The school I talked with last week called me back for another interview. Actually, the personnel guy called me at 9 pm Friday night while I was at a bar. Luckily, I had forgotten my phone. If I would have answered it and our man had heard the music, that would probably have been the end of the story (more on this later).

Since Monday was a holiday, I went in on Tuesday at 8 am. Ack. Since I am so far away, I was 20 minutes late. The personnel guy pointed me towards a high-rise (remember, this is a high school), and said go talk to Khun X on the 11th floor. Eventually a kind soul explained how to get to the 11th floor, since the elevators only went up to the 9th.

I finally made it, and met Khun X. I don’t know if it was the early hour, or the hassle of getting up there, but I immediately didn’t like her, and she didn’t seem to like me. My distress was added to when she informed me she was looking for an English teacher, even though the highly competent personnel guy said they were looking for a math teacher. So, I told her I didn’t want to teach English, but I would consider it if she made me an offer.

The interview was cursory, and she spent about half the time on the phone. She probably only asked me three questions, and she was surprised when I wanted to ask her a question. At the conclusion, she wrote something in Thai on my application, along with “OK,” so I guessed I had passed the interview.

I had to come back after lunch to interview with the board of directors. One of my friends, who likes to enjoy a few now and then, warned me that one of their questions was “do you drink?” He became indignant, and answered “yes.” Their follow-up question was “do you get drunk?” To which he answered “sometimes.” Wrong answer, and the interview was over.

I wasn’t sure how I would handle this question, but it actually never came. The brief talk with these three went well. They didn’t even talk on their phones.

Wednesday was a holiday, but Khun X called me today to offer me a job. School starts next week, so they are desperate. I told her I had an interview tomorrow, and I would call her after that. She wasn’t too happy, and said she was going to keep interviewing people, and wouldn’t hold the job for me. She called at 5 and said she hadn’t found anyone.

This job would be my second choice. I have my heart on not teaching English now. I hope the interview tomorrow goes well.

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I was waiting until it was official to write about it, because I didn’t want to jinx it. While I still haven’t signed on the dotted line, I know it’s going to happen, because I have an appointment next Wednesday to sign a two-year contract at a major Bangkok university.

As those who have followed terrystrek.com for a while know, I was never that keen on teaching English. After investigating other possibilities, I bit the bullet and paid big bucks for a CELTA. I found that I enjoyed teaching adults. But I would still prefer to teach subjects I have a background in: math and computers.

So the first job I got was teaching math, but to kids. I quickly found that I don’t like kids, not even adorable Thai ones. So I quit.

I quickly got an interview at an amazingly disorganized bilingual high school, which shall remain unnamed, but is in Bangkok, is Christian, and is a College. Even thought they couldn’t decide whether they wanted an English or a Math teacher, the pay was good (50,000 baht), and the school had a good reputation, so I probably would have taken this job, despite the fact that I wouldn’t know what subject I was teaching until I walked into the classroom.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, a friend was working at a university, teaching math and computers. I asked, and it turns out they’re looking, so he pulled some strings, and got me an interview, which turned out to more of a tour/introduction/when-can-you-start session. And now it’s almost official. It’s the Holy Grail of jobs: teaching subjects I enjoy to people I can have a conversation with in Thailand. And the pay is beyond my wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, I literally live on the opposite side of the city. Getting there is an epic 90-minute journey via bus and sky train. I will have to move, so there is a significant chance I will lose the 14,000 baht deposit on my apartment.

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Now that I know the score, I'm free until my Big Meeting on Wednesday. I wish I could have had things worked out sooner, since I have been sitting around in Bangkok with nothing to do for two weeks. It would have been nice to go somewhere. As it is, I have three days until I have to be back. The easiest quick escape from Bangkok is the resort city of Pattaya, two hours away.

Getting to Pattaya is easy, but I ran into two hickups. On the bus to the Skytrain station, I saw an elevated platform and got off, assuming it was the Skytrain. It wasn't, it was on of Bangkok's many elevated expressways. I had never done anything this stupid before. It would have been a simple Skytrain trip to the Ekkamai bus terminal, probably taking 20 minutes and costing 30 baht. I had to take a taxi, which took an hour in traffic, and cost me 100 baht. Doh!

So many farang go to Pattaya, that all you have to do is walk into the bus station, and everybody directs you to the Pattaya busses. Easy. Unfortunately, the bus spent an hour cruising around looking for more passengers. We finally made it to a busy stretch of highway 3 hours later, when the conductor kicked me off the bus.

