A few words

Slightly dishevelled, but we press on...

Welcome to BOTM2, where I write about the life I share in Bangkok with my Thai partner.

You will find it under the Klong Toey (March 2009-) and Thon Buri labels (April 2006-March 2009).

It is drawn largely from my old blog, Bangkok of the Mind, later renamed BOTM2 which I ultimately put on ice in February 2014 with a total of 1627 published posts and more than 5,300 comments. 

In more recent times have been through the posts and updated them for those interested in Thai life as we lived it before social media took over the world. 

I want to repost some of the stories I wrote in the past, particularly when my partner and I lived in Thon Buri, as it was years ago and to be honest feels like another life. The stories which appear under the Thon Buri label cover our days in Talad Phlu, an old fresh market on that side of the city, though I also spent a fair chunk of time at a drinking hole in Pin Khlao. 

Eventually my partner and I tired of living in a time warp, charming as the Thon Buri side was in those days, and made the big move into town. We now live 5min from the Klong Toey market (where we are not fussed about appearances), or if you prefer, in leafy Yannawa (where we keep our gaze fixed on the Silom skyline and avert our eyes from the slums nearby). The inner city posts can be found under the Klong Toey label.

As I get older I want some place where I can find our old stories to remind me of times gone past. During the hiatus of many years since I was blogging regularly, I have revised the old posts to include place names and other identifying detail which I left out the first time. 

When I was first writing I was deliberately vague about where the stories took place. Now I am less concerned about the "where", though I have still tried to preserve some anonymity over the "who" - the characters, including my long-suffering partner, depicted in the tales.