Owned by an extremely wealthy Thai-Chinese man named Mr. Saengchai, Sukhumvit’s White House actually has its own Statue of Liberty AND the Big Ben PLUS the Eiffel Tower.

(it’s got an elevator inside, too~!!)

The White House sits on a huge plot of land inside a Sukhumvit 38 sub-soi named soi Saengchai (yes, the man OWNS the freakin’ soi~!!) and overlooks three low-rise apartment buildings inside a complex called “Sunshine Court” (the Thai last name “Saengchai” sounds a little bit like the word “Sunshine”, get it~??).

Being inside Sunshine Court, one will quickly forget that it’s actually located in noisy and busy Sukhumvit. Palm trees sway in the warm breeze. The blue swimming pool is inviting for a dip. There are also two (count ‘em – TWO~!!) tennis courts. Oh, and it’s reeeeeaaaally q-u-i-e-t and peaceful…… And yes, Mr. Saengchai owns ‘em ALL.

Mr. Saengchai's White House replica is so well-known among the media people that it is occasionally used for lakhon (TV drama), music video and photo shoots.

One day, impatient over the snail pace of my bank accounts' growth, I decided to ask Mr. Saengchai for some financial advice (I mean, hey, the man is stinkin’ filthy RICH  with a capital R; he MUST know a thing or two about money, riiight~?!?!)

The 70-something-year-old man was looking very relaxed and alert when I approached him and didn’t refuse when I told him I wanted to ask him about something.

“How can I be financially secure?” I asked him.

He looked confused.

“Why are you worried about money?” he asked. “Your parents take good care of you.”

“Well, they won’t be around forever,” I told him. “I want to be able to take care of myself. How did YOU get to be rich?”

“Of course, I wasn’t rich in the beginning,” he started. “But I’ve always known that I would one day run my own business. I’ve had only ONE BOSS in my whole life.”

“I started working when I was 19 years old. That was the first and last boss I had. By the time I was 21, I’d opened my own business. It was a rice mill, financed by borrowed money. From then on, I spread out to real estate.”

He then told me that he actually left Thailand when the Communists looked like they were gaining power and spent about 20 years in the United States (that was when he saw the White House in Washington D.C. and vowed some day he would have one for himself~!!).

This fascination with everything white didn’t stop at his home. Mr. Saengchai’s clothes are also all white (and so are all his shoes).

He has FOUR cars; and they're all white (a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes Benz, a Jeep, and a Cadillac – I was only able to take pictures of the last two).

“Hard work is what got me here,” he continued. “You see, I’m old-fashioned. I believe that it’s a man’s responsibility to work and take care of his family.”

“You know my wife?” he asked, and I nodded. “She has never worked one day in her whole life. She gets an allowance for me. This is what I believe in.”

“Erm, but I don’t want to be a housewife,” I protested. “I don’t think I can just stay at home and rely on someone else to give me money. NO MONEY, NO POWER~!!!”

“Please tell me how I can be financially secure~!!!” I pleaded. “What would you recommend?? Should I invest in the stock market? What about real estate? I am also interested in real estate… What’s your take on gold and other commodities??”

He shook his silver-haired head.

“I will tell you something very important,” he started.

I opened my ears wiiiiiiiiiidely, ready and eager for some much-needed financial pearls of wisdom.

“You MUST find a rich husband,” he said VERY seriously, and added, “You are very pretty; I am sure you will have no difficulty in getting one.”

I was too speechless about the unexpected “advice” and ended up just staring dumbly at the old man.

He nodded and added, “You know, sure love is great. But YOU CANNOT EAT LOVE. You must remember this.”

And I’ll give YOU my own financial advice~!!

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