Thai condo life: Going up-market

Our place in Talad Phlu

Inside a typical room (not ours - but like ours, it has no windows!)

Another shot of one of the units

For the last few days, I have been looking for a place to live.

I revisited the condo where my work friend farang C rents a place. A two-room unit next to his place has become vacant. I saw it, and decided we must have it.

Readers will recall my last search for a condo a few months ago, when I visited the same condo building, close to the tourist district in Bangkok.

In that area I visited half a dozen places in all, but in the end decided against moving.

I live in Talad Phlu, a long way from the centre of town. I decided this historic area, dominated by Thai-Chinese and with a canal running down one side, had too much going for it.

Talad Phlu is known for its songtaew trucks

A main road, on a quiet day

Now, the decision seems baffling. I can't wait to get out of here.

Why the change?

This run-down market on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Phraya River has been our home for the last nine years (see more of it here).

My present condo is at least 10 years old, and offers no amenities - no gym, grocery shop, pool.

For many years, this modest 10-storey condo was the tallest building, and only condo in the area. It is still popular, as it is so close to the local market, where shopping is convenient.

However, in recent months the skyline is looking more crowded, as developers have put up a rash of condos close to the local shopping mall, about five minutes' walk to the south.

Those condos have gone up in anticipation of a skytrain extension which will cross the Chao Phraya River, linking central Bangkok to the Thon Buri side, which has traditionally been less developed.

It will bring Bangkok-dwellers over this side to visit the charms of old-style Bangkok, and take us poor suburban dwellers into town for our daily commute to work.

Lion-dancer kids in Talad Phlu

Eventually, this area may develop into a dull condo town rather than what it is now: a residential-light industrial area, dominated by the local mall.

The market in which I live has been here for more than 100 years, supplied by a railway line, still going, which runs from Mahachai to Wong Wian Yai.

Residents live mainly in shophouses, or tin shacks. The market itself is old and neglected.

It offers no cute restaurants, smart coffee shops or other modern services which shoppers take for granted in the centre of town.

A few years ago, a smart Silom-style coffee shop opened here. It closed within a year, as the mainly Thai-Chinese residents of this market do not patronise such places.

They probably go into town only rarely...local temples might hold out more appeal.

For years, the all-Thai nature of the area, despite its lack of modern shops or services, held out charm, at least for me (the boyfriend might have thought differently).

Now, however, it feels stifling, backward, and dull.

After I visited farang C at his condo the other day, he took me to an eatery he frequents. It is five minutes walk away, and nestled among trees.

Diners sit on a raised part of the eatery, which has a polished wooden floor. Paving stones are set in a small garden next to our table.

In one corner, farang teachers chatted about their working week.

'They only employ gay service staff,' said farang C, who is straight.

The young man who served me did not look particularly gay, but he did have a pleasant smile.

I ordered a Thai meal for B45.

Later, I told Maiyuu about my condo-hunting adventure.

'You can get the same meal in the market for B35, so it's not cheap,' said the boyfriend.

'We are moving to an expensive part of town,' I reminded him.

It is five minutes from the tourist district, where the rental for many two-bedroom condos starts at B20,000 - more than twice what I pay now.

On the other hand, he was impressed to hear that a taxi fare from the new place to my office would set me back just B40.

Other benefits? I get to live in a well-designed, furnished condo, with a pool and gym.

The condo, nestled between slummy Klong Toey on one side and leafy Yannawa on the other, is blissfully quiet - no train rattles below, as it does at our present place. No dogs bark when kids leave the internet shop next to the railway tracks in the early hours of the morning.

The condo is within walking distance to work. Compare that with the 45-minute journey I take now.

More importantly, for someone who has been stuck in the sticks for so long, it is set in a modern, cosmopolitan area.

The condo sits between slums on one side, and multi-million baht mansions on the other. It looks urban, and people-friendly - at least on the leafy side.

On the other side, Thais live in tin shacks on a large piece of adjoining vacant land. They light fires at night to burn rubbish and keep warm.

Around them are still more slums, which lead out to a busy motorway which I must cross to get to work.

Down here is a 7-11 convenience store, a hairdresser's, a shop with slot-operated washing-machines, and a market where women spread out fresh produce on the ground.

In this area I have also spotted several playing courts facing the road, where I will take my daily exercise. Round and round - let's watch the farang jogging!

On which side will I end up feeling more at home - the poor all-Thai side, or the wealthy, urbane one where foreigners and Burmese maids roam?

We will have to wait and see.