Saturday, December 27, 2008
What a day I would say!
Today I had to do a visa run. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, a visa run is exiting Thailand and entering Malaysia (or any other country - I chose Malaysia because it was just an hour away), then exit Malaysia immediately and re-enter Thailand for another 15days visa.
Bloody Thailand, just had to change the original 30days to a 15days visa.
My next visa run is on the 9th of Jan. Probably will be crossing the border at Myammar at Mae Sot.
Anyway this visa run is seriously a test for my timid spirit. I felt like a pig out of a buffet (fish out of water) and totally lost.
Luckily I met a fellow traveller, a Swedish-spanish-turkish, marijuana-smoking, 21 years old, named Sacha, on the bus to Padang Besar immigration. Dad is Turkish, mom is Swedish, born in Sweden, grew up in Spain, dad is now in Turkey. Aretha, hot caucasian alert! Too bad about the marijuana part though.
It was kinda like the blind leading the blind; neither have done visa run before. We paid 45baht (~$1.90) for the 1hours plus bus ride (non aircon, seats like SBS), and passed by rubber plantations after rubber plantations. I learned that Swedish people are serious folks, unfriendly (according to Sacha), beer is $8 in Sweden, smokes $9.
After exiting Thailand and toward the Malaysian border, we stopped by a huge duty free complex to find some food.
DAMN CHOCOLATES HEAVEN!!! Chocolates were aplenty and cheap(er). Of course we, being backpackers, stuck to only buying the neccessities and just bought buns and what-nots at the minimart. We sat by the road, looking like poor beggers, stuffing our face and moaning about life.
Well, he is on his way to Koh Samui now and I am seating here in an internet cafe full of thai boys playing computer games and talking/screaming so loudly. Well, it is 20B/hr, which works out to less than a dollar, as compared to a quiet but expensive 50B/hr at the shopping mall.
As the hokkiens say, "mai hiam buay pai. hiam liao kana sai.". Which directly translate to "Don't complain, not bad. Complain, like shit."