A Boring Little Blog With Great Pictures

    Hey, friends, fans, family, and lurkers. I haven’t been updating this blog as much as I should, and while not a great deal of exciting stuff has been happening, I will try to make the boring stuff as interesting as possible.

Still reading? Wow, you people are dedicated.

    I had to make another visa run to Georgia. I hope this is the last one! Not because I don’t like Georgia but doing the 3 x 3 bounce is so old. What is a three by three bounce? This is when I have to fly three hours in one direction to fly back, albeit at a slightly different angle, three hours to Tbilisi. In reality, it is two hours and twenty minutes in one direction and two hours and thirty in the other direction, but that sounds overtly precise and hence boring.

    Georgia was as welcoming as it always is for tourists. I think I am getting used to this sincere and generous welcome past the point of surprise. Not that I am taking it for granted. I would never do that but, I was less surprised when my friend/brother (from another Mother) picked me up at the airport and joined me for a great lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. We spent the afternoon catching up and enjoying each other's company as if it hadn’t been a week. It had been almost three months.
I returned to the Mais Guest House and settled in for the potential two or three-week process to begin on Monday. While I have found a professional person to do all the filing and paperwork it is always a gamble when it comes to time. I had the weekend to kick back and enjoy some cigars with friends at the Davidoff Cigar Lounge. It was a great reunion, and we all fell back into the comfortable routine cigar smokers have and understand. If you’re not a cigar smoker well, I can’t explain it. We all caught up on current events, and I spent lots of time and effort explaining exactly what is a Donald Trump and how this could have happened in the self-proclaimed greatest democracy in the world. It was very much like watching your high school tough guy get his ass handed to him by a Catholic School Cheerleader Squad for the Georgians. They were kilometers past 'couldn’t believe it' status. I got the impression it shook their faith in the democratic process. To put this into perspective, you have to remember how hard and how many people sacrificed everything to achieve the government they now enjoy. We are not talking distance past events or obscure events referenced in speeches by people they don’t know. No, we are talking individuals who held the very hands of the dying. The ones who lived for months without power, water, and getting bread required a ticket and a trip across town. A city plunged into chaos and lawlessness while staring down the twin barrels of external influencing super powers.
I did as much as I could to explain the electoral college and how that system worked and how the courts would act as a buffer to the more crazy ideas that the Office of POTUS might try to run with. It didn’t go a very long way to reassure, but it did add up to some very good topics to discuss and so the room was lively with the discussion.

   I arrived Monday at the office of my professional paperwork person. I had brought a package of Russian special cigarettes to him as a gift. This is a good thing for foreigners to remember. The act of tipping in North America is standard. But this is not the case in other countries and if you just do the same thing you would do at home you reaffirm the RICH American/Canadian tourist idea. The act of bringing him something from Russia meant I thought of him before I left Russia and carried significantly more impact than just saying “keep the change.” This was my third time filling, or rather watching someone else, complete the paperwork.
    The Russian Consulate is in the Swiss Embassy compound and the line up to get in is a chaotic affair. Line and turns are never as simple as saying they are in London England. When I finally got to the window the lady behind the glass recognized me and smiled and seemed impressed that my Russian had improved as much as it has. She commented my accent is getting better. She then also handed back my paperwork and said I needed to complete it in Russian. I was surprised as the last time she wouldn’t take it completed in Russian.
I returned to my professional, and she was as surprised as I was. So surprised that she pulled out Google Translate to make sure what I was saying was what she understood I was saying. Translation complete we did the paperwork again in Russian and added a photocopy of my last visa to the one containing my identification page of my passport. A new addition to the requirement from last time.
I returned with two sets of applications, one in Russian and one in English. The Russian one was kept, and I was handed back the English one with a sticky note that I could pick up my visa on Friday after six in the evening. I walked out of the office surprised that my visa would be ready in only five days.

    The next week included numerous invitations for supper. Supper in Georgian means a feast. So for tourists, it is important you know that giving time between these invitations is wise. The liver will need at least forty-eight hours of healing. My liver is an Olympic superstar, so I did three of these in a row. Max made a great traditional dinner at his home and brought me home safe and sound. Nodar took me out to a great traditional restaurant and then escorted me back to Mais Guest house. Shalva, Bekka, David, and Zura organized a couple of dinner deliveries to the club, and thankfully the club is a close stumble home. Public Service Notice for Canadians. Georgians may think you can keep up with them when it comes to consumption of Wine and Brandy as a result of my poor judgments. To paraphrase Riddick; “Do not step up if you can’t keep up because you’ll just die.”

