Went to Jim Thompson’s house yesterday. At first glance, his house seems like a middle upper class man’s nice house. Made of wood… With Thai design accents…..
What’s interesting is the story of this man. He entered World war 2 young… Then after the war traveled a bit…. Due to him being stationed around, he figured… Fuck it, I’ll go Thailand. So in the 40s he lands in Bangkok. And he is basically accosted with a country that’s…. Well like the jungle book. The city wasn’t so urban back then. Quite a bit more like a village…. With people riding elephants, no indoor plumbing, no electricity. And no concept of civilization in a western mentality…. Primitive by western standards.
So he goes to town. Starts a silk business. Then becomes an architect. A hospital. Bars. Restaurants. Hotels. Fashion design. Cook. Travel. Cars. Just one after the other he starts modernizing the city. University. People around him started getting influenced…. And they start modernizing. By the late 50s Bangkok was a metropolis in the works… And it’s often Said thanks to him. He was like “the most interesting man in the world” for Thailand. One of the greatest Americans to live here.
So in 1961… He mysteriously disappeared. Just poof. No one knows what happened to him. So they turned his house into a national treasure and a museum.
Also, while I can’t say he was the best architect… He kinda just winged it…. I will say one thing that was awesome about his house…. Doors and mirrors and windows were all designed the exact same. And doorways were made to have matching views from both sides… So you often thought it WAS a mirror…. On a few occasions I had to slowly reach my hand out… When walking through… To make sure I don’t smack into a glass mirror.
Photos inside the house, unfortunately, are not allowed.
