Hott Mess Thailand

Today I witnessed a perfect example of why westerners sometimes have difficulty with the Thai way, and I feel obliged to share it with you.

There I was, waiting in the Sri Racha immigration office for my re-entry permit (something I have to do before leaving the country. Did I mention I'm going to Bali??!) and it all went down.

First thing I'm going to say is they have changed their system within the last month and now require a different process than when I went to Abu Dhabi. So, I was on the losing end before even walking in the door being that I was unaware of these updates. As a result, I waited a long, long time and people who came much later than me were served first. Jerks.

In my patiently waiting stage, I witnessed two farang interactions with Thai immigration officials. An older Dutch couple, house owners here in town I'm guessing in their 70s, wanted a 2 month extension on their visa. I assume this was to buy them more time so they could eventually get the year-extension. IO's (immigration officer) response, with a winning smile plastered across her face was No, we simply cannot do that for you, but we would be happy to provide a 7 day extension. A. I am sure they could have done it, and B. I'm sorry, but 7 days. Whoop-di-do. These people were old though, and couldn't seem to muster too much of a fight. Actually, it was sad. This kind of stuff happens all the time.

And, hopeless farang number 2, a Frenchie who also wanted a visa extension was told he would have to go all the way to the border and back to Chonburi Immigration office in the same day if he wanted his extension. I know this information means nothing to you, but that's a minimum of 5 hours one way, not including the actual visa process, and the office here in town closes at 4. This is so not possible. He was a little more well-trained in the managing and dealings with of Foreign/Thai relations, and must have asked at least 20 times what they wanted of him. Repeating it in several different ways, in the hopes of getting a better answer. He didn't. Sucks.

Luckily my re-entry permit went off without a hitch (by this I mean I only spent 45 more-than-necessary minutes of my life waiting while aimlessly staring at the wall and learning about the woes of farang life). And, umm, I'm headed to Bali!!!!