It's those little things in life that really makes you appreciate what you had. I don't recall every spending more than 20 minutes at ICA (Immigration and Checkpoints Authority) for my passport matters, and boy, I thought that was a long wait! I was in for a rude shock when I had to wait for hours to settle a visa matter in Thailand! Never take efficiency for granted...
A quick google search will show you the amount of unhappiness surrounding visa matters. Be it visa extension, re-entry permits or even a simple 90-days reporting can leave you frustrated at the immigration office. Unfortunately all foreigners living in Thailand or staying for a prolonged period of time are required to do the 90-days reporting. Can you imagine the sheer amount of people queuing up at the immigration office to do that?
Each time I'm there waiting, I wonder to myself, what exactly is the draw of this place that makes people so willing to go through this every few months?
With all that said and done, I'm glad I won't be spending a whole afternoon there until 90 days later!
In other news, I've finally seen the army that the news is talking about!
One of the interesting things about moving to Bangkok would be watching Channel News Asia (Singapore's News Channel) report about the protest situation in Bangkok. It's really not as bad as they've portrayed it to be, and if not for my friends and the news, I'm unaware of an ongoing protest most of the time!
To my friends contemplating about a trip to Bangkok, the situation is not as bad as the news would like you to think, but of course, please exercise caution and stay away from the protest sites. Other than that, Bangkok is still an amazing holiday destination and the current exchange rate is definitely in Singapore Dollar's favour! Shop shop shop away! (I found like I'm from Tourism Thailand now...)
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