The Jim Thompson House Prime Tourist Site in BangkokPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
The Jim Thompson House, often called The House on the Klong, is one of Bangkok’s most famous private residences which has become a museum and open to the pubic. The interest in the house is much more than its architectural design and traditional Thai construction; it’s as much about the man who created it and who has become a legend in Thailand. But first, before visiting the house let me tell you something about the man, the legend and the myth. It involves one of the great mysteries of Asia.
James H.W. Thompson, an OSS officer, came to Thailand with the US forces during World War ll. The OSS (Office of Stretegic Services) was the forerunner of the CIA, and Captain Thompson was an agent. All would have been well, and ended well, had he not fallen in love with Thailand and everything Thai—the culture, the architecture, the art, the customs, the easy way of life, the people. He travelled widely up country to the borders of Laos and Burma. Sometimes he was away from Bangkok for weeks. He made many friends, some of whom were in influential positions.
While still in the service, Thompson began to make plans to return to Thailand. After his discharge he did just that. He returned to Thailand determined to begin a new life. He was an architect before the war and, seeing possibilities in restoring the old run-down Oriental Hotel, he bought a quarter share in the hotel and moved in. But his expectations of making his mark in the hotel business were short lived. He had been married when he went off to war but when he returned home and told his wife about his plans for a hotel in Bangkok she wanted no part of it. They divorced and Thpmpson returned, alone, to Bangkok. But all did not go well. He had a disagreement with one of the partners, Madame Krul, a French lady, and resigned from the partnership. However, he continued to live at the Oriental for the following year.
What to do now was the question.
Thompson hit upon an idea. When he was travelling around Thailand, he became deeply intrigued by the bright colours of local-made odd bits and pieces of Thai silk and by the methods by which the weavers produced the cloth. It was an ancient industry in Thailand but one which had almost died by competition from cheap fabrics imported from Europe and Japan. There were a mere handful of weavers left in Thailand. Perhaps he could market Thai silk.
He invested $100 and bought up enough samples to fill a suitcase. In 1947 he took the suitcase with him to New York where he was introduced to the editor of Vogue, Mrs. Chase. When she saw the samples, she was so impressed that she asked Thompson to leave the suitcase with her for a few weeks. She then persuaded a top New York designer to make a Thai silk dress which was photographed and appeared in Vogue, giving credit to Jim Thompson’s silk of Thailand. The success of Thai silk was immediate.
Thompson liked to explore the villages in northern Thailand and on such trips he began to take a collector’s interest in Thai art, mostly old temple paintings on silk, wood carvings and Buddhist sculpture. He bought up pieces and, when his collection grew, he no longer had room to house them all. So, he built a house which is one of Bangkok’s famous residences to this day.
Jim Thompson’s museum-like home became a showpiece of the Thai capital. What he did was buy three old Thai houses upcountry and reassemble them on a piece of property that he purchased along a small klong in the heart of the city. He used traditional Siamese architectural forms which had not been used for years. The houses were constructed of carved teak. The changes he incorporated into these 19th century buildings were interior corridors, a staircase, and modern bathrooms. But they retained the high ceilings for the free flow of air. He had open, screened porches, spreading verandahs with flowers and Chinese porcelains and lush green gardens. In the gardens were henna trees, hibiscus and gardenias. Brilliant lorikeets and white cockatoos gave magnificent colour to the place.
Not all the art collection was Thai. There were Burmese lacquer, Cambodian bronzes, Ming pottery, Belgian glass and Victorian crystal chandeliers, set off against warm teak walls and red painted ceilings.
At the height of his career and fame in 1967, he went with a friend to spend the Easter holiday weekend with mutual friends at their home in the Malaysian highland. Here he mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. He simply vanished and left no trace.
The Jim Thompson silk business grew and with each passing year his house became more popular; and the legend of the disappearance of Jim Thompson continues to perpetuate. The house is open for all who want to see it. The speculation as to what happened to him is anyone’s guess.
Apart from Thompson's splendid art collection and personal belongings, exhibited at the Thompson House, the rooms were arranged to reflect the life of Thai people in former times. The garden, featuring various native Thai flowers, is maintained in a natural way and to reflect Thai art and living culture.
Jim Thompson built another Thai teak house in Bangkok for his friend Connie Mangskau, the lady who was with him when he disappeared in the Malaysian jungle. In time, Connie’s house became almost as famous as Thomson’s house. When Connie passed away a few years back, the house was sold and dismantled and has become another mystery. That will be another story for another time. For those interested, in my book, “The Strange Disappearance of Jim Thompson, and Other Stories of Expats in Southeast Asia,” I have written about Jim Thompson in detail. Although I had only met him once, I did get to know many of the people who knew him and were involved in his life and, two days after he disppeared, I travelled to the Malaysian hill station to join the search and report on his disappearance. I have written about this and the people involved in his life, and other events that have taken place since then, in my book. Thompson’s disappearance is a mystery that never goes away; but the house is no mystery. It is still there as a reminder. Go see it and try to imagine what might have happened to the original American expatraite, Jim Thompson. Give me your thoughts.
The Jim Thompson House is located at 6 Kasemsan, 2 Lane Rama I Road in Bangkok. It is open daily 9 am to 4:30 pm and has tours in English, French and Japanese.
I recently wrote in Weekly Travel Feature about the Weekend Market at Chatuchak and mentioned another shopping wonder, River City. Many e-mails have arrived asking about River City, so next week I will tell readers more about it. Like Chatuchak, it is a shopping wonder but one that is completely different.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens, I have read all your books, and I like your style. I bought your books and read your articles because Han Snel told me that you write wonderful truthful stories about Asia.
Han Snel was a good friend. I was present at his burial in the year 1998, and at his cremation in the year 2000 (when his bones were dug up for cremation). Turning now to your book AT HOME IN ASIA, you wrote: "For the sake of easy pronunciation, he dropped the letter S from Hans and the extra L from Snell. He now became Han Snel" and you wrote that he was a deserter.
Wrong! His name had always been Johannes Snel. He abbreviated his Christian name, instead of Johannes it became Han. His surname has always been SNEL, and there never was an additional L.
Han Snel has never been a deserter; after the colonial war was over, following the Indonesian independence, when the Dutch pulled their troops out, Han Snel decided to stay in Indonesia. Han Snel's widow (Siti) is still alive and well. I visited her last week. I suggest that you visit her too, so that you and your readers can see how Bali has changed. Han and Siti's youngest daughter Poppy has died of cancer one year after Han died of cancer.
Han Snel was one of my best friends, and I miss him. I visited him the day before he died, he was very weak, and in pain, but Han Snel and I drank a beer. This was the last beer Han Snel ever drank. The following day he was dead.
I have been living in Indonesia for the past 24 years.
Best regards,
Dirk Vleugels
Denpasar
Bali
A. Dear Dirk, I have on my desk in front of me a copy of my book AT HOME IN ASIA with the chapter on Han Snel and I did not spell his name as Hans. I also checked all other stories I wrote about Han and again I never spelled it Hans. I can’t argue with you about his name always being SNEL. Next, I never said he was a deserter. On page 135 of AT HOME in a conversation with Han I asked him about his deserting the army, as he had been accused of doing. He said, and I have it in print, that he NEVER deserted.
I want to thank you for your information on artists Arie Smit and Theo Meier. I will use the information, with your permission, the next time I write on the arts and artists of Bali. I found it very interesting and I am sure our readers will too --HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited | 