The bus said "Jomtien," which is a nice stretch of beach away from the chaos of Pattaya. But they kicked me out in central Pattaya. The motorbike drivers wanted 100 baht to go to Jomtien, as did the Sawngtaews (pick-ups), even though they are supposed to cost 20 baht. I didn't know what to do, and it was starting to rain, so I decided to stay in North Pattaya.

It took forever for my motorbike driver to find the guesthouse I arbitrarily picked from my Lonely Planet. It's clean, though, and has AC, for 400 baht. It's right across from the beach, too, and far away from the insanity of South Pattaya. So, I'll spend the next couple of days engaging in R&R.

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That’s what my students said when I told them to do a problem. It’s the general-purpose Thai exclamation, and I say it now emphatically. Why? Because once again, for the fourth time, I am trying to find a place to live. It’s incredibly difficult, and I don’t think it’s possible to find a place on your own. You have to have a lead.

I’ve tasted the good life with the condo I’m sub-leasing for 7,000 baht ($175). It’s an incredible deal, and I only got it because my boss knew the owners. The building has lots of amenities (of which I only use the weight room) The room is furnished, and there is even a TV and a big fridge. The bathroom is Western. High speed internet is available, and it has a nice view. The only problem: it’s in Pinklao.

So, not having any leads, I journeyed to Victory Monument, or anu sobari chai somonapul if you want a Thai person to understand you, where I used to live. I liked that area, because it was in the center of town, right on the Skytrain. There are lots of people about, because of all the markets, and the fact that it’s a major transit hub. There’s lots of outdoor restaurants, and a beer garden with live entertainment every night.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find that many places, and most of them were full. I found two available places. For what I am paying now, I would get a little room, with only a bed, a closet, and a little TV stand (sans TV), and a Thai-style bathroom (just a shower in a corner with no curtain, so you brush your teeth standing in a puddle of water). They had a great location, though, right next to the little park I used to run in. I suppose if I picked up some cheapo furniture they would be OK.

Today took the Skytrain to the Phrom Phong station, by the Emporium, which is close to my university. There are lots of condos here, but they all have at least two bedrooms. I can’t find any studios. The only places I can find are “mansions,” which are run-down old buildings with little rooms that have some furniture. In this area a mansion goes for what I am paying now, but most of them are “suicide hotels.” I want to step up to a studio condo. I guess I’ll sit tight for now.

Old and new

One of the things I like about Thailand is the weird mix of old and new. Bangkok is literally a jumbled mess, with modern skyscrapers right next to primitive wooden shacks. Little did I know Bangkok’s (and hence Thailand’s) tallest building, the Baiyoke 2 Tower, perfectly embody this principle. Visible from practically everywhere in the city, the Baiyoke seems to be the symbol of the new Thailand: a modern office building (it’s actually a hotel) for a new millennium.

I had never seen the bottom of the Baiyoke, though. On my futile search for an a apartment, I accidentally walked from Victory Monument to the Baiyoke. I was amused to note that the base of the modern tower is what appears to be a tenement, complete with fire damage that nobody has bothered to repair. Hopefully the structural integrity is sound, because this building would wipe out a good portion of the city if it fell over. The very bottom is your average Thai market, complete with narrow walkways packed with meandering Thais, guys pushing carts around, and people selling all manner of random things. I love Thailand!

Some interesting facts about the Baiyoke. It is the world’s second tallest hotel building (it was the tallest when it was completed). It is the world’s second tallest reinforced concrete building (again, it was the tallest when it was completed). That means it does not contain any girders, which is an impressive feat.

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I’ve been walking around a lot, looking for an apartment. My experience reminds me of a book I recently read, called “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” about an autistic boy who is completely logical, and unable to understand illogical emotions such as love and friendship. It’s a good read.

The part I was reminded of was when he was lost by himself trying to find the train station. Instead of trying to talk to a confusing person, he does a manual search in the most efficient way: by walking in a spiral from his starting point. He quickly finds the station this way.

This is indeed logical in the West, where streets are generally laid out in a grid. But saying that Bangkok is “laid out” is totally inaccurate. Bangkok is fascinating from an urban planning standpoint because it’s a perfect case study of what happens if there is no planning at all. One of the consequences is that the streets don’t make any sense.

There are main roads, and there are smaller roads off of these, called sois. Then there are sub-sois off of the main sois. The sub-sois are very narrow alleys that don’t go anywhere. If you want to get over to the next parallel soi, you have to either go back to the main road, or continue a huge distance to the next main road. There are no blocks as we know them. Hence, due to the massive distances between main roads, the spiral search would take a huge amount of time.

