Leafy on one side, slummy on the other

Leafy-side entrance to the condo

Boyfriend Maiyuu is excited. When I came home from work last night, the first thing he asked was whether I had been to see the new condo.

'I have indeed.'

'What was it like?' he asked, as he handed me a slice of cake, made with dried cantaloupe.

'It is wonderful. We have to move at all costs,' I said.

Maiyuu smiled.

A few days ago, I suggested we might like to move to a condo closer to my work.

At first Maiyuu was cool on the idea, but then as I myself started to have second thoughts, Maiyuu decided it might be a good thing after all, and started to show more interest.

Work friend farang C suggested I take a look at the condo where he lives, which is less than 10 minutes from the office. Yesterday he showed me around.

The condo is in an industrial area, surrounded by slums. It is even poorer than the village which I call home, on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Phraya river, which I thought was poor enough.

I can't see his condo from the main road. It is nestled among dense tree growth, and million-baht houses on leafy sections surrounded by high walls.

One belongs to a European ambassador. He appears to raise a small army of street dogs, who followed us suspiciously as we walked in off the main road.

A middle-aged European-looking man appeared with a bag of meaty bones, to feed the dogs. Maybe it was him.

We passed another few large homes, where the windows were boarded up. One looked occupied, but I saw no people. Four expensive cars were parked side-by-side in an open-front garage.

It is nothing unusual in Bangkok to find examples great wealth, sitting cheek by jowl with grinding poverty. Nearby, people live in tin shacks.

Farang C's condo, a handful of buildings standing like a row of erect soldiers against the skyline, has a large rooftop pool.

I admired a tree with fragrant flowers, as we surveyed an expansive 180-degree view of Bangkok.

The condo pool

Why is this beautiful pool space not more popular? We were the only ones up there, on a muggy, sweaty day.

Few of the Thais in this place, which comprises eight buildings of 36 units each aligned in a J-shape, bother with the pool, as they are afraid of getting burnt by the sun.

Farang C and I cut through a large vacant section next to the condo, where people sat under tin shacks. They were burning refuse in a large bonfire.

Farang C took me to the local 7-11, where gay boys gather on Friday nights. 'They made ooh-ing and aah-ing noises when I was there the other day...they must like farang,' said farang C, who is straight.

Many condos in Bangkok are built hundreds of metres from any shops or eating places. Their occupants visit the supermarket before they get home. I don't want that: a decent condo should be part of its local community, not isolated from it.

On the way to the 7-11, we passed a tiny hairdresser's, and a small fresh-goods market...old men and women sold fish, meat and vegetables from the side of the narrow road. They called out to us.

'You...farang...banana?'

The condo is indeed part of its local community. It took us only five minutes to reach the shops and the main road.

It looked all-Thai. I saw no foreigners around, at least in the slummy section.

The condo, looking back from adjacent slum community

As we returned to the condo, I did find one westerner. He was getting out of his car, and shot me a hostile look.

Farang C's place has two bedrooms, a large kitchen area, and sitting room. The main bedroom is just off to the left of the toilet and shower, and shares the same entrance.

It is modern, so has features like a pull-out pantry drawer, large wardrobes, storage and cupboard space. The condo makes efficient use of its 70sq m, and looks professionally designed.

The rented condo in which Maiyuu and I live, by contrast, is just a box. Admittedly, we asked for a non-furnished place. Some rooms have a wooden partition in the middle, dividing living from sleeping space, and a token built-in wardrobe and dresser. But that's it.

I might have to pay a slightly higher rent for the same floor space I occupy now. But our power bill is twice what farang C pays - and he has three air-conditioning units, compared to our one unit. Our water bill is five times higher.

At the condo office, I spoke to the manager. She asked me to leave my name and number.

'On Monday I will ask someone to call you with the names of any owners here who have places for rent,' she said.

People buy units, then rent them out.

At home, I showed Maiyuu pictures of farang C's unit which I took on my cellphone camera. We also worked out which suburb I had visited to look at the condo. Today I looked up a map of the place on the internet.

'That's a good place to live,' said Maiyuu approvingly.

When we went to bed last night, Maiyuu was so excited he had to ask for a sleeping pill to help him sleep. I must admit: after running hot on the idea initially, then going old, and then finally coming around again, I was feeling excited myself.