Second border run... NOT

For those of you unfamiliar with the visa extension changes in Thailand, let me help you out. I use to be able to make a border run and get a 30 day extension to my stay in Thailand. As of December 6th Thailand changed this to only allow for a 15 day extension.

I decided that instead of making 3-4 visa runs to Ranong and Myanmar to only get 15 days each time (and the trip is boring), I would go to Malaysia to get a 60 day visa instead. Great idea however...

What started off as a “short 5-7 hour jaunt” to Penang, Malaysia for a 60 day visa, some R&R time and a Happy New Year’s alone on a beautiful beach… turned into a LONG trip that I hope to never repeat. I will fly somewhere next time or go to Myanmar which is half the distance away!

Saturday night (12/27) was a fun evening out with my friends Amy, Steve, and Fiona in Phuket. If you love music, check out where I went… Rock City in Patong Beach has great cover bands for Metallica, AC/DC, and more. Danced my butt off! Needless to say we got back to our guest house a little late (and Fiona and I took a swim in our dresses!). Alcohol was involved and YES I had more than I've had in a long time but I was among friends and we took taxis and had a great time. Yay!


I decided since the trip to Malaysia wasn’t that long or far, I’d take a later bus and left around noon. One of my many poor choices that day! Lesson learned, if you receive advise on where to go/what to do – especially for a VISA run – double check your information and make sure it’s (1) accurate and (2) hasn’t changed!


The bus ride took over 8 hours (five what?). The bus also broke down after struggling over small hills for a couple hours which made it even slower. The great news was that when it finally died on the side of the road, a bus that was taking a huge group of fun Thai kids picked us up! They were on their way to Had Yai for the light festival. They didn’t speak English but we had a great time! I taught them cool high-five games, found out how old they are. We had a good laugh… I told them I am 36 and WOW. I got the “You are OLD” looks! Then a couple of the kids gave me little shell gifts which were so sweet!


Okay… next mistake (I digress… I forgot I was ranting here, not talking about the FUN parts!). I left a bag with my travel book, water, study papers and sun glasses on the kids’ bus. NICE. Good news is… I didn't leave anything that I can’t replace without spending a little money. Not life threatening – just annoying!


I finally arrived in Had Yai about 9:30-10:00 pm. The Thais were telling me that Penang was NOT near the border. It was a 7-8 hour bus ride further from Had Yai. What??? I understood it was “very close to the border and mini-buses run all the time.” Hmm… another piece of bad info… mini buses stop running at 7pm and even on a minibus, it takes at least 2 hours to reach Penang from the border. AND the border is almost an hour away. The mini buses were not running by the time I arrived so… next step…


Keep in mind that I have now overstayed my visa extension by one day. It costs 500 baht per day for overstaying so I needed to get to Malaysia Sunday night or pay another 500 baht. When I got off the bus, a Canadian and Australian were arranging to make a border run in a taxi. They however would be returning to Had Yai directly from the border because they only needed the 15 day extension. I needed to continue on to Penang from the border.


Next mistake… I have been short on cash for several weeks now because it’s difficult to get to a bank during operating hours to cash my travelers checques. I had to borrow 2000 baht just to get across the border which didn't leave a lot of room for making bad choices... With the cost to get to the border and my new challenges, it was costing more and more to get things done.


And… yep – you got it – mistake number 50… I decide to go ahead and stay in Malaysia because the Thai embassy closes at noon the next day in Penang and I have to get there in time – this is a two day process. The embassy is closed on New Year’s and if I don’t go NOW then I am stuck in Malaysia until January 5/6th.


By the time I get into Malaysia though it’s 11:50 pm(10:50 Thai time). The border closes at midnight. I decide – no worries, I’ll stay the night at a hotel nearby and hit a bank and the bus in the early morning.