I now realize that the sub-sois are where the best places to live are hidden. Walking down the main roads and sois, all you find are huge, opulent condos and “suicide mansions.” But as soon as you turn down a subsoi, even in the busiest parts of the city, you enter an alternate world. It’s calm, peaceful, and leafy. Instead of shops and condo towers, there are houses and small condos. Unfortunately, everything is walled off, so walking down a subsois is like wandering in a maze.

I was wandering the sois near Silom when I wandered into a really nice little apartment. It’s in a cute little building, has hardwood floors, a marble finished bathroom, and TV, fridge, and microwave. It was really nice, and the price was reasonable, their initial offer was 10,000 baht, the most I want to pay. The location is incredible, too, about a five minute walk from the Skytrain station. Unfortunately, it’s pretty small.

So, for about the same price, I can get a no frills, decent-sized, but empty room near Victory Monument, or a tiny, well stocked, luxurious room in Silom. They are both about the same distance from work.

I’m going to do a more thorough search of the sub-sois near work, but all the walking is killing me. Walking in Bangkok is not a good thing, due to the heat and humidity.

Thursday a Thai friend is going to help me talk to my landlords. Maybe if I give them 30 days notice, they will give me some of my deposit back. If not, mai bpen rai, I suppose.

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I’ve been writing a lot lately about my search for an apartment, but that’s because it’s my number one priority, and I worry about it constantly. If I were a new arrival, it would be no problem living in one of the “mansions” that my school points people to. They are big, fully (but un-tastefully) furnished, close to work, and not too expensive. (Unfortunately, they are also a bit grim and dilapidated) Plus, they have short-term leases, so you can stay there until you find someplace nicer.

But I lived in places like that for six months, and I don’t want to go back. Now that I’ve been here a while, I want to find a nice place, that’s close to they Skytrain, in an interesting, lively neighborhood.

My school is located in a very uninteresting, un-lively part of town. All the shops are closed, and there are no people around. It’s like a ghost town. And a Thai colleague says it’s impossible to find food on Sunday. So there you go. I don’t want to live anywhere near my school.

The school is located south of Sukhumvit in the Khlong Toey neighborhood, which is famous for its slum. North of Sukhumvit is the high-rent district. I walked up Thong Lo (which should be spelled Tong La), in search of places to live, but, as usual, nobody has studios. Plus, the neighborhood, while livable, is really nothing special. Finally, I would have to live so far up the street to make it affordable, that I wouldn’t be anywhere near the school, or the Skytrain.

So, in disgust, I aborted my Thong Lo investigation, and called up a friend who lives next door to the little place I found in Silom. She’s going to look at the place with me (if it’s even still available), and give me a second opinion. It is tiny, truly what the British would call a “bedsit.” But it’s beautiful inside. And, the location could not be any better. I want lively and interesting, and where is more lively and interesting that Silom? For me, a single guy, the three most important things about an apartment, are location, location, and location.

I talked to my landlord, and, not surprisingly, she isn’t too happy, so I can kiss my deposit goodbye. After all, I did sign a one year contract.

What goes around comes around

Since I live so far away, I’ve been spending a lot of time using public transportation, and thinking about how f*ed up it is, and how it could be so much better. Unfortunately, the Golden Rule of Thai politics is as follows:

Nothing that will benefit the public will get done unless it benefits either the Prime Minister, the family of the Prime Minister, or the cronies (cabinet members) of the Prime Minister.

The five-year-old Skytrain does not go very far. For five years, there have been plans to extend the Skytrain across the river. They have actually built the platform for this extension. But still, there is no track, and there are no stations, and no construction is being done. The Prime Minister says he’ll extend it, then he forces a debt restructuring, stalling the whole process for an unknown amount of time. Never mind the fact that it would benefit the tax-paying public.

Why? Who knows. Maybe he’s waiting until his family can secure a lucrative contract. Maybe he’s holding off, so he can dangle the possibility of a Skytrain extension as a reason to vote for him in the upcoming election. Yes, I know it would make more sense to you and I to have a completed extension as an accomplishment. It’s amazing that the Skytrain and subway have even been built at all (the Prime Minister’s son recently secured exclusive rights to do the advertising in the subway tunnels).

The website 2bangkok.com covers all of this in great detail. It’s quite fascinating if you are interested in urban planning and development.

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