Get to Know: LAOS (Part 1)

Last October 11, 2010, I was finally able to travel to Laos, a country located on the northeastern borders of Thailand. It was actually a long overdue trip for me, since most of the Filipinos I know have been there already. Many foreigners in Thailand process or extend their visas through the Royal Thai Consulate in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Going to Laos for visa run is a common practice among tourist visa holders to extend their stay in the Kingdom for another two months or so. Foreigners who seek employment, on the other hand, can also process their Non – Immigrant Business Visa (visa for workers like me) in Laos. There are agencies in Bangkok that facilitates visa processing in Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. You just have to pay, go with the trip and receive the stamped passports in time. Processing through an agency is a very convenient practice. You just have to choose an agency that would best serve your needs.

After booking a Laos trip with Philip’s agency, I prepared myself for my first visa processing outside Thailand. For two years, I had my visa applications inside the country and never had the chance to process in Laos. It was like hitting two birds with one stone – processing my Non B visa and traveling in Laos for the first time. I had mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness. I don’t know what to expect, but I just thought it would be the same road my mother had taken when she went to Laos few months back. The only difference was that I was alone. But in a way, it will not make so much difference. I am a solo traveler at times and so far, I enjoyed the company of myself.

At 6.30 PM, I already found the agency’s address. I went up to the sixth floor of PB Building and filled out forms and immigration cards. For the first time, I met Philip. I was talking to him a number of times on phone and so that time I finally met the person behind the strong, seemingly angry British accent voice. He speaks perfect English and to my surprise, he has a quite pleasing personality. As expected, there would be other Filipinos joining the trip. As I fill out my documents, the Pinoys came in one by one. They seem to be very confident in filling out the forms, evidence that they have been doing visa runs for a long time. As for me, I was carefully writing and observing the people who came in and out. There were a lot of Pinoys on that trip and I didn’t want to mingle with them. Filipinos here in Thailand are known to be noisy travelers. Stories say other nationalities are bothered by the out loud conversations of Filipinos that’s why the agency decided to have one van for Filipinos only.

After furnishing my documents, I went out to grab dinner in one of the most Filipino-populated community in Bangkok, Klongtan district. It is a short 5-minute walk from the PB building, so it was hassle-free. I ate pad krapao as usual, and met up with Shay, my co-teacher. She was so nice to wait for me until the call time, 8.30 PM. She accompanied me with her advices in traveling in Laos and mingling with other Filipinos I would definitely meet. While waiting, I already saw the group I would be traveling with. There were a lot of Turkish women, well that’s what we thought at first, but later on, I found out they were from Uzbekistan. Right on that moment, I decided not to marry an Uzbek women. They were interesting, but not my type.

At 8.45 PM, I already found myself comfortably seated on the front seat of a commuter van. The seat was very comfortable, one designed for long travels such as Bangkok to Vientiane. We were seven Filipinos in one van, three pairs and I. Later on, a Japanese couple was added. My fellow Pinoys didn’t want to have white guys. They were requesting if it would be an all-Filipino van, but other two Asians needed to be seated so we left for Laos with such arrangement.

