It’s so nice to get a break. I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to sleep or eat. I don’t have to worry about somebody stealing stuff from my room and nobody is trying to rip me off. Well actually that’s not completely true. 35 bucks for a piece of plastic that says ‘driver’s license’ isn’t exactly a bargain.
Applying for a new license and ID card was quite fun though. When I told the front desk lady that my old stuff got stolen she asked for a police report. I told her it was stolen in Thailand and she informed me that I’d need to go to the police to file a report. ‘So what if I had lost the stuff, would I need a report as well?’, I asked her. ‘No’ was her reply.
I asked her if we couldn’t just assume that I lost the cards to get around that police stuff. She looked at me like I had asked her to get naked and dance around the office but accepted my suggestion after short hesitation. After paying the equivalent of four cases of beer and putting down countless signatures I was pretty happy that I got myself around that police report.
It was actually the second time I had to visit that office. The first time I only brought my passport and some pictures but was told that a birth certificate was needed as well. Of course I asked them why and they told me it was because they never issued an ID card for me before. They actually did issue my first ID card when I was sixteen but that’s no longer on file. A passport clearly stating my date and place of birth is not sufficient either. Oh well.
When I’m not having all that fun with the officials I spent time with the family, cook Thai food, play tennis and visit places I always liked.