Condo With Broadband

[phuketpaddy]

Hello,

I was looking for a condo for around 4,000 - 7000 per month in Chiang Mai. Im not too fussy as long as it has air conditioning but the most important thing is that the condo has broadband access. I want to move for around 2-3 months and if i can get broadband access sorted quickly i might be able to prolong my stay because i can do some freelance web design and earn some money. The only thing is id prefer not to have to wait too long to have the internet access installed because the longer i leave it the less i can earn. Would broadband take long to get installed or does anyone know of condos that have them pre installed. I would be willing to put up with unreliable access as long as its not on a regular basis.

Lastly, i dont want to live cheap but i dont mind drinking local beer in Thai bars to save money and dont mind eating from stalls. With that in mind what do you think i should be prepared to spend per month not including the condo on food and living. I will be living with a thai girl maybe going for a few pints every weekend and maybe the odd time during the week, eating from noodles stalls mostly but from reasonably priced retaurants also and doing any travelling by bus. Other than that i wont be spending a whole lot, just planning to stretch my money out as long as possible while having a good time.

So to summarise my questions:

1) Whats the chances of a condo for around the 4,000 - 7,000?

2) Whats the average rates for electricity for an a/c condo?

3) What can i expect to pay for broadband?

4) What can i expect to pay for living costs for a thai girl and myself per month, based on a quiet lifestyle and she's not high maintenance?

Hope people from Chiang Mai can share their views. I plan to go there in January

[jackr]

Baan Thai on Thanon Nimmanhemin is 4,800 per month and has ADSL 256kbps for about 800 baht per month extra, and large swimming pool. Do a search for the details (red search button at the top of the page - just type 'baan thai' and highlight the cm forum and you'll get it). Using air-con a lot will cost you (1,000-1,500 per month) as will the lady...possibly. 10k for food and beer if you are skimping

[phuketpaddy]

Baan Thai on Thanon Nimmanhemin is 4,800 per month and has ADSL 256kbps for about 800 baht per month extra, and large swimming pool. Do a search for the details (red search button at the top of the page - just type 'baan thai' and highlight the cm forum and you'll get it). Using air-con a lot will cost you (1,000-1,500 per month) as will the lady...possibly. 10k for food and beer if you are skimping

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats great info, good to know. Because i dont know how long i will be staying i will probably just book the first month until i get my feet on the ground. Do you think that the Baan Thai would take a booking for the month or would it be a minumum 3 months?

Also does the internet come pre-installed or does it take a couple of weeks to get running. I would be bringing my laptop so maybe i would just connect up and off i go....i hope!

Also i dont have a set date that im going yet, just sometime in January so is there usually packed out and would i need to reserve a room well in advance, at that price i think maybe i would but without knowing a set date yet it leaves me in a bit of a situation as i probably wont know until Decemeber

[Guest endure]

Sorry to butt in but do you have any idea of the size of the rooms at Bann Thai?

[phuketpaddy]

Sorry to butt in but do you have any idea of the size of the rooms at Bann Thai?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No but im guessing that they are not terribly big, are they just basically a hotel room with a bed, a locker, a wardrobe and a bathroom or do they have a living area etc, with the pool and internet access i could overlook a small room but dont be shy if you have experienced these rooms please share the info, also how is the internet access...good....bad...terrible

[up-country_sinclair]

the rooms at baan thai do not have a living area. it's basically one room with a balcony. i'm not good at measuring off memory, but i'd say the rooms are approximately 15' x 15' (not counting the entrance area, bathroom, and balcony).

if they have a vacancy, rooms are available for one month--and there's no problem getting the deposit back.

the internet access is wireless only, and it is fairly reliable and quick. you'll be up and running in about 10 minutes.

the sooner you make a reservation the better---try to get a room on a upper floor on the side facing doi sutep. i'd recommend building 'b'.

if you have a bicycle, keep it in your rooom---there were a couple of thefts recently.

good luck.

[seeker108]

Sorry to butt in but do you have any idea of the size of the rooms at Bann Thai?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No but im guessing that they are not terribly big, are they just basically a hotel room with a bed, a locker, a wardrobe and a bathroom or do they have a living area etc, with the pool and internet access i could overlook a small room but dont be shy if you have experienced these rooms please share the info, also how is the internet access...good....bad...terrible

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have been folowing all of these threads about apts in CM for the past few months with keen interest.

