We're on the move again, just call me Gypsy Wren!
We took a decision when we arrived in Bangkok to take a short-term lease at Embassy Place Apartments. We couldn’t stay longer because the place will be bulldozed to make way for a new high rise development. This week we said goodbye!
But as moving is what we do, and it seemed like half a plan to take this bigger, better and cheaper apartment, even with the hassle of moving out...
In the dizzy excitement of Bangkok apartment hunting, we knew the moment we walked up the drive, that this was the one we could happily call home.
Come visit with me and see what you think...
I have been blessed to have lived in some of the world's most wonderful cities; Hong Kong, Brussels, and Melbourne but I'm a country girl at heart, I can’t live feeling hemmed in.
I like the frenetic pace of life in these big cities, but I do need a retreat, a place of Zen calm.
I need to see light, have space and hear a decent dawn chorus. If I don't wake up to the little birds singing then I'm not going to be a happy bunny, so to speak.
We had in our grounds nearly three acres of rain trees and tropical gardens but in addition, we overlooked the American and Dutch Embassies. This gave us an unusual expanse of greenery in this ever enclosing urban jungle.
Shush, don't tell Mr Trump but you Americans have a really decent amount of prime real estate here. The British on the other side of the street have announced they will be selling up and following the Aussies who have already relocated to a cheaper area.
This outlook gave me as much of a connection to nature, as is possible to find in the noisy City of Angels.
The little birds need a garden and so does this Little Wren. If I think of all our homes, they all have something special in regard to their gardens.
Being a Pisces, water is important to me. To see the gardens and the fish pond surrounded by the calm Buddha’s was an instant attraction.
The joyous elephants at the swimming pool, a bonus.
I’m also missing my dog as the Crazy Poodle stayed in Australia. Our apartments had two adopted street cats who roam the place in the endless hope of fish, turtles or birds for dinner. They were not very sociable, and always had the air of indifference, but I loved to see them sunbathing in the gardens.
The apartments themselves were a faded glory. They would have been the pinnacle of Bangkok Expat life about twenty years ago. But we loved our huge apartment with its shiny floors, wood everywhere and aged Thai furniture. It was important to us to feel like we were living in Thailand!
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I also need convenience, just look at the view from our bedroom window, don’t you love the high-end futuristic Embassy Place shopping mall and the skytrain gliding past at the end of the drive?
In Bangkok, one of the big issues is the traffic. So having the option to be close to public transport is important for those days when I really need to get somewhere, fast.
We were opposite two high-end shopping centres at Central Embassy and Central Chitlom and with this came two things. One the ability to walk miles in air-conditioned comfort, if I could persuade Mr Wren to join me. He would rather arrive hot, sweaty and not having been dragged through the "shops" which he says like lots of men as if it is a dirty word!
Secondly, we had the Central food court, which for those in the know, is the Bangkok equivalent of the Fortnum and Mason's food hall. I take friends there on my tour of my Bangkok life. There ain't much that you can't get there ... for a price.
With Embassy Place came a whole team of office staff, who have shared with us our attempts at finding our feet in Bangkok, they have welcomed all our friends and family, delivered our post to the door, and helped out the moment I yell out 'help the WIFI's not working'!
Our gates are kept permanently semi-closed and there is at least three security personnel who keep us safe. I will miss their cheery waves in the morning. Some are ex-military and the accompanying salute and clicking of the heels, always made me smile.
There was a team of house-keepers who constantly kept the place spruced up and swept up every little leaf that fell. Once a week they would clean our apartment. Oh my, how did I ever end up with such a privileged life? To return to their hospital corners on the bed, and the way they got the cushions just so, was such a joy.
One by one the entire block found new homes and suddenly we were surprised to learn we were the sole occupants. Don’t you find that kind of scary we were asked? Are you kidding? The lift came just for us, the treadmill at the gym was always waiting just for me. By the end, we had all the services just for us.
What a treat. I am so happy to have had some time at Embassy Place, this peaceful part of Bangkok that will sadly disappear.
Thank you to all the wonderful Embassy Apartment staff
for a lovely seven months. We will miss you all!
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