We're Not in Kansas Anymore Yet

Been a while since a post, but I've got great news for this one!

Teay has been back in Bangkok, slaving away on her Master's degree (specifically writing her thesis proposal, which has now been approved subject to some tweaking) for over a month. So, we made some special Valentine's Day plans and I came to visit her last Friday (12th Feb) after school on the night train from Uttaradit to Bangkok.

On Saturday, we did some shopping at Siam Paragon, met up with Namwan and friend Matti, and decided to watch a movie. Teay has been interested in Avatar, which I didn't know a lot about but thought sounded OK. However, it was on normal screens long enough that the only showings still going on were in 3D on IMAX screens. Being "kee neyow" (cheap), I was semi reluctant to pay for the more expensive tickets, but I figured a bit of a splurge in the Valentine's Day spirit was in order.

Wow. I thought 3D in movies was likely to be an overused, semi-cheesy gimmick, but not anymore. Avatar in 3D was absolutely amazing. It would have been worth the price of admission just as a tech/visual demonstration, but I thought the story was actually quite good also. I'll give it a hearty recommendation, whether you can see it in 3D or on a standard screen -- and Teay liked it a lot also.

On Sunday, we went with Namwan and Matti on a Chao Praya river tour, and then via ferry to Koh Kret island in the river. Koh Kret is fairly small, and famous for making Thai-style snacks and candy as well as ceramic and clay pots / cups / sculptures etc. We walked through the cramped vendor stall areas, and then got out into a narrow open path that goes around the perimeter of the island -- a total of a bit over 5 kilometers. We decided to walk all the way around. It was pretty warm, but we had good shade most of the time, and pretty good scenery the whole way around. Namwan and Matti gave up and hired a passing motorbike to take them back to the starting area at about 2/3 of the way around, but Teay and I did the whole walk. Tired, but victorious!


On Monday, we mostly relaxed at Teay's house and prepared for the next day which was:

Teay's tourist visa interview. We've been collecting paperwork and reference letters (thanks Mom and Dad, and Ken and Sheila!) for a while. There are all sorts of conflicting reports on how difficult the process is, what information one needs to present, etc., so we tried to do the best we could and collect any and all potentially relevant material together. Teay's interview appointment was at the US Embassy, scheduled for 9AM.

We got a fairly early start, double checked our forms etc., and took a songtao (pickup truck with seats in the bed) to the skytrain station near Teay's house, and from there on to her university. Teay bought a flower garland and took it to the statue of King Rama 5 - "Chulalongkorn", for whom her university is named. Presenting flowers or incense to statues can be done for good luck. After she had completed there, we hopped in a taxi and asked to go to the US Embassy.

Unfortunately, our good luck hadn't kicked in yet. The taxi driver said he knew where the Embassy was, but wasn't really driving the right way according to what Teay thought she knew about the location. I was, as usual, navigationally worthless. So Teay called her friend and verified the location, then asked the driver how he intended to proceed. He waffled a bit and wouldn't give a straight answer, so Teay demanded that he stop and let us out. We did pay the fare up to that point. He had been going vaguely in the correct direction, so we're not sure whether he was intentionally drawing out the time to increase the potential fare or if he was just not sure about the actual location of the embassy.

With time becoming more of an issue (although not critical yet), we zipped over to a tuk-tuk. You may have seen tuk-tuks on movies filmed in Thailand - the 3-wheeled motorbikes with a bench seat for passengers in the back. They can squeeze through gaps in traffic and get you to a destination a bit faster, but they also have a tendency to raise your blood pressure or give you white knuckles more often that a taxi. Anyway, the tuk-tuk driver was confident about the location and quoted us a fair price for the full trip (no meters in tuk-tuks), so we hopped in.

He got us there quite quickly, and was a pretty safe driver also! Teay got in line outside the Embassy at about 8AM. The interview information told us to arrive at least 30 mins ahead of time, so we were in good shape being an hour early. These visa interviews have to be done solo or in a family group of Thais only, so I couldn't go in with her even though it is the American Embassy. So I just wished her luck one more time and watched her disappear through the security gates at about 8:15.

Then I waited. I managed to distract myself with sudoku on my cellphone until about 9. I figured that the interview might last 15-30 minutes, so guessed that she might be out by 9:30. 9:30 passed, then 10. Then 11. At about 11:30 they posted a sign on the door that said they were closed for additional entry until 12:45. I figured that meant that she had missed the morning shift and would have to wait until after lunch to get the interview done. So, I chatted with some folks who had been shut out until after lunch also.

Just a bit after 12:00, Teay popped out of the gate. I was figuring that she would either look elated or pretty grim (and quite possibly fake grim just to tease me -- she likes to mess with me like that!), but she didn't have a strong look either way. She explained that when she had finished the interview, they didn't give her a straight yes or no. They just kept her passport, and said that they would mail it back to her with the answer within a week.

We didn't know quite what to make of that. Everyone we have read about or talked to said that they got an answer, a solid yes or no, at the end of the interview. Not committing to an answer seemed like a somewhat bad sign (possibly attempting to avoid a confrontation with someone who had been rejected). On the other hand, keeping the passport seemed like a good sign -- they have to keep the passport to affix the visa if the answer is yes. So, we resigned to waiting it out.

I hopped back on the train to Uttaradit on Wednesday morning. Before leaving the station, an American guy sat down next to me, on vacation in Thailand for just about a week. I got to chatting with him, and it turned out that he does government contract work for various groups and agencies. One of the things he has done is working with US embassies, and he knew a bit about the visa process. After I described Teay's situation, he said he knew of only one reason that they wouldn't give an answer on the spot. Along with the interview, they take your thumbprint and also a photograph on your application form and run them through a background check. Apparently, the system occasionally hangs up on one and doesn't complete the database check as quickly as usual. If they don't have that result by the end of the interview but are otherwise ready to approve the applicant, they hold onto the passport and will send it back with approval or denial subject to the completed check. So, he said that as long as they didn't find Teay's prints at a crime scene or something, he figured that she would get the visa.

That gave us some additional positive thoughts, but we didn't want to start celebrating just yet.

Today, Teay called me to say that the packet had arrived from the embassy at her Aunt's house (she has the most secure mailbox, so Teay had them send it there). Teay's Mom had picked up the envelope and had it at her shop. Teay's Aunt and Mom can't really read English, so no peeking had occurred. I went to pick it up, opened the envelope, and quickly read the first page:

ATTENTION!
Please check your visa!
...

So, I knew she had been approved! I celebrated with Teay's Mom a bit and then drove back home. Once back, I checked the visa a little more thoroughly, as suggested by the cover page. I didn't see any mistakes on the information the notice said to check -- passport number, date of birth, name, gender, etc. all OK. Then, I scanned down to:

Issue date: 17FEB2010
Expiration date: 15FEB2020
Entries: M

It took me several long seconds to process all that. I thought that in general, first-time applicants were given a 3-month, single entry visa, so I was expecting to see that. A 10 year, multiple-entry visa will be great, and will give us no excuse to hold off on coming back for more visits!

So, the plan now is to get tickets to come for a trip in mid to late March, and stay for about 1 month. We're looking forward to introducing Teay to everyone for the first time in person! I'll try to update as I know more about specific dates, etc.

So, to US family and friends: see you in March!

ALSO: For photos from my Valentine's Day trip to Bangkok, check Teay's Picasa gallery, specifically her Valentine's Day sets ONE and TWO.