Exactly how many Thai governmental functionaries can Evo piss off in one day? About as many licks as it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop, apparently.
It’s not a matter of if but when you get in trouble for bending rules and exploiting loopholes. And that finally happened to me in Thailand. No, I didn’t get a speeding ticket or nabbed on a visa overstay. It’s that these people are a bit of a stickler when it comes to paperwork, and my shortcuts caught up to us on Sheila’s latest job change.
While it’s not deportation-worthy, it’s serious enough that I had to make a run back up to the Department of Consular Affairs to get things straightened out. Bureaucrats are bad enough to deal with on a good day. But when you’ve been caught not playing by the rules? They let you live a slice of personal hell. So much that I decided to re-tell my experience with an audio play in three acts.
Act One: Mrs. Doubtful You’ll Get The Translator
Act Two: Choose Your Own Information Desk Adventure
Act Three: Baelzebub Needs You To Come In On Saturday
Aside from poetic licenses taken on accents and dialog, this play is a farcical but all-too -accurate representation of my day at The Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok. Maybe next time I’ll just follow the rules? (No… probably not.)
We received our latest care package from TravelSmith. Mostly clothes for Sheila and a new carryon bag, so there’s no fashion show. But they remain a great place to get your gear and clothes for your next travel adventure, even if it’s not quite as globe-hopping as ours.
Next month’s postcards were acquired in Khao Lak, Thailand last month. And the good news is that we have extra, so if you get signed up as a Patron of ours (it’s super cheap!) you’ll get one, too.
Music for our show is graciously provided by the fantastic band Velella Velella. They make killer tunes, and you should buy all of their stuff. It’s fabulous!
Want more ShEvo in your life? Well… you’ve got options. Snapchat, Facebook, Flickr... those are just the beginning. Check out ShEvo.wtf for links to your preferred listening post. We’ve quite a few!
This One Time (The Podcast) features retellings and recreations of the best (or worst depending on perspective) travel stories encountered in a life lived abroad. Stay subscribed on iTunes or whatever else you use to listen to podcasts and you’ll never miss an episode.
