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Jim Thompson House – a quiet haven in busy Bangkok

Pemika takes a step back in time and out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok with her visit to the Jim Thompson House…   

JT house teak

Few could write a better tale than that of Jim Thompson. Educated as an architect, Thompson found himself in Bangkok at the end of World War II as part of an American intelligence organization. Though the war ended soon after his arrival, he decided to stay in Thailand, recognizing the potential of this new and exotic place.

With a strong passion for the hand weaving of silk, Jim Thompson devoted himself to reviving this traditional Thai craft, eventually becoming a highly gifted designer and textile colorist. However, his passion for the East did not stop with textile craft; he was also well-known for using his talents as an architect to help revive Thai-style design with the construction of a traditional teak house.

The view the quite, lush garden from the path Jim Thompson House.
The view the quiet, lush garden from the path Jim Thompson House.

The original Jim Thompson House and outbuildings were re-constructed from all or parts of six separate old houses — some more than a hundred years old — that were brought from various parts of the country to the present location.

He opened his beautifully heritage house to the public showing precious artifacts, and his collection of Thai art with the earnings to be donated to charities and projects that preserve local cultural.

JT house artifact
Decorative pieces in traditional Thai style.

Located across the street from the National Stadium, the Jim Thompson House is  more than an homage to Thai culture; it is also peaceful place away from the busy Bangkok crowds.

A tour of the house takes about 40 minutes, but the Thai-Western restaurant offers the opportunity to relax after a day of shopping of sight seeing — there are even lockers provided so you can store your purchases.

In the 20 or so year between his arrival in Asia and his mysterious disappearance in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands Thompson was credited with being instrumental in reviving the Thai silk industry, along with being one of the most famous foreigners in Asia.

Unexpectedly, Thompson disappeared during a vacation in 1967. No one knows what happened with him. It has been an ongoing mysterious and the source of much global speculation. His disappearance however, does not mean the Thai silks he worked hard to revive or his Thai house are gone with him. They are standing the reminders of his deep passion for Thailand.

How to get there: Located across from the National Stadium, The Jim Thompson House is easily accessible by BST (Skytrain).

When: 9:00 – 17:00, with the last guided tour at 17:00.

Contact information:
Jim Thompson House
6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok
Tel: (662) 216-7368 Fax: (662) 612-3744… Read more »

Guide Training, Bangkok 2008

Guide Training! Bangkok 2008

This review is not perfect,  because there is no way I can describe how much I enjoyed this year’s guide training! The only way it would be better is if next year we could all travel to Cambodia or somewhere else (hint hint !!)

How lucky I amto be able to work independently here in Bangkok! I wish Andrea could come visit more often (how many people say they want there boss to visit more? – no one else – just me!)

I had a chance to talk to each of our guides and here is what they had to say when I asked them to attend guide training:

Guide Kie says : Training again? I will come for training, but can I please skip the dinner cruise? That way I don’t feel like I’m working 😉 I always try to give our guests the very best service.

Guide Ron says : Yes, confirmed – I will be there. (Guide Ron never refuses work…he always there for us.)

Guide Bee says : Yes, I’ll be there. But how about this year we have the training in Cambodia? J

Guide Well says : I am so happy to see Andrea, I miss her so much. (Guide Well’s baby is just 8 weeks old now, so she will stay with her baby most of the time, but she will come by for some of the training)

 Jeab : I had a dream that Andrea was a scary boss! Now I’m scared to go to training!

Finally, I received everyone’s response and everyone is confirmed for training. The training went really well. We learned new things and even got gifts, and some guides received special “Quality Service” awards.

After training it was time for the party J Jeab and I took the guides and the rest of the Journeys Within team who joined in on the training (Kristina, Narla, Mom and Reat) out to a fun Bangkok dance club. Meeting these other team members I felt like I met my new brother and sister.

After all was done I said “Bye.” to my little bosses Callie and Couper. Hope to see you all next year.

Waew.

