How to get a Thai licence -- a real one, that is!

My other half recently went to change her international driving licence into a Thai one. Now there are several arguments for and against such a move. The main one for it is that the local constabulary, known to one and all as the boys in brown, are said to give you more leeway and expect less 'generosity' from drivers with a local licence, thinking that you aren't a tourist after all. The main argument against it is the process involved.

First off, please make sure that if you do this, you take a Thai speaker with you. This is not only to help guide you through the bureaucracy, it's also to show you where the damn'd place is, as the only street signs are all in Thai. However, if you are driving from Hua Hin, it is down the side road beside Pranburi Police Station, which is between Camp Tannarat and the town, about 15km or more from the edge of Hua Hin.

Anyway, once you reach the office, you will have to submit the sheaf of papers you should have prepared beforehand, including the proof of residency that you got from the police or immigration -- or embassy, if you felt like a quick trip to Bangkok! (For more info on this, check here.) You hand these in when asked and then, after a suitable wait, you have to go upstairs and have your eyesight and reactions tested. In our case, the tester was a 'gatoy' or ladyboy, which was a little different to dealing with licence centres elsewhere.

Once these tests are completed (and the value of such tests is shown by the splendid (?) level of skill on Thailand's roads), you go downstairs and wait. Eventually, you will be given a remarkably flimsy piece of card -- that's your licence! I recommend you take it straight to the nearest photographic shop, like one of the Kodak supermarkets in Hua Hin, and have it laminated, or it may not even last the year. Year? Yes, your first Thai licence is valid for just 1 year. You then go back to Pranburi and, if the gods are smiling on you, get a 5-year one. Good luck, and remember -- if you can see even a tiny patch of road between you and the car in front, some Thai in a huge pick-up will try to overtake and fill that space!

God doesn’t use a calendar . . .

Well it looks like the rainy season has begun early this year. Normally, the wet season (which isn’t that soggy but does get more rain than the rest of the year) begins in late June but we’ve had a lot of rain this week -- & May’s not even finished! Therefore, as it’s raining today, I might as well add to this blog. So what have I been up to in the last week? Let’s see.

• Last Saturday, I went & bought a new computer at a shop in central Hua Hin. They only had 2 notebook computers, both Compaq (this is a small town, don’t forget) & I ended up buying a Compaq nx9040. They said they would install Windows XP & Microsoft Office & so we will have to return tomorrow to collect it & make the final payment.
• Then on Sunday, we finally went to the beach. I’ve been on holiday (semi-officially) for several weeks now (it's tough being a tropical teacher) but as my other half seems to have strange dislike for the beach, it’s taken me this long to get her to go. We went to Ao Sai Noi beach, where we had lunch – cheap & delicious! That’s my favourite beach in the vicinity but there are plenty of other beaches I haven’t yet visited.
• On the Monday, I finally went to the gym, the one inside the Palm Hills Sports Club. I used to go 2 or 3 times a week when I lived in Tokyo but this was my first time since May 31st last year, so it was not easy or pleasant, but obviously necessary!
• Tuesday was pretty forgettable, being cloudy & wet. Then, on the Wednesday, I returned to the Palm Hills Gym, where I did an even more rigorous workout. After this, we drove to the Market Village Mall, where we had a Chinese, dim-sum type lunch before doing some shopping in Tesco’s. The common round, the daily task, etc.
• On Thursday, I had to go & open a new bank account for my new job. We drove down to Bangkok Bank but we ended up spending almost an hour there. This isn’t a good place to be if you’re in a hurry, as no-one else is! Hell, I’m less worried about time myself, so maybe it’s catching! Anyway, that evening, I had 2 of my pals over, a South African & an American. We stayed outside drinking until around 23.00, so I had no trouble sleeping!
• Friday saw me going to the University where I am due to start work soon, to get a briefing with my future colleagues. There were a few Caucasians, one Indian guy & a couple of new Filipinos. Anyway, I therein found out that I shall start work there next Wednesday.

So this is my last weekend of true leisure. I would like to return to the beach or maybe scout around for a better one. This coast is sure as hell not short of good beaches. However, god doesn’t seem to have a calendar & so he starts the wet season whenever he feels like it! Such is life…

A heartwarming Immigration experience -- honest!

This entry should have appeared over a week ago, but the somewhat paranoid Spam-hunting software this site uses claimed my blog was Spam. Do you see any ads or plugs for any product or service? No, well. Don’t ask me what kind of weird parameters their software uses, but on with the motley, regardless…

I’ve experienced the joys of dealing with immigration officials in many different lands, even at the soulless Croydon centre back in London. However, I recently had a distinctly positive experience & I feel I owe it to the gentlemen concerned to record it for the eager world beyond this fair town.

I signed a contract with my new employer last Thursday (April 27^th) & the next day, they were due to provide the rain forest worth of documents needed to get me a new work permit & a new visa. However, this being Asia, the documents reached me 4 hours late, making it seem highly unlikely that I could get both the work permit & visa fixed up – especially as the 2 offices are over 70km apart! Well I tried ‘thinking outside the box’ & so I tried to get the visa first – highly unorthodox, officially impossible, but my only hope of avoiding a 1500฿ fine when my visa expired at the end of the month! Eventually, after they had actually stamped the visa in my passport, the immigration guys realised I hadn’t got my work permit & so they talked about cancelling it! I tried getting angry & seeking sympathy & managed to get permission to try & get my work permit application accepted before the office closed – just an hour later.

Thanks to being driven by Michael Schumacher’s reckless brother, we reached the WP office at 16.20 – 10 minutes before closing. I wasn’t too popular when I handed in my papers & so they managed to find a few errors, just enough to restore the slave-master relationship, I then left the WP office & sped through an unexpected rain storm back to Hua Hin. I arrived there at 18.40, more than 2 hours after the immigration office had officially shut. However, true to their word, 2 of the guys had stayed at their post & so I was issued my new visa at 18.50 – the latest anyone I know has ever been issued such a visa!

So top marks & then a few more for the Immigration Office in Hua Hin, who had previously given me polite & semi bi-lingual service but who truly went the extra few yards last Friday. If you’re planning to do any visa business in Hua Hin, rest assured that immigration here is a long way from being as bad as you might think!