Alvinology goes to Bangkok – Day 4 of 4

This entry is long overdue. 🙂

On our last day in Bangkok, Rachel and I visited Jim Thompson House together with my parents in the morning.

What’s so special about this ang moh’s house?

Well, James Harrison Wilson “Jim” Thompson (born March 21, 1906 in Greenville, Delaware – unknown) was an American businessman who helped revitalize the Thai silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s.. A former U.S. military intelligence officer who once worked for the Office of Strategic Services, Thompson mysteriously disappeared while going for a walk on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967, in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. From the latest news report I read, he was apparently killed in a hit-and-run accident by a reckless Malaysian truck driver who had buried him without knowing who he was.

Back to his house which has been converted into a tourist attraction  – we all had a great time there, marveling at the beauty of his house and being enthralled by the tour guide with her tales about Jim Thompson’s adventure in Asia. It’s a great place for photography and we took lots of shots there.

Rachel grew fond of Thai silk after the visit. She bought a few pieces from the Jim Thompson store and at the airport. If you were to visit, buy the items at the airport as they are cheaper, tax-free.

Rachel and I then headed to Fuji Japanese Restaurant in Siam Paragon to try out Thai-styled Japanese food while my parents ate separately at a traditional Thai restaurant. The food was disappointing . It’s not exacting bad (we still enjoyed our lunch), but rather bland and boring, despite the beautiful menu with hundreds of items on offer. Maybe we just didn’t order the right stuff. We did not like the restaurant’s decor too, finding it too loud and showy.

After lunch, we headed to Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam to do some shopping. I bought some cargo pants there while Rachel bought a few dresses. We had some donuts and yogurt as light snacks.

After Pratunam, we wasted half a day trying to locate some obscure shopping mall called “Playground”, recommended by the Lonely Planet Bangkok guidebook as a great place for Thai-designed items. The hunt got us stuck in the traffic jam for hours and we gave up after three separate cab excursions. Do not always trust what the guide books say, even if it’s the latest edition!

By then, it was almost dinner time and we headed back to Siam Paragon to dine at MK Gold together with my parents. It was raining heavily then and the hot steamboat at MK was just the right soul food we needed. We ordered lots of dishes and ate till we cannot move.

After dinner, we bought some tidbits and snacks from the Gourmet Market within Siam Paragon. They are the same stuff that are offered by street vendors outside for less than half the prices, but we still bought them as it was our last day in Bangkok and we really wanted to try out some of these snacks.

Rachel and I then headed to ZEN department store which was a real delightful find, packed with quite a few Thai designer labels. We regretted not shopping there earlier and wasting time looking for that stupid “Playground”.

Feel tired after all the shopping, we then navigated our way back to our favourite massage parlor located near Ratchathewi BTS station. Rachel had a full body massage while I had a foot massage. That was really heavenly. We went back to our service apartment after that, rejuvenated and happy.

We did not get to sleep much that night as we have to check out of our hotel at 4.30am for an early flight. At the airport, we had time for some light shopping and the next thing we know, we are back in Singapore. Till our next trip, it’s bye bye for now to Bangkok! 🙂

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