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Published: July 16th 2017
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Geo: 16.3833, 103.933
Roll on next Monday when everything should be back to normal whatever normal is ...
I bike into Phon Thong for the internet and am amazed to see that not only have the British Embassy replied to me but they have admitted to an 'administrative error' in the processing of Jai's visa and will be happy to change the dates. We can now either mail them Jai's passport or visit the office in Bangkok. With less than 3 weeks to go before we leave, and even less before we leave Khamnadie I am reluctant to mail the passport in case she is left with no passport at all when it comes time for us to leave. The alternative is a visit to the Embassy and they have told us that Tuesday and Thursday are the two days they can help. I dont really want another trip to Bangkok and we cant go this week anyway. I have mailed back asking if there is any chance we could come to the Embassy on Monday 24th March, the day before we leave for UK, when we will be in Bangkok anyway. Fingers crossed but it seems more likely that we will be
going to Bangkok sometime towards the end of next week.
Getting back to Khamnadie we go to the village administration office to borrow some material to decorate the room for the wedding. What a nightmare !! There must have been 20+ people in the office, sat around looking important in their uniforms and medals although they are only clerks. They spent most of their time playing on their phones and the internet so I guess the medals indicate what level they have reached in Super Mario or something. I think the boss had another medal for being able to multitask - that would be eat and still use her phone at the same time. It turned out that the material was locked in a cupboard and it was only the housekeeper - cook, cleaner, etc - who had a key. Where was she ? Gone into the village to buy some food for everyone. We waited, and we waited ... Eventually we spotted Jai's niece Boo who tells us that the housekeeper is actually asleep on a mat behind the office in the shade. She gets us some material but it is tatty and filthy. I think someone had wiped their
... well, you get the picture. The first person we spoke to, who had a medal for texting whilst playing games on the internet, goes back to her make-up table, sorry, desk, and returns with a bundle of different material that looks OK. Why couldnt she have let Mario have an accident and given us this an hour ago ?! Back to the house pulling my hair out.
Late afternoon we bike to the neighbouring village of Ban Rat where another nephew Tia lives to hand out invites to him and his wife's family. The village seems to have become tobacco country with some still growing in the rice fields whilst most of the crop is now hanging up drying in peoples gardens and on any spare ground around the village.
Tried to phone mum whilst we were there but their signal is about as good as ours so postpone till we get back. Riding back I feel the phone going and stop in the shade by the side of the road for a quick chat with mum who had given up waiting for me this week.
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