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A Bumpy Start

Our Vietnam guide training got off to a bumpy start this year. As Brandon pointed out, the positive side was we got to check out the response to an accident at the Siem Reap airport and we got to try out the SOS clinic in Hanoi, the negative side was why we got to try these out.

We arrived at the Siem Reap airport nice and early for our big trip. We loaded up the luggage carts and I checked us in while Narla and Brandon got ice cream with the kids. As I was paying the departure tax Callie came running up, singing her “we’re going to Vietnam” song. She grabbed the back of our luggage cart and swung. With all the luggage now out of it and only hand luggage on the top basket it was top heavy and crashed down on top of her. I was there first and pulled the cart off her, only to see blood everywhere. My heart literally stopped. I grabbed her and immediately put pressure on her eye where most of the blood seemed to be coming from. Narla, was right behind me and had a small towel in his fanny pack which he gave me. I was able to push this on the cut and slow the bleeding, but I had seen how deep the cut was, just above her left eye. In the meantime Callie was screaming, I mean really screaming, she has my low pain tolerance and that, coupled with the blood everywhere, was just too much for her. I sat down in the middle of the airport with her on my lap and held her as tight as I could. Even Brandon, who is always calm in situations like this, looked scared. We started to discuss who was going to stay and who would go, but neither of us wanted to be the one that left her. Meanwhile the airport had called their EMT crew and Narla had gone to get me some ice. The EMT crew was fantastic. They helped stop the bleeding and then put a cleaning solution on the cut (they will forever be known as the mean men with the spicy stuff). Callie had calmed down slightly and the bleeding had stopped so we were able to get a gauze bandage over the cut and Brandon and I decided that a clinic in Siem Reap and one in Hanoi were going to be about the same so we might as well just get on the plane. We were escorted through security and then taken to a private medical room while Narla (on his first trip out of Cambodia) got all our passports through immigration. Poor Callie was still pretty upset, but was pulling herself together. We were able to get on the plane and she seemed to forget about her boo boo for a while.

In Hanoi we were met by Van and Loan, our Vietnam directors and despite it being 8pm they kindly went with us to the SOS clinic. In my years here I have recommended this clinic to a couple of guests who got sick in Vietnam so this time I got to really inspect it! The doctor was great and all the nurses were really kind. They couldn’t give her stitches because the cut was too close to the eye so they said they wanted to glue it. They said she would have to hold still for 2 minutes while they held the cut closed and the glue dried. I tried to explain that under the best of circumstances Callie didn’t hold still for two minutes and that pain actually would make it the worst of circumstances. I asked if there was anything they could give her and they agreed they could give her some valium anally (forever knows as the tickly in my booty). The valium took a while to kick in, but finally she was asleep on the table. They bundled her in a sheet and the doctor leaned over to put the glue on. That first drop hit and Callie was up. It took three nurses and Brandon to hold her down and still the doctor couldn’t hold it for the full 2 minutes. At the end of it the doctor just shook his head and said, “you right, she an active one”. He told me not to get it wet or let her run around…I asked if I could take a tub of valium to go, he didn’t get it.

We went back to our hotel and Callie was like a little drunk person, trying to walk and falling down. She was having so much fun on the valium I finally had to just hold her on my knee, turn all the lights off and not let her go until she was asleep. Inevitably the glue came out, I couldn’t stop her from bouncing and it’s Asia, we all sweat, so it ended up getting wet too. The scar isn’t too bad and as everyone keeps pointing out, at least she’ll have a good story. We went to pick someone up at the airport the other day and she kept her distance from the luggage carts! All in all it was a horrendous experience, but from the EMTs in Cambodia, to SOS in Hanoi we couldn’t have asked for better help so at least I can go on with my recommendations feeling secure that I don’t just know ‘of’ the clinic, I know it well!

