Kauffman Commentary

We both popped up at 7:00, feeling pretty good on a short night’s sleep. The suitcase fairy did not come while we were sleeping, but Japan Air did call to say they were found and would be delivered in the evening on the 1st. Boo! After a little breakfast by the canal, we took a cruise around Bangkok. There is no lack of temples here, where the majority of people are Buddhist. The main river through Bangkok is called King’s River and the canals meander off the river. To try and control the water they have locks. We were surrounded by the James Bond boats, they shot the movie “The Man with the Golden Gun” here in Bangkok. The canal has these creepy lizards everywhere and lots of catfish that we fed this morning. The golden Buddha is a newer addition to their city of 10.7 million. Wat Arun is a temple known for its towers and very steep staircases. Kids come here and dress up in historic Thai garb to take pictures. I highly recommend eating Pad Thai in Thailand. They really know how to make their own dish.

After lunch we went to Jim Thompson’s house. He was a U.S. citizen that moved here in the late 50’s because he fell in love with Bangkok. The story goes that he was an architect and combined 6, 60 year old teak homes to make his one home here The move and building started in 1957 and the home took several years to complete. Jim only lived there till 1967. When Jim moved to Bangkok he knew he would need a job, he had been in the military and was an OSS agent. He became interested in the silk trade and started his own company. This company was expanding and becoming very lucrative. Already a millionaire, Jim was always traveling. He went on a trip with some friends to Malaysia and went for a walk in the jungle. He was never seen again and to this day no one knows what happened to him. The home is now in a foundation and his company is still being run by family.