Life in Thailand: Wan di, wan mai di (part 1)

I live in a condominium building in soi 33. In Bangkok. Every day there is something for it. Sometimes good, sometimes bad but often surprising to me.

The condominium building is run by an elderly woman. I call her grandmother, because she is both by status and by age. Grandmother has two daughters (Doa and Mong) of which Mong is the owner of the building on paper.

I didn't know that until I asked the Ministry of Employment to change the address in my work permit booklet. Then I needed a copy from the owner of the building. Doa is divorced (but more on that in a later episode) and Mong is married to a police officer and has a daughter.

Grandmother and grandfather live like cat and dog

Grandmother is married to grandfather. That will not surprise you. The couple lives like cat and dog and I do NOT mean like cat and dog live here in Thailand in many temples. They always have words and fights about anything and everything. About the little things but also about the big things in life.

This has led to the fact that grandfather has often sought his 'salvation' with another woman in recent years. Usually for a shorter period of time but now he has found a woman with whom he has been hanging out for quite some time. Grandmother knows that and doesn't like it. Grandfather has his own income (a pension), his own pick-up and - as far as grandmother allows - does what he likes.

When he doesn't show up at the condo, grandmother calls him ad nauseam. And if that doesn't work, Dao or Mong will call him. He no longer loves his grandmother, but loves his daughters and granddaughter. So: I don't see grandfather every day, but I do see him regularly. And when grandmother is around there is always a fight.

Grandmother is Penny wise, pound foolish

Grandmother is, as the English say so beautifully, “penny wise, pound foolish”. She is miserly in a maniacal way. At least: when it comes to the condo building and the service to the residents. I myself had to wait about nine months for a new bathroom door and now I got the cheapest one she could find.

The launderette and the restaurant have now closed because grandmother makes no concessions – in terms of money – to new operators of both facilities: at least the same rent and the same advance as the old operators.

That the residents complain that the facilities are closed (and that some tenants have moved to a newer building 200 meters down the soi) seems to be of little interest to her in that she complains about the higher vacancy rate, but does not relate it to her own behaviour. Grandfather sometimes puts his finger on the sore spot and then it's a fight again, of course. It seems like “the circle of life” in my soi.

Chris de Boer