The taxi is 20 Ringet/200 baht. I am down to 1000 and 100 baht (separate notes – no change)… and no ringet of course! I’m alone, it’s dark, there are NO people except for a few taxi drivers and some guys relieving themselves in the parking lot. Luckily the taxi drivers were nice and helpful or I could have been in a bit of a fix. The border on the Malaysia side is kind of remote - it's about a 15-20 minute drive from the border to Chelang (sp?) the nearest town! The taxi driver tries one hotel which is full. We go to another which has a room but is a tinsy bit shady and expensive - the cost is 600 baht and he can give me change in ringet – which I can use to pay the taxi driver. YAY. But... this leaves me with 300 baht.


By the time I’ve reached my room, I’m a bundle of nerves and want to cry. I try texting my boyfriend and find… I only have enough baht for 2 texts and… he can’t call cuz my phone doesn’t work the same in Malaysia and he's having issues with his phone as well! He can text me but that’s it. So he’s trying to make sure I’m okay, (luckily I had added that I was safe) but I had no way to call or renew minutes or get money to tell him not to worry after I've probably freaked him out!… Nothing I could do but sleep and be happy I was okay. (And sleep wasn’t good … I also slept with my head on my clothes just in case there were bugs – ugh!).


Morning arrives and I walk to the bus station. According to someone there the bus is 40 ringet (I am down to 20 ringet, 100 baht and a couple US single dollar bills). So I think maybe I’ll just wait for the bank to open. Nope – not happening! According to the guy at the bus station It’s a holiday in Malaysia and the banks are closed. WHAT??? So… I have enough for the 15 ringet/150 baht trip back to the border to go back into Thailand to go to a bank. Luckily they let me back in! (I wasn't sure at the time how many extensions you can do)!


It’s 7:00 am in Thailand and the bank opens at 9:00 am. The mini buses go by every hour (?) but I don’t have money to catch one… keep in mind I have to be in the Thai embassy in Penang BEFORE noon. Malaysia is one hour later. AND I’ve forgotten my passport photos, US dollars and copy of the passport. Good move on my part, eh?


I realize that Penang is no longer a reality. I cannot get there in time to get my visa. I’ve spent a lot of extra money, a long painful trip to get only a 15 day extension. The good news is… I have a 15 day extension, I was able to get back into Thailand, I didn’t end up in a ditch somewhere and was safe and once the banks opened in Thailand, I had money to renew my calling card, get cash to return home and buy some food and a mini bus back to the bus station in Had Yai. YAY!


I caught the 11:00 am bus for Phang Nga. The bus drivers were really funny. Until I realized they were saying I was ugly – IN ENGLISH thank you! – so I laughed and gave the driver a look to let him know I heard and they hushed! Later I said enough Thai phrases to let them know I understand some of the other things they said too! Oops! I know I’m not hot like some of the lady boys here but seriously! I’m not UGLY! I got a good laugh out of it though!


Finally got back to Yaowawit about 6:30pm Monday night.


My two days of traveling was followed by a week of being very sick. I spent three days including New Year's in bed with a high fever and aches and pains and a chest cold. Yippee! Ina took a great picture of me in bed on New Year's! Happy Happy to you! New Year's Eve I went to Kapong Hospital for some medicine to bring my fever down (it was 38.3'C when I went in). Finally got it down with good meds. Saturday my friend Fiona took me to the Phuket-Bangkok Hospital and I had blood work done to make sure I didn't have Dengue Fever or any other really bad illness. I've also lost a lot of weight since I left the U.S. and have been sick enough times to start to get concerned. Luckily this time I just had the flu but was extremely dehydrated and exhausted. (Not sleeping well either). Finally got good rest at Fiona's on Saturday and then I've spent the last two days taking naps and going to bed early. I'm finally recovering but it was a bit OVER the top.


What a trip. As my friend Fiona says, “It’s about the journey, not the destination…” She’s right. It’s also about good planning and overall I did my darndest to get that visa! Ah well. Just got all the bad luck karma out of the way in two days. Pretty awesome, eh?

I hope the rest of you had a nicer New Year's Eve and Day.