Universe

Hi,
Whoa, what a day we had. More adventure. It was time to make our first 90 day 'check-in' for our Visas. We were told that we could do it at the Chiang Rai PD. When we got there, they didn't know anything about it. They kept saying, 'You have to go to Mae Sai'. Now that you're wondering where this is going, hold on. Only three of you got the song. We've got to shake things up a bit. "I'd kinda like to be the President, so I can show you how your money's spent. __ __ __ __ __ (x 3) Hint: The group's name was the opposite of what they wanted.
After going around with the police, they called in a young woman from the 'Tourist Police' who spoke pretty good English. She didn't understand our Retirement Visa either. We wanted them to call Immigration in Chiang Mai. They left the room, came back and said 'Mae Sai'. OK, bye bye.
We took a Tuk-Tuk down to the family tractor store, looking for some kind of moral support and got it. Jen made a few calls and wished us luck. We walked around the corner to the bus station and found out the bus to Mae Sai leaves every 15 minutes and costs 33 Baht ($1.06). We got on the bus (not the cruiser that took us to Chiang Mai) and waited to depart. This was an older bus with narrow seats, no air, no water and no video screen. Just your basic bus, with a conductor who took her job seriously, with a casual twist. I never saw her smile, but she said 'thank you'. Anyway, once we hit the streets, we realized that this was not going to be an express. We stopped and picked up passengers, we stopped to buy a bag of oranges for the driver, and we let people off. At no time, did the front or back door ever close. There was a man sitting in the back who was some kind of door monitor. Every time we were about to take off, we'd hear his voice, 'aye', and the bus would start again. At one point, near the end, we had a full load, with people standing in the aisle as we rolled down the highway. We finally made it to Mae Sai, but the bus station is at the south end of town, so they piled all of us into a songtal (pick-up with a shell and two rows of seats). Like a shuttle, it took us to the border area, where all the action is. That trip cost 10 Baht or $.32.
Following directions, we walked to the border with Burma/Myranmar and went into the Immigration office. Their assumption, of course, was that we wanted to make what is called, a 'visa run'. This is required for those who wish to extend their stay without a lot of red tape. You leave the country, and then come back in, having your passport stamped with a new visa. Well, that wasn't our mission. We were sent down the road (1.5k) to the main office. This required a time out for coffee. At an odd little coffee shop connected to an odd little hotel, we found out that it was a bit of a walk and we should ride. No problem here.
Finally arriving in the right place, we had no wait, really friendly officers and the whole thing was a breeze. They gave us forms for our next 90 day check in so we could show them to the CR police. If they still don't get it, back to Mae Sai. Feeling light and elated, we strolled the street looking for the special black sesame treat we've grown to love. We went into the shopping district and felt transported into another world. We saw some interesting things, as in a gift but no treats. Took a few pics that you can see on Flickr. We decided that we didn't want to take the long way home, so we went to the big border hotel and asked about hiring a car. It could be done, so we did. We're very glad we did. We came home to hot soup from 'Boot's Kitchen' and all is well.
Have a Cool Thursday.

Peace,
Danny

"We must know definitely and consistently that the universe is for us and not against us."
~Ernest Holmes


Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

www.flickr.com/photos/gratidudepics