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Published: August 8th 2007
Pahonyothin Rd
The main road near my apartment.Ok, finally an update from Bangkok. A few days ago (Monday, July 2, 2007 to be exact), I arrived in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) to a smiling Saai. A very nice and appropriate greeting, in this, the land of smiles.
Getting to Bangkok was fairly uneventful. I flew with EVA Air (Taiwan based airline) in their Evergreen Deluxe Class (business class seats usually priced only a few hundred dollars more than economy) from LAX to Bangkok with a layover in Taipei, Taiwan. My belongings for this stage of my life were all crammed into two suitcases and a backpack (no extra weight charge either!).
We took a taxi from the airport to my apartment, and soon were off to Tesco Lotus (the British's Walmart equivalent with branches throughout Thailand & China) to buy a few necessities for my apartment. Where is my apartment? It's located in northern Bangkok near Kasetsart University (approx 5 miles north of Chatuchak (sometimes spelled Jatujak) market and the Mo Chit skytrain stop). It's a fairly good location although being closer to the skytrain or subway would have been a bonus.
My pad is a simple studio apartment on the 4th floor of the newest
Twin Tower Mansion
My apartment building. of the Twin Towers (Twin Towers II). There are roughly 140 units in each of these 2 buildings. My monthly rent of $150 includes furniture, A/C, hot water, & a western toilet (no squatty!). I just added a refrigerator today for another $15 per month. I considered buying one but the break even point is roughly 11 months, and it is hard to know whether I will be in this apartment that long. $150 per month for a furnished apartment? Indeed. This isn't Southern California. Another plus is that I'm the first tenant in this brand new unit so everything is super clean.
After only a few days, it's obvious this adventure has an entirely different feel than my 9 week SE Asia journey in early 2006. In 2006, I was traveling alone with not much of an itinerary. During that period I was forced to meet people; not only locals, but fellow travelers. Due to the frequent movement through the different cities and countries, there was always something new, whether it involved meeting new people or seeing new places.
This feels much different. It may seem odd, but it has been quite a smooth transition so far.
Saai
In MBK I think last year prepared me a great deal for this move. Although I do intend to travel throughout SE Asia and explore new areas, there is another focus. What? Actually...who? Saai. It's great spending time with her and knowing I'm not leaving.
What have I been up to? Well, mostly just getting settled in my apartment, exploring the immediate area, and spending time with Saai. I haven't done any of the typical tourist things. Granted, I've been to Bangkok 5 times already so I've done most of those things already.
On Tuesday I picked up Saai from her school (she's teaching Math to 10th & 11th graders). That was interesting. She's actually in an area (Silom) with lots of good restaurants. I wandered around and checked out a few of the restaurants. I ended up running into an Australian and American working in one of them. The American was from Los Angeles and has been here for 2 years. I may end up going back with Saai to actually eat there.
Bangkok has many international restaurants. However, I'm mostly interested in the Thai ones at the moment. The Thai food has not disappointed. Good stuff.
Apartment
What's that sink doing on my balcony? On Wednesday I went to the dentist. Before leaving T.O. my dentist wanted to charge me $1,500 to fill a few cavities and other minor things. I wasn't too keen on that so I opted to wait for my arrival in Bangkok. As I discovered in prior visits, it's very common for foreigners to come to Thailand for dental work. They have internationally trained doctors and dentists, and the costs are significantly less. I contacted the
Bangkok Dental Group at 10:00 and by 12:00 I was sitting in their office getting my teeth cleaned and a filling (they only found 1 cavity - where did the other 2 go?). See, my teeth are already improving from the Thai food. Total cost: $35.
That's about it for now. Thanks for reading. There goes Dave!
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sleepless in Mosul
non-member comment
are you out of your mind?
are you out of your mind? (translated: you have guts friend) wow, moving to Thailand, wow.