I went back to the Embassy on Friday only to find out it was closed.

    I picked up my visa on Monday and booked my return trip to Anapa Russia. Short notice bookings are never cheap, but I was glad I had not booked it ahead of time. The return trip saw Max and his Wife stepping up again and taking me to the airport at one in the morning. Flights from Tbilisi are less than great for connecting to anyplace other than Turkey. So Anapa saw me arrive with zero sleep in twenty-six hours. Home in my bed saw me doing a “just to be safe” two-week detox program. Not that I needed to, or have a problem, but kind of like doing your oil change early because you’ve been doing some hard driving.

    Ever notice how cats are usually sitting alone? They never look lonely. I have this local cat that recognizes me and yet never approaches. In fact, if I talk to him he gives me a look like I just disturbed him from solving Einstein’s issue of gravitational waves. Cats can be like that sometimes, but I do envy their ability just to sit and seemingly enjoy the moment. I love walking in Anapa and routinely walk several kilometers a day. If I try to sit and enjoy a view for longer than nine minutes, I get restless. I need something distracting, like cigar ash falling into my lap or a conversation. This conversation doesn’t have to include anyone else. I am a writer I can talk to myself; it’s on my Writers Guild card. These conversations usually focus on things I need to do, should do, and want to do but can’t. I hate the first and last ones the most. I need to write a blog! Well, we see how effective that one has been.

Today I got to it. The need to do box is at this moment ticked with the proper Government issued pen. The want to do but can’t is still on hold. The center does, after all, hold what the rest can’t.

     I also managed to get my train ticket today to celebrate my Russian Mom’s Birthday. My Anapa friend Lasha was lots of help in this endeavor. If only to confirm it was done right. Luckily he was as the girl messed up my last name. In fairness it is hard. My last name in Russian is spelled KOBE, and so she had dropped the Y and added an E, COVEE. So if you remember your grammar lessons “Drop the Y and add a…” Hardly could blame the girl as in the head it does sound right. Probably would have worked but correctly is better. The trick now will be seeing if the conductor of the train will let me jump ship at the village before Beslan. It isn’t a proper stop, and the train only stops for five minutes for a “mechanical check.” Wish me luck and thanks for reading the boring and mundane.

You want excitement order or download my newest book  Redemption’s Bullet from Amazon!

Vientiane and the Visa run to Laos

     

One can’t spend too much time in Thailand talking with expats or visitors of a longer duration without the topic of Visa runs being raised. Everyone has a tale, a story, or as my friend Riz would say; “porky pies." The difference between the stories being the storyteller’s motivation, to regale, brag or instill fear. A search of forums and the web have all sorts of advice on the cheapest, easiest, best way. The problem a researcher runs into is not just the inaccuracy of the story based on the above, but also the when. South East Asia is a quickly growing and changing place. What was “true” on Friday may be not so true on Monday morning? The original story may be slightly embellished, proving the writer's powers of negotiation, or entirely fabricated. Armed with this knowledge and understanding Inga and I set off to Laos on a Sunday afternoon in February.

            While cheap, easy, best, seem at the start to be definitive in nature they are not. What is cheap depends on your budget and what you place value in. I value time and safety over money so for me cheap was a Nok Air flight from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani near the Laos border. Mini Vans do make the same trip at about a third the cost, but I have heard “tales” of horror. Even if these horror stories are not as true as the telling the mere fact of being stuck in a van for eight hours at the mercy of the driver for bathroom breaks on challenging Thai roads made the decision an easy one.

            Once in Udon Thani the options for a ride to the Friendship Bridge and border are varied. Bus, minibus, or “go now limo” are the most convenient. Apparently a city bus style route exists but without a Thai interpreter that option died on arrival. We opted for the ‘go now limo’ and, for us, it was a good value. During the hour long ride thru the city and out to the border, I witnessed three Minibus incidents ranging from close to stupidly tight how did they not just crash.

            The border itself is run very well on both sides. You hand your filled out departure card and with two stamps and a smile your leave Thailand. You leave the building and then run into a modern day sheep herder. His job is to get you into one of the buses that drive across the bridge. I have read you can walk across, but I don’t know how one would do this as the chaos in this no-mans-land area between the two countries is intense. So he directed me back to immigration and Inga spotted the bus ticket seller just to the right of the immigration door. Tickets purchased we were herded onto a waiting bus for the trip. It isn’t a long trip but considering dusk had just fallen, and our mosquito spray was packed, forty Bhat was cheap and easy. On the other side of the bridge, one fills out the forms and the Immigration Officer conducts an on the spot interview in superb English and polite manner. You hand over your passports with the required cash amount for your country and in three minutes you have a cool looking visa allowing you a month in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos.

