Beat up Beyond Belief in Bangkok

Teak architecture of the Jim Thompson House

We arrived in busy Bangkok by late morning, and the ship’s tour bus dropped us off at a shopping center called “Central World.”  We grabbed a taxi, and headed over to the nearby “Jim Thompson” house, where we managed to get into an 11:30 AM tour group.  Frank did not find the Thompson house terribly interesting although Anne enjoyed the ancient teak architecture and the tranquil location along Bangkok’s longest canal, the Saen Saeb.  But both of us agreed that the story of Jim Thompson was very intriguing.

Stunning interior of the Jim Thompson House

Thompson was born in the state of Delaware in the USA in 1906. He worked for the OSS (precursor to the CIA) during WWII and fell in love with Thailand. He moved to Bangkok where he made the Thai silk industry famous by encouraging the making of handmade silk and exporting it to top designers. He became a bit of a hero for his development of the industry.  He also loved Thai culture and built his house by relocating several old Thai houses and combining them into one large home that he filled with Asian art. Then in 1957, Jim Thompson went for a walk alone in the Cameron Highlands of western Malaysia and disappeared.  To this day, he remains Thailand’s most famous missing person.

Thai massage at Thann Sanctuary

By the time we finished the tour, it had started to rain quite heavily (almost monsoon strength), so we headed for Bangkok’s Gaysorn Center and specifically the “Thann Sanctuary” for a much needed ‘body pummeling.' Yes, we had 90-minute full-body traditional Thai massages scheduled in downtown Bangkok. Two young Thai gals, barely 25-years old and 5 feet in height, greeted us, and then took us to separate rooms where they artfully applied their talents. Wow, these tiny young Asian ladies were more than capable, despite their frail appearance.  Of course, our tired old frames were just crying out for some stiff fingering, so that could be part of the reason why it all felt so good!

Our legs were tired and swollen from all the walking over the past few days, but our unique Thai Massage was the cure.  A deep, slow, knuckle-penetrating sweep of our feet and lower legs put the zip back into those babies!!

Phad Thai!

Of course, no visit to Thailand would be complete without a sumptuous Thai meal of “Phad Thai.”  So, after we completed our body massages, we hoofed it back out into the rain and were off to explore Bangkok cuisine.  We found our requisite Phad Thai on the 7^th floor in a food court of a local shopping center.  As we dried out from the rain, we savored a delicioso Thai meal – just one more example of the fabulous Asian foods we've sampled on this trip.

In Jim Thompson's garden