Jim Thompson was a New York architect who served in the Office of Strategic Services (now the CIA) in Thailand during World War II. He settled in Bangkok after the war and is renowned for reviving Thailand's silk industry. He gained further acclaim for the construction of his home compound using the best of traditional Thai architecture. Not only is the house an inspired space but it showcases Thompson's impeccable taste and important pieces of Khmer sculpture, Chinese porcelain, Burmese carvings, and Thai scroll paintings. The house and its things are superb, simple beauty. (Photos are not allowed inside the museum so it's a small showing.)In Thompson's study, there is a display of the astrological charts that were made for him. Such charts were used by Thompson, for example, to determine what day would be most auspicious to move into his home after construction was completed. It also shows that his 61st year was an unlucky year for him. Five days after his 61st birthday, Thompson disappeared while on vacation in Malaysia. To this day no one knows what happened to Thompson. One theory suggests that he was hit by a car but the accident and his body were kept secret to avoid repercussions.
Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated on the night of the full moon in November, which corresponded with our stay in Bangkok on November 24. Crowds float banana leaf boats bearing candles, incense, flowers, and coins as an offering and to carry away the previous year's sins and bad luck. J and I set our own boat afloat on a little stream not far from the Grand Palace. The water looks wonderful alight with candles.
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