16 May 2013

Accommodation

That damned bolt on the gate
A blog can act like an old-fashioned diary, so excuse me while I record some details of my accommodation in  Bangkok. It's partly for future reference - so that in years to come I can look back and remember how it was. 

But how long do these blogs last for anyway? Once "out there" on the internet, do they last forever like very old books in a library's vault? Or do we reach a point where Google or Blogger or Rupert Murdoch say "Sorry mate! It's over! We are deleting all blogs to make room for more advertising and the worldwide expansion of Facebook!" Perhaps we'll never get that far anyway as spammers and internet vandals maliciously compromise the entire caboodle.

Anyway, my little apartment at Serene Bangkok, Ratchayothin... It was attached to the owners' house. I could sometimes hear them dimly through the connecting door in my bedroom but I was never disturbed. It was a big, spacious bedroom with a kingsize bed and well-built sliding wardrobes. The floor was made of shiny hardwood blocks.

There was an offshot living room where I had an L-shaped sofa, a coffee table, a television, a sink, fridge, microwave and a little table with two chairs. Both the bedroom and lounge had air-conditioning units which were absolutely vital to counteract the city's sweltering heat. Sometimes I'd sleep with the aircon switched off and I'd wake in a puddle of sweat, my pillows soaked.
The little swimming pool at Serene and my favourite reading place
The tiled shower room had a big walk-in shower and through its sliding door there was a miniature courtyard where I could dry any washing I had done in the big blue Tesco Lotus bucket I kept in the shower cubicle.

To get to my front door I had to pass by the B&B reception - sometimes stopping by to chat with Nong or Koy - and then walk along the path that leads through the tropical garden to the respectable massage parlour run by Lisa - the owners' daughter. I'd turn left and wiggle the squeaky bolt on top of the metal gate and after entering the owners' compound, wiggle the squeaky bolt back into place. Two or three times I applied "Vaseline" to this bolt to stop the squeakiness but it always came back.

The owners had two horrible old dogs - both slow, fat and smelly with testicles swinging like rubbery pendulums. They were allowed to defecate in the garden compound and so I had to watch my step even though their piles of steamy grey excretion were usually quickly cleaned up by Wan, the owners' housemaid.
Inside the living room
The bedroom
The shower room
But it was nice to be living at ground level with tropical vegetation outside my windows and nobody living above me or below. Nearly all the other teachers lived in tower blocks, requiring lifts to get to their front doors. I wouldn't have liked that at all. No, it was nice to be serene at Serene, a fifteen minute walk from the school and at fifty nine years old I still count my lucky stars that I had this opportunity not once but twice. And if you are reading this Mr Jon - a special thanks to you for making my Bangkok Days possible.
Path to the apartment's front door

9 comments:

  1. Mr P,
    Bet you're feeling a little Thai-sick (home-sick in reverse) leaving such a modest little piece of paradise.
    I know you have Shirley, but Sheffield?

    Where to next? I personally can't wait for the next installment.

    Like you, I do my blog as a diary. Idly I've thought should I print it all off as a hard copy, then the Yorkshire bit of me thinks 'Cost of ink cartridges - No!' Sure as hell, my son doesn't read my blog now, perhaps he will when I snuff it, and will it still be bumping around the bloggosphere then?

    LLX

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks lovely, YP and it's good to have these positive teaching experiences to offset the negative in your years of teaching over here. Do I detect a slight 'anti-dog' issue? :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LETTICE LEAF Sheffield is a wonderful city - so green and so close to the Peak District. The south western section of the city is one of the most affluent in the north of England and there is a higher concentration of graduates in Sheffield Hallam than in any other parliamentary constituency. So I am not at all unhappy with my adopted city. By the way which "bit" of you is Yorkshire?
    JENNY I think the Koreans have the right idea about dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Mr P!

    I have a question about the blog but can't find a contact form on the site?

    Could you drop me an email at schleckjohn@gmail.com so I can send over some info?

    Thanks!

    John

    ReplyDelete
  5. JOHN SCHLECK I checked out your blog link and found it operates under the name Ant Davidson - not John Schleck so I am a little wary of your request having never been in touch with you before. I am sorry to be so defensive but past internet experiences have made me that way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Preserving my blog for the edification of future generations is a question that has occupied me now and then. There are a few online publishing services that will convert your blog to print, but at a cost. However, most offer a free PDF download which is probably the best way of saving it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Err, I meant Sheffield as opposed to the parts of Thailand you frequented.

    My grandfather was born and bred on a farm in Keighley. The other night on the televsion I saw a programme about Bradford. Keighley today, I just didn't recognise, from the time as a child I stayed with relatives who had the The Cavendish Hotel. Mind you, I was born in Dartford, a market town then, now a one horse town of the first order.

    Funny old world.

    LLX

    ReplyDelete
  8. If I was sneaking off for a respectable massage, I'd have just hopped over the gate rather than alert the parents...

    ReplyDelete
  9. No problem. It was wonderful to have you here for the two visits and I'm sure everyone you met here would echo my sentiments.

    Sorry I never visited your granny flat while you were there. It has been a strange old year...

    ReplyDelete

Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

Most Visits