Baan Thai seems the best for my short-term needs so far, because of location, price and having (relatively) high-speed internet access available. Two others are PT apartments and Huaykaew Residence. These 3 also are all said to be somewhat new, which is nice as well.

I would love to know the difference in general between what is being called a residence, a serviced apartment and a condo. Is it just semantics or is there an actual difference?

More importantly I would like to know if anyone could give a good comparison between the 3 places or between any two of them.

Finally does anyone know if they have web sites? I saw this on an earlier thread for PT; http://www.chiangmai-thai.com/pt_apartment.htm , but nothing for the other two.

Seeker

[jackr]

Baan Thai rooms are about 30-odd square metres, with a decent sized balcony and a toilet with shower. They come with fridges and tvs and a general selection of movie, sports and news channels. The internet is wireless as UCS says, where you buy a card from reception each month. The deposit is quite hefty but easy to get back and you can stay for one month. It shouldn't make a difference what time of year you stay as it's mainly an apartment for the locals and the uni population - not in a typically tourist area, which is a plus IMO. Nimmanhemin is fairly affluent and well-stocked with bars and restaurants. If you do that seach you'll bring up the phone numbers; can't remember off the top of my head. The large swimming pool is probably its best asset.

[Steve2UK]

Jackr kindly gave me these numbers earlier this year when I was thinking of booking Baan Thai:

There are two blocks, block A and B. Block B is the one with the good views of doi suthep if you get on the right side.

A

tel - 053227227

fax - 053227030

B

tel - 053219000

fax - 053227100

I did try faxing them on both numbers (from UK) and didn't get a reply. In the end, I didn't book with Baan Thai - partly because they're single rooms but also because I was told by a Thai friend who checked with them that it would take something like a month to get the deposit back after I left. Could be that he was wrong - but worth checking.............

[jackr]

Hi Steve,

I know two mates that have stayed there this year and both had their deposits back on the day of check out. Only normally the case of deposit-withholding when renting houses and lone apartments so they know they haven't got a whacking phone bill. Perhaps it was because they were speaking to a Thai that they said that or he got the wrong end of the stick?

[seeker108]

I called Baan Thai 12 hours ago and spoke to Khun Go, the manager. His email address is [email protected]. I emailed him right after the call about room availability for late October, but no reply yet.

[Steve2UK]

Hi Steve,

I know two mates that have stayed there this year and both had their deposits back on the day of check out. Only normally the case of deposit-withholding when renting houses and lone apartments so they know they haven't got a whacking phone bill. Perhaps it was because they were speaking to a Thai that they said that or he got the wrong end of the stick?  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Jackr,

Good to know. Have to say - I think the second alternative is much more likely! Also have to admit that I was puzzled at the time why it would take so long to get the deposit back; at Viangbua, I've always had the deposit returned to me (in cash) as part of the final reckoning on checking out.

[whimsy]

For those still wanting to know about Baan Thai, I checked this place out in Feb when it just opened. They had a deposit for everything, TV, Cable, internet plus 2 months room rent as a deposit. Worked out about 18,000B to move in. The fine print in the contract said you did NOT get your room deposit back if you stayed only 2 months or less. Kind of a short stay surcharge I guess. The pool is fairly large but only about 1m deep for the whole 15m or so length.

Edited November 20, 2005 by whimsy

[Steve2UK]

Whimsy, thanks for that additional info - starts to tie in a bit better with what I'd had said to me by someone I asked to check it for me......

I don't have a problem giving them a deposit for rent. services etc - as long as I know I'll get it back the day I leave. But I'm not keen on that kind of small print - I hope it's something that they make very clear at the time of booking.

[KhunMarco]

Whimsy, thanks for that additional info - starts to tie in a bit better with what I'd had said to me by someone I asked to check it for me......

I don't have a problem giving them a deposit for rent. services etc - as long as I know I'll get it back the day I leave. But I'm not keen on that kind of small print - I hope it's something that they make very clear at the time of booking. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do they have contracts printed in English?

Hehe, that's a good thing. You know, I just signed a three months contract and everythings written in Thai.

I hope I didn't give away all my possesions

Got to learn quickly to read Thai (geez, I can tell you it was easier to learn C++)

At least they warned me about the "minimum 3 months stay" policy.