Moving House again.

The COMPOUND

Our landlords recently put the rent up to $280 on our current apartment . and even though I originally whinged and moaned that is still actually a pretty sweet deal for that apartment. HOWEVER with baby coming and car coming, we need some more space . I was lazily looking around at options when out of the blue my good mate Jeff rings me up and says "Are you interested in splitting a compound with us" . I have know Jeff since day one ( in fact I had my first ever job interview at Jungle Bar with Darren when Jeff still owned it ) and we have remained drinking buddies ever since. Jeff is married to Vattey and they have a little toddler - Aliyah. So I meet Jeff at the new place and I am pretty much smitten straight away. The first thing you notice is the whopping big gates and fence and then the huge front courtyard with room for 3 cars and motos etc. Plenty of room for the toddlers to run around, cars to be washed, gardens to be created etc. Jeff has the tal one on the RHS of the photo..it is massive ( 5 beds i think ) and he gets a HUGE amphitheatre style room to set up all his gadgets ( he is an audio,hi-fi freak geek ! ). Ours is the one on the left. It looks small but it is actually EXACTLY the same lay out as our current apartment except it is ground floor so no more slippery steps to get up ! All of it is brand new ( Khmerised but quite nice )and there is a big courtyard out the back as well. The COMPOUND is right near Russian Market and there are some nice cafes and beer gardens around. This is Jeff;s first venture over to the dark side ( west of Monivong Blvd ) and I think he is really going to love it. There is a villa being built next door to us so I hope the noise isn't too bad but I guess we just deal with it. I have some ideas about improvements such as a thatched, waterproofed BBQ shelter out the back andmaybe even a shaded cover at the front but at any rate it is going to be a really nice set-up. I think it will be great having a mate next door to have the odd beer with and the kids can play together and we can watch each other stuff when either of us are away etc. The rent is $80 more a month and the rates are fair. The street is quiet and it will be good to be in a new neighbourhood. More photos to follow....