On Oct. 30th, I left with Martin and Johan on an overnight bus to Mukdahn, Thailand to cross the border to Suvanahket, Laos. The trip was uneventful and we were within the first 10 people in line. At 9am the gates opened and we were let into the Thai Embassy. The boys are ahead of me in line and once their paperwork is in they head off to the coffee shop across the street. The immigration officer told me that I had 3 pieces of information missing on 2 different forms, all written in Thai. He circled them and told me to call my school and come back. Well, I'm in Laos with a Thai sim card...no service. Luckily, Johan had service and he and I managed to get ahold of my boss who was able to fill in 2 out 3 pieces of info I needed. We rushed back to see if the officer could explain what the 3rd piece of info was and gave us their phone number so my school could call. I sat and waited, I do not know if my school called or if the embassy talked to them. All I know is that I sat around for 30 minutes waiting. Eventually, it was decided that I would leave and we'd figure something else out.
I arrived at my hotel, The Queen's Inn. It was lovely and was my favorite part of this trip. The owner and I have a conversation about the dialects of America...I had to show off a titch.
I was able to call my school with wifi and proceeded to play phone tag into the evening. The options I was left with became cross at the border and then come back to Laos at the end of the month or go with their 'under the table' way for me to get a non-B. The second option would have cost me 15,000 baht, I declined that way because I was not going to pay that or do anything 'under the table.'
The following day we went back to the embassy to pick up the boys' passports, hopefully with non-O visas. Well, they also didn't get the visas they journeyed there to get. As I type this they are en route to South Africa to acquire the visas they need.
Overall, this was not a successful border run and all three of us were happy to be back.
My school and I decided that this time around I would go to the Laos capital, Vientiane, to get my non-B. The process is smoother there and you have to book an appointment. So with the appointment booked, the HR team began to fix the paperwork so that everything would work this next time around.On Nov 24, I flew to Udon Thani, Thailand...my first time flying by myself went well. From there I travelled to Nong Khai and crossed the border to Vientiane. I arrived at the Sailyomen Hostel by late morning and enjoyed their atmosphere and walked around the area. The next morning I walked to the embassy and waited until number 51 was called. This immigration officer spoke better English and told me that my paperwork was in order but that since I didn't have a cancellation letter from my first school she didn't know if I would get a non-B.
Everything was out of my hands at this moment, I do not do well with that. I tried to distract myself by reading and talking with family from back home. At this point, I also knew that I was out of border crossings so I thought that if this turned out badly that I was going to be going home to the states.The next afternoon I headed back to the embassy, again waited for my number. A lovely Thai woman checked my number and sent me to the line that was talking longer because people were being asked questions. The previous day I met a woman, Kristin, who was applying for her first non-B, she was directed to the other line and told me she would wait for me. Well, I got up to the line and was told that I had been denied because I didn't have the cancellation letter. Shit.
There was a cafe across the street with wifi where my first call was to Genie, she was in class (a reasonable reason), so I then called my boss to inform her what was up. By this point, Kristin had learned that I could still get into Thailand by flying into Bangkok from Vientiane. Genie called and we both messaged the MediaKids/PTK people we could in hopes that I could get this letter before 4 pm otherwise I was booking a flight. It was agreed that I should head back to the hostel to get another room for that night. By the time I got there, about 30 mins, my phone was full of messages and missed calls and the letter. The owner of the Hostel was able to print my letter and got me a Tuktuk to the embassy. I had 30 mins to hopefully get this missing letter in.I handed my letter and paperwork to this younger Thai woman and she handed it to her boss. I sat next to a pregnant woman from Croatia name Bo, who was in a similar situation. About 10 minutes later, the Thai woman called my number and told me that my non-B had been approved. I was beaming, thanked her, and told her she made my day to which she smiled back. Another 20 minutes later, Bo and I left with our visas and she offered to let me join her in the taxi she already had booked back to the border where we crossed successfully and went out separate ways.
I spent that night at the MutMee and had dinner with PP before flying back to Bangkok on Wed afternoon.
Dog therapy with Dolly at MutMee
Everything worked out in the end but I do not wish this uncertainty and anxiety on anybody else.
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