27/07/2009

Flat hunting time. Reality hits. Although we do have a nicer reality than most as E’s international school sends an air conditioned van to pick us up and take us to her school. Once we’re there we meet K who works in the school’s office and will effectively be our translator for the day. All we know at this point is that we are going to see some places in the vicinity of the school. Five minutes later, expecting to see an apartment, we are taken to a three bedroom house with wooden floors, a driveway and a garden. All this slightly over our budget but it is tempting. We could fit our flat in London into the house’s living room. We explain that for the first year in Thailand we will be looking for somewhere cheaper and more self contained but I must admit that our hearts were at war with our heads at this point. Our heads won the battle at the end of the day and after being shown fabulous houses (five in all, one a four bedroom with wooden furnishings) we settled on a lovely two bedroom apartment in a condo with a shared pool just outside. It’s a gated community in east Bangkok with a demographic of 95% Thai and 5% farang which is a great mix. There are street stalls and small markets along the road, a lake and did I mention the pool? Need a place where you can just lock up and go that’s also under budget (240 quid)? We have a home!