            We were approached during the process by a young man offering help and smiling I said that my English was pretty good and I could muddle through it. He smiled, understanding, and then offered a ride into town. A short negotiation of how much and what kind of transport and we had our ride into Vientiane. He hovered close and checked how we were doing and politely offered suggestions. The ride into the capital of Laos was comfortable in an air-conditioned minivan with us as the only passengers.

            Arriving at the Lao Golden Hotel had me questioning my decision to book it. I knew it was very close to the Consulate of Thailand and was a three-star hotel. The street appeal of the property is a little lacking. Inside however the staff were excellent and the night manager had enough English to make it all work.  The day personnel and the hotel manager speak perfect English and the three days we stayed were very pleasant. The breakfast included with the stay is good and well executed and the kitchen staff and manager very professional.

            Our helpful driver had told us that Monday would be busy and to arrive at the consulate early.  Inga and I went for a night time walk to find the consulate and enjoyed the cool jungle air. It was only about five minutes by foot and the neighborhood very quiet after Chiang Mai.  We arrived back at the hotel and got an early start on sleep, both of us tired from the travel and wondering how the easier, cheaper routes would have felt.

            The Consulate opened at 830 and we arrived at 7:45 to find a line about fifty meters long. The line stretched along the narrow sidewalk, already crammed with people selling services and food. We were approached by a couple of people politely offering to fill out the forms for us and we declined and then set to watching the spectacle. Many different nationalities surrounded us and most had come on minibusses doing the cheap, easy visa run. They looked tired and happy to be standing in line. We watched one of the service helpers diligently set up his stall. To say the man was detail  orientated would have been wronging thousands with illness. I knew we needed a photocopy of the front page of our visa and had intended to do it at the embassy on the top floor but the price was right and I knew this guy would do it correctly the first time. He offered to look at my paperwork and concluded that we needed photocopies of our Laos visa, and stamps, and I needed a new picture. He also gave us two applications and cut and glued our pictures on them. The price he charged was about 20 Bhat more than if I had done it inside. A great value for a while, you wait service.

            Inside the embassy grounds are beautiful and amazingly so given the enormous amount of human traffic that is seen on a daily basis. A small snack bar provides coffee and treats at a reasonable price and there is even a small smoking area. We stood in line until we reached a covered area to the rear of the compound and then received a number after our documents got a once over from junior staff. Inga and I found a spot and filled out the forms and waited for our number to be called. It is run very efficiently and the staff are very helpful and polite. We left after about two hours total time without passports to explore the city.

       

    Vientiane is very different than Chiang Mai and so are the people. Things are about the same price with the exception of street food being a little cheaper and Tuk Tuks being more expensive. The city itself is charming with the French and Soviet influence very apparent in the buildings and road designs. The people are a little shyer but still pleasant. English is spoken less frequently here and Bhat and Kip used as a single currency. In fact, the speed at which they can do the conversion is pretty impressive. We walked perhaps too far on this day. The weather was sweltering and the humidity very high yet we pushed ourselves to go see That Luang a huge temple complex northeast of the city center.  It was impressive and very different from Thai temples. The return journey found both the temperature and our blood pressure climbing. We relaxed the rest of the day and enjoyed an excellent meal at the hotel.

            The next morning found us again walking, yet this time in the rain. A cloud system had rolled in cutting off the direct sunlight. We enjoyed a long walk to the waterfront and found little shelter points along the way to dodge the greater deluges. This is jungle rain after all and when it comes down it comes down! To be honest both Inga and I remarked how we missed the rainstorms of Vancouver and we found a little café and enjoyed a drink both of us missing BC a little.

            The rain stopped and we took a route down to the Presidential Palace and the Chao Anouvong Park and Monument. We had the entire place to ourselves as everyone had the good sense to stay out of the rain. But to us the rain was warm and the cooler temperature allowed for a longer walk. The morning swept by and soon I had us walking in the direction of the Embassy to pick up our passports and hopefully our sixty-day tourist visas.

         

There wasn’t a lineup when we arrived at the Embassy and we each got a number and waited for them to open the doors to main building. This is the secure side of the Embassy and it is where you paid your fees the day before. The people waiting in the large room were most of the same individuals we had seen the day before. Some looking very worse than they had a short twenty-four hours ago. The system was again smooth and number driven and Inga and I both received the visas we requested.
That good news and stress gone from our day we had a small lunch and recharge before heading once again on foot to the waterfront steps to enjoy a cigar and sunset over the Mekong River before hitting the night market.