Thread: Thai Shoebox Gems on the BTS

....and, providing the results of your adventures for free! I'm absolutely amazed Phil hasn't contacted you yet about where to send the check...

...or has he? Maybe he's not as tight as LDMA has led us to believe.

Well, we have your brilliant restaurant reviews and we have.....


...whatever I can scrounge up to rant about. I'm sorry.
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As for that check....haven't seen a penny...
though I did win a teacher book from Macmillian
in the ajarn draw...hmmmmmaybethassit.

Egg'd on by a DJ, here are some pics of Gularb Aptartment, probably easily labeled (positively, neutrally, or degrotatively) as a "thai shoebox"....near the BTS. This means
small rooms, no internet, basic service, Thai neighbors, etc. and well under 5000 abht/month. I'm not gonna post pictures of my bed or anything like Pat...just seems a wee too personal. But the shots of my 'kitchen' area will speak volumes about the amouth of space we're talking about it here...

I love it though. From what I've seen and according to my own priorities, it's one of the better ones. No vacancy at the moment though I'm afraid.



Sign.



Security.



Lil' Shoppe.



Faux balconies only good for laundry and a few plants.



Leafy entrance.



Daily Thai rags.



The landlord.



Some cute kids art around the halls. It's touches like this.



Hall.



My inexplicably decorated door. (Was there already)



A "window" (sealed) above our lil' fridge. Looks onto a doctors modern house (nice area)



The 'balcony' looks onto the canteen of a school. just far enough to not be loud but actually very nice children playing sounds midday.



Ajarn Mun in the middle was a shape shifting Tiger/Isaan monk.



Books, CDs, and computers etc. are stacked in tight.



Our kitchen/pantry/storage area . We unfold that tiny floor table and that's the dining room.

I far cry from my last place (nice condo). But the savings are substantial and it's 'intimate'. 'cozy', and SORT OF 'cultural' even.

So all youz coming to Thailand this is one option.
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I forgot to mention NO HOT WATER
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Oh, but as you saw above, HBO, Cinemax, and ESPN

Lovely, lovely. I just landed in a slitghtly larger unit (30 m2) and more expensive (5.5K ++) but it is far from BTS. About 60 baht taxi fare to BTS Phra Kanong. It is really an interesting exercise in self awareness to find a place to live in Bangkok. Hmmm..... Which is more important, proximity to BTS or work? I chose work. But when it is a long walk from my apartment to any air con restaurant and I simply have not found a pub.

Originally Posted by Kuhn Gary

more expensive (5.5K ++) but it is far from BTS. About 60 baht taxi fare to BTS Phra Kanong..

Easy mistake to make when you're new to Bangkok.

I stayed in Nasa Vegas up the road many years ago.

Originally Posted by filamel

Thais...don't use the internet to find a home.

I've seen lots of Thais at internet cafes on the various Thai language apartment sites.

I do agree that you find lots and lots of these places only by walking around, and they

aren't turning away farangs.

Originally Posted by filamel

If you want one not far from the MRT, take a walk behind Jangasem university on Ratchada. You find streets of them, all similarly priced, and only a five minute walk to the bus stop and a kilometre bus ride to the MRT.

Yes, many in that vicinity, you'll find a shoebox in five minutes, many being built too to cope with the demand of the Universiy expansion.

Oh, and it's Chan Kasem.

^

Sounds unpleasant. Like that road at On Nut that consists solely of shoebox apartments.

Too much of a good, cheap thing, as there's no there there.

Originally Posted by Matthew

^

Sounds unpleasant. Like that road at On Nut that consists solely of shoebox apartments..

I think you mean Suk 81? terrible soi..................

^ That's the one.

Miserable lane.

^ looks nice.

I had a peek at a friend's place right down the street from Brown Sugar jazz pub, by the corner w/ lang suan..108 apartment. Nice place, quiet a good deal for location, wifi, etc.

FYI also a few rooms open in Kularb apartment at Ari but I do enjoy being the only whitey around so don't bother unless you have to

Sai Lom apartment on Phanyothin soi 8 is not a 'shoebox gem' but a decent deal for it's proximinty to the skytrain and a Villa market. There's one place for 14,000 near the top that has more balcony meters than indoor floor. You could put a small basketball court out on the deck...that's what I was picturing anyway

At Kularb...The room pictured above is being vacated. 3750 baht.

Bigger rooms go for 6500 or so...honestly you can do better in terms of services blah blah blah, just FYI.
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Originally Posted by Kuhn Gary

I simply have not found a pub.

Phra Kanong isn't great for that is it. Soi 21 has a nice little beer shop
where farangs gather on benches outside...next to the GuTs security HQ.