Condo cleaning duty

Maiyuu is on cleaning duty at the new condo.

Without prompting from me, he took himself off to our new inner-city condo this morning to do a thorough clean before the furniture arrives.

We have yet to move anything from our present place in Thon Buri to the condo, as we signed the rental contract only a couple of days ago, and these things take a while to organise.

Yesterday, Maiyuu sold several bags of his clothes to a second-hand dealer, who paid B1000 for the lot.

Maiyuu's clothes, which he packed in large black rubbish bags, have sat in the living room for months waiting for a buyer. Not before time, of course, but finally, we are rid of those awful bulky bags.

In other pre-move jobs, yesterday he photocopied pages from my passport, which I forgot to give the owner when I met her this week.

He also cut me a copy of the keys to the place, and stored a few more household belongings in packing boxes.

About midnight last night, he visited a friend in this condo who owns a truck, to see if it would be big enough to move our furniture. No luck. He will try somewhere else instead.

While at the new condo today, he will ask about installing hi-speed internet, which I need for my work, and satellite television, which he needs in his capacity as Good Housewife Who Deserves Time Out.

Before he left this morning, he spent half an hour adjusting his clothes in front of the mirror, making sure he looked right.

Maiyuu wore a pair of close-fitting pants and a T-shirt with collar and large stripes. Of course he looked great.

'You might wreck those clothes if you are cleaning,' I warned him.

'I have packed a pair of rough clothes. I will change into them when I get there,' he said.

He took with him a large shoulder bag, which also included cleaning gear.

'Do I look ugly?'he asked.

'You look wonderful,' I told him.

'It's an illusion. I might look good now, but I look different before a shower,' he said pragmatically.

'But we go for the whole package. I love you because of who you are, not just how you look,' I reminded him.

I also urged him to eat.

'I will take a meal on the main drag close to the condo, so I can survey the local territory,' he said.

So organised...well done.

Pop-out bicycle for two

In the first flush of excitement over our plan to move to an inner-city condo, Maiyuu has set his heart on buying a fold-up bicycle.

After meeting the condo owner to sign the rental contract yesterday, Maiyuu and I walked out towards the main road in search of a taxi. 'It is a long hike,' he complained.

A few hours later, he had thought of a solution. 'I shall buy a fold-up bike,' he said.

'When we need groceries or ingredients for baking, I will ride to the local store.'

'Can you ride a bike?' I asked, surprised. I haven't seen Maiyuu perform physical exercise in years.

'Of course. I have seen one advertised on television. But it is not made for people your size....100kg, 130kg,' he said.

'I am not that big, and I have ridden bikes in my time you know,' I said.

'...I could even ride down the road to meet you some time,' he said.

I am looking forward to seeing whether this cycling dream comes true.

Maiyuu, who also took a taxi to Silom yesterday, bought several shirts for me, and a long, slender pair of yellow fashion shoes for himself.

They are cheap copies of some expensive brand, and look like sneakers, but have frilly edging just below the toes.

'They are sweet and fem. Are they your new cycling shoes?' I asked.

He smiled, but said nothing.

Sign on the dotted line

Maiyuu and I met the owner of the condo today to sign a rental contract. We can take occupancy immediately, though Maiyuu expects it will take us until the end of the month to get everything moved.

He has asked the owner to take back her microwave, small oven, TV and two mattresses, as we will use our own. She will return in a couple of days to retrieve those items and at the same time pick up a copy of my passport, which I forgot to take along with me today.

The owner turned up in a smart car, with her own driver, who accompanied us to the unit, and acted as a witness in signing the contract. Maiyuu acted as the witness on my behalf.

The owner was probably in her early 40s, though looked younger. She has two children studying in Australia, whom she will join on a visit soon. She was lovely, and I would like the chance to know her better.

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Maiyuu is interested in supplying bakery to a shop close to our new place. 'A sister of a friend has opened her own shop nearby. I might sell her bakery,' he said today.

Maiyuu told the owner the same thing while we were inspecting the condo, which makes me hopeful that he will indeed find an outlet for his baking and cooking talents.

He has evidently chosen not to supply my friend Wirut's eatery close to Mum's shop in Thon Buri.

Once we move to the new condo, Wirut's place will be too far away to supply with bakery products.

However, I would like to continue visiting the place, as I enjoy Wirut's company, and am now getting to know his family and girlfriend's family as well.

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The moo krata restaurant on the banks of the river

At Wirut's place last night, I received two special visitors - bloggers Bangkok Bitch and Kawadjan.

It was good to meet two prominent members of the Bangkok gay blogging establishment.

I have met BB at Wirut's place one time previously. It was my first time for meeting his Filipino friend Kawadjan.

After drinking for an hour at Wirut's shop that night, we moved to a small eating place on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, next to a well-known moo krata restaurant.

Mum's shop was empty of customers, as usual. I feel sorry for her - Mum is obviously hurt that I have stopped drinking at her place after so many years of regular custom - but I stand by my right as a customer to go wherever I like.

BB and Kawadjan are intelligent, observant, and fun. They have packed a lot into their stay here: today they might visit Siam Square, tomorrow they could be on a cold mountain top sharing an uncomfortable tent.

I am enjoying hearing their stories about life in Bangkok and their impressions of Thais.

As I prepare to cross the river back to the centre of town, which Maiyuu and I left almost nine years ago to live in the wilds of Thon Buri, I feel we are about to enter a new chapter of our lives.

I am about to return to a part of Bangkok where I have not lived since I myself was a relative newcomer to the kingdom.

It's almost as if I have a new set of eyes, like a first-time visitor to Bangkok. Who knows, BB, Kawadjan and I might get to enjoy some gay adventures on the city side of the river, too.

Old man in the wardrobe

We have started packing our place into boxes, ahead of the big move into a condo close to town.

I have not yet signed the contract allowing us to take occupancy, but that day will come soon enough.

In the meantime, I have bought 16 large packing boxes from a hardware store in the market. I have taken all the books off the shelves, and sorted them into piles of 'to keep', 'to sell', and 'to throw out'.

Maiyuu has found a trader who buys furniture and clothes. He will invite him to our place to take a look at our stuff.

He hopes to sell as much as possible, and throw out as little as he can, which makes the packing process slow.

I would like to to throw out as much as possible beforehand, but Maiyuu has been going through my 'throw out' pile looking for items to add to his 'to sell' pile, for the sake of a few more baht which the trader might pay him.

'Don't throw this out...you can sell it,' he said yesterday, as he picked up a used notebook.

'You can't sell it - it's full, there are no blank pages,' I said, surprised he would want to sell such rubbish.

'Thais will buy it for scrap paper,' he insisted.

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Another persistent complaint of Maiyuu's is that he buys me clothes, but I forget about them.

They sit in the wardrobe until they begin shrinking (or my waistline begins expanding) until the day when I can no longer wear them.

'You like wearing the same clothes over and over, to make people feel sorry for you, as if you have nothing better in your wardrobe, which is not true,' he grumbles.

He is right! I didn't realise the extent to which I had become a creature of habit, like an old man.

I put clothes into the wash, they come back, I iron them, hang them on a clothes horse, and wear them again. Who needs to look for trouble in the wardrobe?

Yesterday I took everything out of the wardrobe. I tried on four pairs of trousers, and four pairs of shorts which I didn't know I owned, or had forgotten.

I still fit in them, which is good news.

I also found another four pairs of trousers which are now too small for me (they shrink in the dark), including two pairs of smart looking work trousers which - ahem - I never wore. Sorry, but I just forgot!

Postscript: A few unkind readers at the thaivisa forum once complained that my writing was mundane. This mundane post is for you!

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.