Located slightly outside the "walled city", in the northwest corner, its a lovely studio apartment, maybe 25 x 35', frilly curtains on the windows and satin sheets on the bed. "Sheet" actually: Thais don't seem to have top sheets on their beds. Regardless, the sheet has got to go. Can't stand sliding around, and I'm afraid my toenails are going to catch on it, costing me some small fortune when I check out. Anybody know how to say "fullsize bed sheet" in Thai? [Turns out bedsheets in Thai come in standard, numbered sizes. Great, as long as you know which size]. I used the "Scott" as a unit of measure. Let's see, it's about 180cm (1 Scott) by about .9 Scotts. I hope no one was looking when I was aligning my head and feet with the edges of the bed, to do this measurement.]
The kitchen is small and not terribly functional. No stove. Owner supplied a beat-up microwave plus plates and silverware, two glasses one kitchen towel. (which I used for my 1st shower. My second shower indentured a slightly-used absorptive (but not too smelly) shirt. Worked quite well, actually. Today I bought towels. I overpaid for them (like everything here for foreigners; it's just a matter of degree). Real nice towels, blue towels, but I paid about a buck and a half each for them. Scandalous. [Update: I've figured out how to cook passable eggs in the microwave and to make an adequate curry using UHT (pasturized) coconut milk, green curry paste from the supermarket, rice (I have a rice cooker) and some chicken; I can buy about 2 servings (1 large farang serving) prepackaged for about 50 cents. Only one of my meals has turned out badly, and it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't eat it (it's just that the meat was well done and the vegetables are raw. Crunch. Crunch)]
I've got a balcony with a view of the whole city (I'm on the 14th floor). At ground level there are some tin shacks with an adjacent green field. From time to time cattle are seen grazing. It's not really idyllic; it's kind of odd being in the 2nd largest city in a country and having cattle wandering around.
The balcony is spacious but there's not a stick of furniture on it. It's south-east facing, so I get an awesome sunrise. The railing on the balcony is only about three foot high. I have no fear of heights but every fear of falling — I'll be staying well back from that.
For anybody wondering whether you can take the Bachelor out of the boy, well literally yes (hasn't happened yet) — but to let you know, the first "food" for my frig was beer and instant noodles. And pomelo (looks like grapefruit on steroids but not as sour) and dragonfruit. Dragonfruit looks like a punk ostrich egg, crimson red with little wings of vegetation hanging off of it. The inside is a clean white color with what look like poppy seeds throughout. I'll see if there's a picture around. It's quite a sight. It has a clean, refreshing flavor, not really sweet. I don't think I've ever seen it in the US. They're more common in Vietnam than in Thailand.
It took two trips to the nearby (10 min walk) shopping center to equip the joint: a rice cooker (hey this is Asia) and water-boiler (for coffee), other groceries (you know how much a normal 5kg sack of rice weighs? Oh yeah, right). If I keep eating rice for dinner, I'll be skinny. If I keep carrying rice around, I'll be big.
After 25 years, I guess it's OK to forget how much stuff you need to run even an apartment (you can skip the lawnmower purchase, tho'). Dish soap. A bowl for noodles, rice, cereal. A coffee cup. A sponge! Towels! Ahhhhhhhhh!
It feels good. It's out of my comfort zone (but it's quite comfortable).
