The Thai Run

The Thai run's teamed with www.samsenroad.com


After living in Thailand for 4 years you can imagine that I have done a fair few border runs in my time. These have to be done by all foreigners to get that precious visa in their passport.
Most foreigners go to Cambodia to get the visa and I used to as well. Before I tell the story of my great visa run I would like to paint a picture of the bad one, that’s the trip to Cambodia. You have to remember that thousands of backpackers and expats turn up there every day. So you can already imagine the cue which forms in the blistering heat. Also you can imagine the over run immigration officers. Thailand is known as the land of smiles but the Thai immigration officers seem to leave their smile at home before coming to work. They have a snatch the passport out of the hand and grumpy style about them. When I went one of the officers he asked me some questions which had no point to them what so ever and demanded an unsarcastic answer, which I gave maintaining a smile at all times. When you make it past the officers you are hounded by kids trying to get anything they can. Then you’re hoarded into a casino waiting for the visa. The food is bad and the sight of families with their children gambling there life savings away is saddening.
The whole trip is a nightmare. So one day Ash and Jay told me about Mae sot (แม่สอด). I would like now to take the opportunity to thank the rat bar members. So now time to tell about the great trip.
From Thewet Market to Mor Chit Takes about 35 minutes and costs 70 Baht in a taxi. Mor Chit is the northern bus terminal in Bangkok and from this station is vast amount of buses going to the north. One of the places it goes to is Mae sot (แม่สอด) which is a town and district in Tak Province. Also it is borders the country Myanmar via a bridge which reaches of a river. So after a couple of beers and a good feed I made my way to the station, bought my ticket and lept on the bus at Ten pm. I must admit I was a little drunk but this helps getting some good sleep on the bus as you are in for an Eight hour journey. By Eleven pm I was fast in dream land and reentered the real world at Five in the morning. The police stop the bus near Mae sot (แม่สอด) to check for Burmese travelers, I’ll put that politely. So I arrived at Mae sot (แม่สอด) at six in the morning, drank a coffee and trebled because it was freezing cold. Then I jumped onto a motorcycle taxi and headed for the border for lees then sixty Baht. The cue at this border consisted of me and a guy from Birmingham and that was it. We handed our passports to this officer who smiled and laughed with his friends in the office. Once he asked me if I had a girlfriend, which I said “no, I don’t”. He replied”Ooo you should have one they are very good”
Then we walked over the bridge into Myanmar. I was taking pictures on my mobile phone all the time. Taking pictures of people with baskets on their head, they were coming into Thailand to sell their goods. At half way across the bridge we were welcomed to the most beautiful sunrise. From the dark the sun came, which light up the trees, mountains and the river glistened. It was stunning. As you reach the Myanmar immigration you feel a certain sense of worry. Well there is no need,the officers were extremely friendly. We handed are passports in and was given a ticket and told to walk around the town for 20 minutes or more if we liked and come back to get our passport. As you walk around Myanmar people smile at you and some even chat with you. The smell of the place is lovely with that wood burning, joss sticks combination which sweeps around the town. The town has good food, good coffee and tea and if you want to try a Burmese beer you can. As we walked up and down the towns roads. We saw monks taking alms, sellers in the market working away, temples and some very beautiful women.
After Thirty minutes we headed back to the immigration office to which we collected our passport with a nice small stamp in our passport. You must remember the Cambodian stamp takes a whole page. We walked over the bridge and took in more of the sights which this time included people sailing over the river in rubber tires.
The guy from Birmingham met up with his girlfriend so we shook hands, got our Thai visa checked and went on our own way. I had to take a songtail to the bus station. A songtail is a 10 passenger van which is open to the weather. I had to stand on the back as it was full and as it left the station I had a huge grin on my face. It was very exciting.
I made to the station at 7.50am and managed to find a seat on the eight am bus. Picked my seat which it seemed was at the back of the bus but somehow had to sit at the front. This worked out for two reasons. The first was I could take pictures out the window so I got some great pictures. But the second reason was even better.
You know how sometimes you travel a long distance and the person sitting beside you is a complete twat. Well my seating partner was the complete opposite. Sarah was from Australia but her dad form Thailand and her mum from Iran. We started to chat after finding our drinks tray was not functioning well. A nice light chat with smiles, after the conversation I was feeling tired after the long trip so went back to dream world. Where did I wake up? I woke up on her shoulder. She laughed as I sprung up and said “sorry””don’t worry” she replied. I asked how long I had been sleeping on her shoulder “1 hour” she replied.
Stop right there. I had been there for 1 hour. She didn’t move once while I was asleep. Now as well as being a very beautiful woman she is kind hearted. The man who marries her will be a very lucky man. There is a saying in Thai which is far from the eye but close to heart. She might be in Australia and I am here but she has made a new friend for life. I would like to say “Thank you Sarah”.
We got the station and waved goodbye, I turned round and thought to myself “why doesn’t she live in Thailand” So jump on the bike and off to Get Gai. On to the bus and back to Thewet Market. Opened my door, turned on the computer and wrote this.