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Published: July 16th 2017
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Geo: 13.7308, 100.521
Awake with the alarm at 02:45 ti find Thai TV3 showing a message saying that were not allowed to show the football. Didnt need much persuasion to go back to sleep.
Breakfast at Guest House just before 7:00 and it was nice to have someone else doingn the cooking and washing up.
7:30 we take a taxi to the British Embassy on Wireless Road arriving on the dot of 8:00 when I was told that they opened. Reception seemed to take pleasure in telling us that only the Consular section opened at 8:00, for the Visa section we would need to wait until 8:30. No, we couldnt wait inside so stand around on the pavement. Security didnt like us loitering here so we were moved on about 20m to where we sat at a bus stop and waited. Luckily things havent got too hot yet.
On the dot of 8:30 we are back at reception but they are still reluctant to let us in. I explain in detail again, show them the e-mails that we have exchanged and tell them about the phone call from Tuesday when we were told to come here this morning. None of the e-mails are signed and
I couldnt get a name from the phone call but now they want to know who I have been dealing with. Eventually I get them to phone the office and after lengthy discussions they let us in after a body search and depositing our cameras and phones. We are the only people at the visa section and I have to tell the whole story again. I was hoping that all the paperwork etc had been completed already and they would just have to reissue the visa but no ... A Thai lady takes Jai's passport and diappears leaving sat in a waiting room.
There are now follow ups and by 10:30 we have both just about had enough. I ring the desk bell to get someone to come and talk to us again. I tell the same lady that we have now been waiting over 2 hoursd with no communication and just want to know what is happening and how much longer they are planning to take. She seemed surprised to see us and gave the impression that she had forgotten we were even there. They were amending the visa and would be about another 10 mins. This also made me
think that they had forgotten about us and that she would go and do what needed to be done right away.
Shen returns almost immediately with Jai's passport. The original visa has been cancelled and Jai now has a visa that lasts until 17 Sep which is good news. I still cant work out what they are doing, however, as although the new visa has an issue date of today, as you would expect, the visa itself actually commenced on 17 March ? Whats that all about ?!
In the 3 hours that we have spent at the Embassy we have not seen one British person. Presumably all the Brits who are employed here prefer to remain faceless and nameless and to be quite honest with the service they provide I dont blame them !!
Whatever, we count ourselves lucky that we now have the visa that we wanted and leave the Embassy quickly before John or Jane Doe can change their minds.
Take a taxi back to the Guest House and go to our usual noodle shop for lunch. It is now steaming hotm so we then go back to the room the aircon and a kip.
I nip out for coffees at 15:30
then straight back to the room.
It was very quiet when we got to Banglamphu last night and again this morning when we left. There are quite a few people around now but certainly not busy and once again there are more older people than there ever used to be.
Evening we go down to eat at the Guest House both choosing something that Jai wouldnt usually cook for a change.
Tonight is the penultimate part of a soap that Jai has been watching for months so timing here has worked out well. Back to the room for 18:30 and the TV.
I phone Gloucester and book my car in for an MOT next Friday, 28th.
An early night to sleep.
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