Visit to the 'real' Thailand

Wat Sang Krajai

I went to see a foreigner friend who lives in a remote part of town, near Sang Krajai temple in Issaraphap Rd.

It took me only 45mins to reach it, but then I set off in the middle of the day. My friend, farang M, lives with his Thai girlfriend at a house owned by her boss, a property owner in the Khao San Rd area.

This was my first trip across the river to see any friends in the six months since I moved from the Thon Buri side of town to our new place close to the city centre.

Farang M, 48, who is in poor health, looked little different than the last time I saw him, which is a good thing.

However, his house and garden were in a shabby state. ‘The owner rarely comes to do the garden, and I am not strong enough to handle it myself,’ he complained.

Farang M does not work, so lives on his girlfriend’s meagre earnings as a receptionist. We have known each other for years, since the days when Mum’s shop in Thon Buri, where we used to socialise, was still a busy place.

Back in those days, farang M lived just down the road from Mum’s shop. Since then he has moved, so rarely sees it.

In fact, he seldom gets out at all, as he doesn’t have the money.

'I met my girlfriend in that area about a week ago, as it happens. She was coming home from a trip to see her family in the provinces. It was my first time out in five weeks,’ said farang M.

We sat in his overgrown garden, drinking whisky and watching the sun go down. A storm came and went, and I left for home.

The main road outside his place looked dilapidated, as if it was barely holding up against the recession. But the Thais I met were charming.

On my way to farang M’s place, I dropped in to a store to buy a bottle of whisky. The young man serving me asked where I came from.

‘I live in town, but I come here to see a friend,’ I told him. I also chatted briefly to his Mum, who gave me directions.

Later, as I went to fetch a Coke, a young man in another shop held up one finger of one hand, and two fingers from another.

He couldn't, or wouldn't speak English, so sign language had to do. ‘What’s that – 30 baht?’ I asked him.

He laughed and turned to a guy sitting behind a computer. As I left, I saw him tell his friend about our small encounter.

As I waited for a taxi home, I parked myself in front of another shop, where three youngsters in their late teens were chatting. They smiled, and one said hello.

Before moving to our new place, I contemplated looking for a house to rent in this neighbourhood. I decided against, as it is even further away from my office than was my old condo, itself a good 30-minute's bus ride away.

The road is barely wide enough to walk down, and in peak hour is packed. However, the temple is attractive, and the atmosphere lively.

Youngsters gather in hairdresser’s shops or email cafes. Issaraphap Rd is close to several tertiary outlets, so the place has a vibrant ‘demographic’.

Families live in shophouses, which have a basic shop on street level, and sleeping quarters above. When they get home from school, many youngsters help Mum and Dad run the shop.

It is very different from the safe, middle-class neighbourhood I inhabit, where neighbourhood dogs mill about more often than the well-heeled residents.

‘I’ll come back again soon, as this place is fun,’ I told farang M.

His neighbourhood feels a world away from my concerns at home or work - more like the 'real' Thailand which I came here to experience nine years ago, but which lately appears to have slipped through my grasp.