Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
garden cafes and the grounds of hotels. There are only a handful of these workshops still
open, the main business of the district now being in wrought ironwork and steel products,
and there are numerous shops that between them could probably offer anything needed in
this line, ranging from an imposing set of gates, through to engine bolts and flanges. Rong
Muang leads all the way alongside the station marshalling yards and emerges onto Rama
I
Road, Wat Sa Bua tucked into the corner where the ramp leads up onto the main road,
its monks' quarters sporting unless I am very much mistaken the art of Rong Muang in
their fence and gateway, and a boldly embossed lotus pond over the main gate to illustrate
the temple name. Directly opposite is Wat Chamni Hatthakan, its graceful Chinese-style
floral gables rising in pastel blues and creams above the courtyard, porcelain forming the
vases and flowers. Vividly coloured paintings adorn other gables, and on one, overlooking
the front wall, is a small, embossed image of a Reclining Buddha that acts as an advertise-
ment for the golden figure reclining inside.
Continue along Rama
I
Road, and directly under the National Stadium terminus of the
BTS
Skytrain is Soi Kasem San 2, which leads through to one of the strangest stories in the
East.
The Jim Thompson House is a classic example of how a good story can make a tourist
attraction. Had Thompson not disappeared in such mysterious circumstances in 1967 I
doubt if the house would be so popular: in fact it would probably have been pulled down
by now to make way for an apartment block. Before entering that intriguing gateway at
the end of the lane, however, step out onto the canal pathway and gaze across the lumpy
grey waters at the village opposite.
Ban Krua is where Jim Thompson's interest in the fragments of glowing silk that he
found from time to time in stores throughout Bangkok and in traditional homes eventu-
ally came into focus. he story of how he built up the silk industry from its almost extinct
folk-art level to become world-famous is well known, but the reality of the small commu-
nity of Ban Krua is a little more obscure. By the time Jim Thompson came on the scene,
directly after World War
II
., silk weaving in Bangkok had almost died out. There was little
demand for the material, which was mostly used by that time for ceremonial occasions.
Most of the looms in the city had closed, and only at Ban Krua was silk weaving done on
an appreciable scale. The residents of Ban Krua are Muslims, ethnic Cham people who
migrated from Cambodia to Siam during the reign of Rama
I
. They had fought alongside
the king's troops during engagements against the Burmese, and as a reward had been al-
located the land on which they live to this day. The community had brought with them
the art of silk weaving, and Thompson had traced the origins of the silk that he so much