It was a long and winding travel from Bangkok to the northeastern borders of Nongkhai. Along the way, we had several stops to rest and refuel. I realized that LPG powered vans need to refuel frequently, one reason why I had short, interrupted sleep. The national road was not well –lit, Northeastern Thailand or Esaan as we call it, was indeed sleeping. As I join them sleep, I didn’t mind the pirated yet very clear copy of DVD being played on board. We reached the border at 5:00 AM. The vans and other vehicles were on queue, waiting for the border gates to open. So I had my little time to go out of the van, look around and do some stretching. Pi Kan, the liaison officer who would help us all throughout the trip, checked our passports in a while and gave us neon green stickers, a sign that we were coming from Philip’s agency. She kept my passport with her, along with another Filipina, because I overstayed for three days. Thirty minutes later, the line of vehicles moved towards the border. Our driver drove just about 100 meters and dropped us in front of the passport control booths. By this time, we had to carry all of our bags. We were asked to fall in line in front of the passport booth, but they told us it wouldn’t open until 6:00 AM. Pi Kan called me up and asked me to wait in front of the immigration office. I thought I could pass the border immigration without paying the fine for overstaying, but my hidden wishes didn’t come true. I paid 1, 500 Baht (2, 100 Php) for a 3-day overstay. Yes, it’s 500 baht per day. One farang, Thai word for somebody from the West, even paid around 10, 000 pesos for a 14-day overstay. According to Philip, the immigration officers are happy about foreigners who overstay because they get a 15 % cut from the fines. After emptying my pocket, we waited for the vehicle to pick us up. I thought it would be the same van, but to my surprise, we had to transfer to a bus. The non-air-conditioned bus was jam-packed with people from different countries. I was able to grab a seat, (I’m that fast!) which gave me a window view of the great Mekong River which divides Thailand and Laos. The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connects the two countries. The bridge seems to be justly divided between two countries, the stripe flag of Thailand stands proudly as the Angkor-inspired Cambodian flag.

We, then reached the immigration checkpoint, the gateway to Laos. I jumped off the bus and lined up for the stamp. Surprisingly, the Laotian woman officer encoded Malaysia as my country in her database. How could she miss it? “PILIPINAS” isn’t small enough not to be noticed. I was about to correct her, but I just kept quiet not to create any problem. After all the immigration work, our group headed towards Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The 45-minute drive to the center of Laos was no different to any countryside travel I have been too. Green rice fields and bamboo houses dominated the landscape. I couldn’t be wrong that I was in just another Southeast Asian country.

Meeting Thai Actor: Mario Maurer

I am not a fan of Thai showbiz, but I happen to know some popular faces in this kingdom’s entertainment industry. Since Thai TV had accompanied me through my first months here, I was able to make sense of the alien TV programs in an entirely alien language. I also watched Thai movies, thinking that it would help me sharpen my Thai language skills. It was when I bumped into a popular Thai movie on Youtube, “Love of Siam”, that I was able to know Mario Maurer. If you happen to know this movie which [I believe] scored big time in the Philippines, you would probably know Mario Maurer. He bagged the Best Actor award in the tenth edition of Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila and numerous local awards.

I met him last Monday during their shooting day in one of the schools nearby. During that time, the production team was just preparing a new location. Unlike what I witnessed back home [whenever there are shootings] fans in multitude gather around the area to have a peek of their favorite movie stars. Here, the people seem not to pay much attention of the on going activity. I was just walking around the school to attend a caroling practice, and then I saw this guy roaming around in his skateboard. I recognized him easily because his face is a common cover of magazines here and I usually see him on TV with a 'thousand' microphones positioned towards his mouth. I was able to approach him without any interference from the production crew. I took a picture and he even started the conversation. “Where are you from?”, “You speak Tagalog? [he pronounced as Tahkalokh] So on and so forth. We talked about some random stuff for a good five minutes.

For an actor whose “star status” in Thailand right now is somewhat comparable to Sam Milby/John Lloyd Cruz, I was surprised that I was able to approach him that easily. No bouncers. No guards. No screaming. No pushing. No crowd control. No crowd. I didn’t even thought that I would see him right there in my usual weekend hang out.

By the way, he also shared something about his bestfriend, "My bestfriend is Filipino", he told me. 

(INPUT-Dec2611) The movie Mario was shooting during this time was "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" which became extremely popular among Filipino youngsters. Later on, Mario would sign an endorsement contract with Philippine's clothing brand, Penshoppe. The writer would also be an envy among some friends and officemates upon learning about this little story. 

*originally posted at www.multiply.com on December 8, 2009

20 Minutes in Cambodia

Last Thursday, I went to Cambodia.  Well, technically speaking, just a Thai-Cambodian border.

