As soon as I got to Chiang Mai, Thailand, my mission was to find the best apartment for the lowest cost. Thanks to persistence, trust, and a few numbers, it all worked out perfectly.
Seeking an apartment has been a full time job. I visited over 10 apartment buildings from every corner of the city, even driving over 15 minutes out to the boondocks. It’s actually quite exhausting – especially when the pictures online look nothing like the room itself. Sort of like dating sites and fast food menus.
Driving away with a fake smile and a sincere thank-very-much (but I’m never coming back) gets very old after a while. However, there were a few gems out there. I originally found an awesome place for a very good base price of 4000 thai baht / mo (the local currency, worth about $128). It was a brand new building, with no previous tenants, and the “TV” provided was actually an LCD monitor, which would be perfect for working on. I continued to shop around, thinking the place would stay available.
Time was running thin…
Friday came and I went to three more places, all of which were either full or fail. It was getting down to the wire, since I wanted to move out that night or next morning, because my hostel booking was ending. I called that awesome LCD bonus apartment back, only to hear the room had been taken… AHH!
It was almost 5 pm and I needed to move NOW. What if everywhere was closed on the weekend? What if I couldn’t extend my stay at the hostel? They’ve been packed since I got here. My bag was huge and super annoying to move around. My mind raced with worry.
All is well
Thank you meditation and thank you God. Even in times like this, I have always firmly practiced a state of being okay and trusting. Literally, as the day wore on, each failure of finding apartment only reminded me how it wasn’t “meant to be.” And I moved on with a sincere trust that the right apartment would find me. Every time I began worrying about time or what I was going to do, I stopped the train of thought immediately, and said to myself, “all is well.”
And so it was.
I laid down in my hostel room and closed my eyes, overwhelmed and a bit worried at my situation. Naps always chill me out, even just 20 min. I just wanted to reset after driving in the hot smoggy traffic all day. I focused on my breath and prayed that all would be okay. I asked sincerely for help from the Universe. Then I let go and breathed.
Idea!
After a minute, I had an idea. More like an urge, to get on Facebook and look for apartment rental groups. A huge one with 500+ members was the top result (Here’s the link incase you’re looking too). I was in every other possible Chiang Mai group, why didn’t I think of this before? The first post was someone asking: “Where can I find a cheap apartment for 3000-5000 baht?”
THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I NEED!
One of the comments read, “Varada Place is nice. 4500 I think.” I instinctively looked at the clock and saw the time was 4:44 pm. My heart jumped. It was a sign!
If you look up the meaning of 444 in numerology, it says something like angels or spirits are guiding you, and there is nothing to worry about. Numerology isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I notice certain numbers A LOT, and to me this was a clear sign. But I didn’t let my hopes fly too high before googling the apartment and calling them right away.
Thai happy ending (not like that)
Long story short, I visited the apartment right away, the location was good, the room was excellent, the owners spoke english, they were super nice, the price was right, and in less than 2 hours I had the keys to my new home.
BOOM – The Universe swoops in to take care of everything. Of course it would. I knew it all along. But indeed I enjoyed the little bit of drama of it. That’s why we came here. To shake things up. :)
Here’s a few pictures of the place.
For those interested, the apartment is called Varada Place.