Jim Thompson House - Bangkok

Back in the day there was an American guy (I think) who moved to Thailand in the 1950's who upon seeing the hi quality of Thai silk decided to make a business out of it. He made a pile of cash and many say he made the Thailand export trade in silk what it is today.

Strangely the guy disappeared (I think in the 70's) without a trace. No one knows what happened to him. After his death a foundation was set up and his home and grounds were made into a museum by the Thai government. The Thai style buildings and gardens have been preserved and there is also a gift shop (for silly tourists willing to pay 100 times more than what they'd pay for a similar item at a market) and periodic art exhibitions there.

It is a calm oasis in the midst of major shopping malls, tuk-tuks, taxis, and street vendors and was very close to my motel-like lodging. The entrance fee included a tour but I opted out of that and just walked around the grounds. I thought to get a coffee at the cafe overlooking a small lotus pond but at 120 baht (compared to a plate of noodles for dinner at 40 baht) I decided against paying the Tokyo coffee price and meandered back to my rest house.































An aesthetic element I really appreciate in Thailand is the prevelance of small pools like this with water, flowers, and sometimes small fish. I noticed this a lot in Ubon Ratchathani. Even outside of what seemed to be a very basic dwelling people seemed to care for their water gardens as I call them. Something about seeing one of these, say on the side of a busy street outside someone's home, reminded me of how important small, simple examples of beauty are even in our busy, hurried lives. I don't know anything about the cultural meaning of these little treasures but I didn't see them in Cambodia leaving me to wonder if this is a particularly Thai custom or perhaps a Buddhist one as the lotus is a Buddist symbol and I often see water gardens similar to these in Japan as well. Anyone who wants to edumicate me - please do ;-)