House of Horrors

Looking back, I didn't like the vendor's furtive, beady eyes from the get-gobut such misgivings are swatted aside when you're on the emotional roller coaster that is house hunting. For a fatal moment my heart ruled my head, and I ended up entangled in every expatriate's nightmare.

Rewind to March 2003. Bangkok was recovering from the property doldrums, banks were lending again, and it seemed a good time to buy. After months of searching for a new home, we stumbled on a village on the city's northeastern outskirtsfull of old houses with potential, in quiet, green-canopied lanesand spotted...