While in Bangkok we visited the Jim Thompson house, which is a kind of museum and store. Jim Thompson, who I vaguely recalled from some research I did on the Office of Strategic Services (the pre-CIA) for a World War II documentary. Jim Thompson was a member of the OSS and was sent to Thailand for them. The war ended before he was able to do much spying, but he was enchanted with the country and remained there after the war. Many people give him credit for nearly single handedly reviving the art of silk weaving and dying and creating an industry that survives to this day. He was a Princeton graduate and an architect and designed a beautiful house using classic Thai principles but also using materials like imported Italian marble for some of the floors. Most of the rest of the house is teak. The house ands surrounding gardens are beautiful. He clearly lived a luxurious ex-pat life. He was also an art collector and the house contains some museum quality pieces of woven silk hangings and carved statues. He disappeared in 1967 under mysterious circumstances and his body was never found.
Although publicly he was not affiliated with the CIA many people believe that he continued to work for them using the silk trade as a cover. I prefer to believe that myself as it’s a much more romantic story. He disappeared at the height of the Vietnam War and it is likely that he was on some kind of mission for the US government.
The silks his company continues to produce are gorgeous, many hued fabrics. They were used for the costumes for “The King and I.”
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