Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lector. Born in Delaware in 1906, Thompson briefly served in the Office of Strategic Ser-
vices (the forerunner of the CIA) in Thailand during WWII. Settling in Bangkok after the
war, his neighbours' handmade silk caught his eye and piqued his business sense; he sent
samples to fashion houses in Milan, London and Paris, gradually building a steady world-
wide clientele.
In addition to textiles, Thompson also collected parts of various derelict Thai homes
and had them reassembled in their current location in 1959. Some of the homes were
brought from the old royal capital of Ayuthaya; others were pulled down and floated
across the canal from Baan Krua, including the first building you enter on the tour. One
striking departure from tradition is the way each wall has its exterior side facing the
house's interior, thus exposing the wall's bracing system. His small but splendid Asian
art collection and his personal belongings are also on display in the main house.
Thompson's story doesn't end with his informal reign as Bangkok's best-adapted for-
eigner. While he was out for an afternoon walk in the Cameron Highlands of western
Malaysia in 1967, Thompson mysteriously disappeared. That same year his sister was
murdered in the USA, fuelling various conspiracy theories. Was it communist spies?
Business rivals? Or a man-eating tiger? Although the mystery has never been solved,
evidence revealed by American journalist Joshua Kurlantzick in his profile of Thompson,
The Ideal Man,
suggests that the vocal anti-American stance Thompson took later in his
life may have made him a potential target of suppression by the CIA.
Beware of dapper touts in soi near the Thompson house who will tell you it is closed
and try to haul you off on a dodgy buying spree.
