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[b]Edward Roy De Souza wrote:[/b]
[quote][u]Instalment No. 5[/u]

[b]Jim's 'House on the Klong'[/b]

Jim was unlike any other figure in Southeast Asia. He was an American, an ex-architect, a retired army officer, a one-time spy, a silk merchant, a millionaire and a renowned collector of antiques. Most of his treasures, if not all, were amassed since the day he first came to Thailand. As time slipped by, his assortment outgrew its surroundings and this left him with not much of a choice but to find a suitable place to house them. For quite some time he toyed with the idea of constructing a dwelling which was quite unlike any other in the region. Apart from serving as his place of residence, it also had to double up as a repository for his artifacts. It was a tall order, no doubt, but he managed to achieve it nevertheless. Using parts of old up-country houses - some as old as a hundred and twenty years - he succeeded in completing his 'House on the Klong' in 1959. It was basically a colony of six traditional houses which were reassembled into his much larger place of abode. The units were dismantled and brought over via river from the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya. On arrival, they were carefully offloaded and pieced together. Of the six, three were left untouched.

In his quest for authenticity, he saw to it that the imposing structures were elevated a full floor above the ground. During the construction stage, he added his own touches to the buildings by positioning, for instance, a central staircase indoors rather than having it outside. Along the way, he also reversed the wall panels in his home so that it now faced inside instead of it having an external orientation.

While the final outcome of his domicile may not have been as what one would expect traditionally, it could be taken that Jim had a certain fondness for it. After he was through with its creation, he went ahead and filled his home with the items which he had collected over the years. Scattered about his rooms were scores of Chinese blue-and-white Ming pieces, Belgian glass, Cambodian stone figures, Victorian chandeliers, five-coloured Bencharong, Thai stone images, Burmese statues and a dining table which was once used by King Rama V of Thailand.

In all, his mammoth 'House on the Klong' took up close to a hectare in area. The garden around the habitation was nothing short of a lush, well-kept mini-jungle. On it stood a typical Thai spirit house.

It took Jim almost a year to put his house in order. On completion, it turned out to be an architectural masterpiece. The press were quick to describe it as "one of the wonders of the East". In several ways, they were right: till today, it stands out as one of Bangkok's most charming attractions.

Excerpts from [b]Chapter Four[/b], pages 9 & 10, SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King (ISBN: 1-932205-89-6).[/quote]

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Topic History of: SOLVED! The Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Thai Silk King
Max. showing the last posts - (Last post first)

Author	Message
Edward Roy De Souza	Dear Mr Felix Kara, Thanks for the posting. It's hard to tell if Jim was involved with the trafficking of drugs. Whatever was brought up about his past is clearly spelt out in my book. If you have the time, please refer to pages 48 and 49 for the details. Best regards. Edward Roy De Souza
felix kara	dear sir, thanks so much for your prompt reply! wish to ask if you think Jim was involved with the trafficking of drugs? best regards, felix
Edward Roy De Souza	Dear Mr Felix Kara, Thanks for the posting. To date, there's been no evidence that Jim headed for China after he disappeared from the Cameron Highlands. This talk of his residing in China will go on for a long time to come. It is best that this rumour be left to die off on its own. Best regards. Edward Roy De Souza
felix kara	dear mr de souza what an intriguing tale! wish to seek your learned opinion(s) regarding some rumors circulating that jim actually ended up in China? after his mysterious dis-appearance from Cameron Highlands? thanks for your thoughts..
Edward Roy De Souza	Dear Chandra3, Thanks for the posting. It has been more than four decades since Jim disappeared from the Cameron Highlands. To date, a lot of things have been said about him -- some true; some false. A fine example is what you brought up concerning his photo taking session at the Lutheran Mission bungalow. Of late, there has been this talk that he was seen by a gardener when he came by to the mission home. It is said that both of them exchanged "hellos". The teenager, who was in the midst of weeding a flower bed, remembered seeing him with a camera around his neck. While he was in the compound, he spent about 10 minutes taking photographs of the place. After he had done so, he waved to the youngster and said "bye, see you". This account, sad to say, is not true. What actually happened is this: When he trespassed into the chalet, he was seen by a cook named Che Fatimah binte Mohamed Yeh. She told the police she saw him at 4pm. "I was in the kitchen," she told Superintendent A.S. Nathan, "when I saw him come up the road. He had on a white shirt and a pair of gray slacks. He stopped for a while to take a look at the garden. While looking at the plants, he did not speak to anyone. A short while later, he left the premises and headed the same way from where he came." The testimony of Che Fatimah was brought to light three days after Jim was reported as lost. As for the gardener, his revelations were made known 40 years later. Of the two, it is obvious the gardener was not telling the truth. To begin with, Jim did not have a camera when he came over to the retreat. The same could also be said of the Lings. The only one who had a camera was Constance Mangskau. She brought it along with her when she joined Jim and the Lings for a picnic at Gunong Brinchang. While they were at the picnic, a few shots were taken. When she got back to Bangkok, she saw to it that the photographs were developed.
chandra3	Dear Mr. De Souza, There has been this talk that Jim spent about 10 minutes at the Lutheran Mission bungalow taking photographs of the place just before he disappeared from the Cameron Highlands. Could this event be taken as correct?

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