the edge of the klong, passing a tree that had been turned into a shrine. It is very common in Thailand to see soft drinks placed as offerings (photo left). We found the Jim Thompson house easily, and sat in the shade in the lovely grounds for a while.The house interior can only be visited on timed guided tours, and photographs are not allowed inside. The tour guide gave us a really good introduction to the history of the house and foundation, and then we were free to linger as long as we liked and to take photographs of the exterior rooms and garden.

Friendly spirit

All the guides were knowledgeable, and when I spotted carved figures (see left) very similar to two on our wall at home, a guide explained that it represented a friendly spirit. It brought back happy memories of our friend Peter Tilling who gave them to John on his fiftieth birthday. A guide pointed out the way the sun was shining through red parasols, and offered to take our photo beneath them.

Traditional dancing

The girls who were spinning Thai silk were dressed in traditional costume, and they also demonstrated Thai dances. We sat on a bench to watch, leaned back and relaxed, and John even fell asleep for a short while.