After traveling for about 5 hours east of Bangkok, we reached a quiet border town of Pom Nam Ron. Right on that border is the Banlaem Immigration checkpoint and one of the gateways to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Foreigners usually come here for one reason - to have their passports stamped, out of Thailand and back again! That's the typical visa run process in Thailand. Let's say you are a tourist and you would like to stay longer in Thailand but your period of stay is about to end already, you have to go out of the country to secure a double entry tourist visa. When that visa expires again and you still wanted to stay longer, you have to leave the country once again to be given few more months to stay . Sounds crazy? Some complex rules designed by some lunatic. But believe me, it's pretty simple.

Anyway, back to Cambodia. So I reached Banlaem for the first time. As the bus approached a seemingly busy market at the border, I already saw the two border gates of two countries. And I was able to see Cambodia from afar! Excitement eh?! Not really. So I jumped down the bus and had my passport stamped at the Immigration Office. The office was as big as a baranggay hall, a decent size for a quiet border town. After lining up, I handed my passport to the liaison officer who had been taking good care of us since morning. She told us, "You can go to Cambodia, go to the toilet, shopping for 20 minutes! OK?! After 20 minutes, you come back here, I wait here for you."

So as the first timer, I spent no time sitting around. I grabbed my bag, turn on my camera and took photos of the border. Twenty minutes was all I got. Then I traveled from Thailand to Cambodia by foot. Sounds great ah? It was just about 20 meters away through a foot bridge! As the gray Thailand border gate bid goodbye, the bright Cambodian border gate welcomed me. "Kingdom of Cambodia", it says.

I thought I would have to get through the Cambodian Immigration Arrival checkpoint, but no! My passport was with the liaison officer and she was the one to take care of the arrival stamp. No queue. No problem. Just walk. I was feeling the call of nature so I instinctively followed three people thinking that they would go to a rest room and I was right. After doing my stuff, I didn't realize that the three people just led me to the infamous casinos of Cambodian border where wealthy Thais splurge into gambling. But to my suprise, it wasn't as beautiful as what I thought. It was a simple casino. I have never been inside a casino so this itchy feet of mine brought me inside and watched a woman lost to a 7 of spades. Later, I found out that there were more extravagant casinos located in other borders.

Since my 20 minutes was about to end, I began to go back to Thailand. My 4 minute-walk was once in a while interrupted by alcohol and cigarrete vendors. These sin products sell pretty cheap here. Tax-free. I even saw one Pinay buying a big bottle of Absolut Vodka and two L&M cigarrete reams for about 1000 pesos. Cheap? I'm not really sure coz I don't buy those.

So my travel to Thailand on foot was fine. I had a time to observe the Cambodian people and the community they live in. I could say, the people in that border are living a hard life. Cambodians travel back and forth to the border market. Most of the people in this area work there. There are tons of Cambodian produce and I learned that prices there are much cheaper. There were also a lot of begging children, approching every white guy they would see.

When I got back to the waiting area after 20 minutes, I lined up again and the same immigration officer stamped my passport. Arrival Window. Welcome to Thailand. He interviewed me for some time, and when he finally learned that I am not a possible terrorist, he let me go. I boarded the bus, and began the long and winding road to Bangkok. Another 4.5 hours.

So that's my Cambodian 20-minute adventure.

                                                Thai's welcome

                                          Cambodian's welcome

                                      Thai-Cambodian border gates

*originally posted on www.multiply.com on December 13, 2010

First Sunrise of 2011

I spent the New Year in Khao Kor Mountain, Petchaboon province. It was a long and winding 10-hour drive from Ratchaburi. Khao Kor is considered by many as the "Switzerland of Thailand", maybe for its cold weather and hilly landscape.

We left the camp site at around 6 o' clock in a freaking cold and foggy morning of January 1. It was 11.4 degrees.

 We drove for another 30 minutes to reach the mountain's highest point. At 6.30 AM, the first sunrise of 2011 was about to shine. 

   Hello 2011. The first sunrise of the year. Beautiful. 

  Welcome to my life, 2011!