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The Circus Comes to Town

Last weekend (sorry, I wrote this awhile ago and have had trouble with uploading, it is more like last month…) we visited Koh Ker, a rural area about 3 hours from Siem Reap were we proudly own 22 hectares of farmland. Brandon wanted to go out to check on his land so I thought he would enjoy having the kids and I tag along and have an adventure. My cousin Tom and his cousin Iona were also visiting so we all loaded up and headed out. Koh Ker is starting to become a tourist attraction because of the pre-Angkorian temples there. I love visiting these temples because they are always empty of tourists and because my magic man is there. The magic man is a legend in Cambodia. Covered in tattoos the story is that he has been blessed and can now repel bullets and mines. He will show you the scars where bullets have burned him, but then bounced off and he will tell you in his own words how he has stepped on land mines twice, both times with those around him dying and him walking away without a scratch. He attributes this to the magic tattoos he has all over his body that protect him. I love seeing him and hearing his stories. Now the head of police in Koh Ker you can usually find him in a hammock outside the main temple where his wife runs a noodle soup shop.

After visiting him and the temples we headed into town. Imagine if Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, David Beckham and Mr. Ed showed up in your town, together. That’s what it’s like showing up in Koh Ker. We took some rooms at the local guesthouse where we were briefed on the 6 to 9 electricity rule. They have electricity from 6 at night to 9 at night, most nights. I took the kids for a walk and let the locals get an eyeful. Most of the kids ran away when they saw us coming, but a few paused on their bikes to watch…they looked ready to pedal like hell if we made any sudden moves. My kids take it all in stride, even lunch and dinner at the town’s “best” restaurant, where the choices were rice or noodles didn’t seem to phase them.

We had a fun night four-across in the bed. We kept the windows opened so when the fan stopped at 9 we had some fresh air, but at about 4 in the morning when the rooster started crowing I actually opened my eyes to make sure he wasn’t in the bed with us! Even Callie rolled over and muttered something about Old McDonald. In the morning we drove out to visit our land and meet the nice family squatting on it. My kids commandeered their kids toys while the Cambodian kids hid. That night we got back to Siem Reap and celebrated with a little AC and our own beds!

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Finally a trip of my own!

Only one month away and I’m off for my VERY first trip abroad! Mine and Gavin (my son)’s passports came in the mail a few weeks ago, and it really hit me that we are taking a HUGE and exciting adventure. Of course I was bummed because my passport photo had red splotches all over it and it made me look like I had really bad acne or something – but I got over it. I have been doing everything I can to not pack already, but I’ll admit that I have a couple outfits set aside.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to travel, especially with my husband and my son.
We will be traveling to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Siem Reap, Krabi and Koh Lanta. Each place will deliver a unique experience. I keep trying to tell people which place I am most excited to tour, and I simply can not choose! I am thrilled to finally meet the JW staff in person. After spending a year working with each individual via email we have developed bonds and it will be incredible to give each person a big hug and say hi (I hope they are all prepared for how talkative I really am in person!). I must admit I am especially excited to meet Waew as she and I have become friends. My husband can’t wait for the cooking class in Chiang Mai. He has aspirations of becoming a world-renowned chef and this is right up his alley. I’m sure Gavin’s favorite experience will be seeing Callie and “Pouper” in Cambodia. I doubt he will ever want to leave. “Pouper” is his best friend; it is so cute watching them play together.

I’m also excited to stay at the B & B, I have a vision of how nice it is, but I have a feeling it will exceed my expectations. To be honest, I am nervous about volunteering at the language school and going to the squatters village as I have never experienced poverty on this level. I think it is something that I can not prepare for and must keep my mind open to all the good that JWOC is doing to help and focus on the things I can do and the things that are out of my hands.

Surprisingly, I’m not nervous about the 22 hour flight! We’ll see what I say AFTER our trip. My entire family keeps saying “how are you going to handle being on a plane for that long with a 2 year old?” I always respond “Andrea does it by herself with 2 kids, I can handle it.” I think I am just going to go with the flow as I normally do and we’ll work it out.

Well, back to day dreaming about my upcoming adventure – will chat soon!Read more »