The sun heated up the cold morning of this Thai family. While this girl was taking a picture of her parents, her younger brother played around.

I took a photo of this man while he was taking pictures of the beautiful landscape of Khao Kor.

This is the view from the top of the mountain.

This is one of the many camp sites scattered all throughout Khao Kor. Behind the camp is a sea of fog! This photo was taken at around 8 AM and still, the fog was covering many areas. 

The road all the way down was also covered with fog. The sun was already up, but the temperature was still cold.

               And finally, it's I, kissed by the first sunrise of 2011.

*originally posted at www.multiply.com on January 3, 2011 

From the Ashes of Central World : Thoughts of a Pinoy Living in Thailand

                                                                   

I am not a mall rat, but I do go to the malls once in a while. One of the hippest malls I’ve been to is Central World Bangkok. It used to be the center of Thailand’s Christmas celebration, festivities and exhibitions. Inside this mall, I had the chance to use a “mega DSLR”. I call it such name because it has a “super duper over bazooka” lens, the biggest I’ve seen. The Food Loft, located at the upper floor, also served as the venue of a lunch date with some UPLB graduates - Avela, Dondon, Lovely, Kim and another guy which I forgot. In March 2009, we sort of celebrated Earth Hour in the vicinities of this mall. I also spent some solitary moments here watching a Japanese dance festival while rethinking what I really wanted to do in life. But on May 19, 2010, Central World was burned by the Red shirt protesters during the military crackdown. Upon the surrender of the Red shirt leaders, militants were in anguish that they burned 36 properties around Bangkok – 17 commercial banks, 8 hotels and department stores, 8 private properties and 3 government offices. The Thai government admitted that the level of violence executed by the Reds was beyond their expectations. After the military crackdown, the leaders surrendered and hundreds of Reds, mostly coming from the North and Northeast went home. The 2-month protest was halted. Several people died – civilians, military, Reds and journalists. The protest left behind looted 7-11 shops, broken telephone booths, and burned buildings. Surely, those buildings can be rebuilt in time, but the healing between opposing forces will take longer. For now, the spirit of the Thai people to move forward lives on. Now, after just a few days, the city is slowly going back to life. Shops already go back to its usual business routine. The government even provided financial assistance for the affected businesses. Hence, the blinking neon lights of the red light district of Patpong, restart to seduce Thai and foreign customers alike, to enjoy a very sinful nightlife. For sure, all the girls and boys of Patpong have never been this ready to go back to work. The violence has reached its climax already, so there is no more threat for the notorious, wild, after dark workers to reaching their own climaxes as well.   

Central World management says that that within six months, a new Central will rise from the ashes. Emerging Facebook pages such as “I love and miss Central World” and "Central World Bangkok R.I.P" with thousands of members will eventually be forgotten. Bangkok, tagged as the “City of Life”, a home of 11.9 million people, will surely prove that this statement is more than just a publicity stint. Bangkok willl always be the "gateway of Southeast Asia", as what Leonardo di Caprio said in "The Beach". Nobody but Nicolas Cage foresaw that violence would make "Bangkok Dangerous". With the warm Sawasdee Ka/Kap of the Thais, their great sense of nationalism, and the 14 million tourists who laze around Thailand every year, Bangkok's ashes will swiftly become a Super Phoenix.

           Dim Lights. I celebrated Earth Hour 2009 at Central World.

 Reunited. Dondon, Avela and I in front of Central, October 5, 2008.

Itchy Bitsy. Dondon calling home from ZEN, the part of the mall with the worst damage.

*originally posted at www.multiply.com on May 26, 2010

Baptism of Fire

I am finally welcoming myself to the blogosphere. I hope I can breathe here. I hope play here. I hope I can inspire here. I hope I can express here. I am not a great writer and I'm not writing to impress you. I just want to share my sane and crazy stories, my victories and defeats, adventures and misadventures.  I'm challenging myself to make you laugh, or smile, at least.. This is me, plain and naked.

You're going to know me better, a lot better.