BANGKOK and PATTAYA Page 27
MONDAY 18th NOVEMBER 2013:
Because of the remoteness of Koh Wai where we'd spent the past several days, we'd been out of contact with the outside world; no phone and no internet access. So, it was Monday morning when we first picked up on email messages.
It was not only a surprise but also a minor shock when there were two messages on Aom's email which were viewed with some degree of trepidation.
The first was from the British Embassy, Bangkok which merely and curtly stated :The British Embassy in Bangkok has made a decision on your visa application" .... that's it. No mention of success or failure; very impersonal.
The second email was from VFS Global in Bangkok which, again, curtly stated "your passport and support documents have been returned to VFS and are ready for collection from Regent House, Bangkok"
[NOTE: VFS Bangkok are at time of weiting (2014) located at The Plaza 4th Floor, Chamchuri Square Building
Phayathai Road, Wang Mai, Pathumwan].
The first surprise was that we did not expect any response from the Embassy until after 23rd November at the very earliest. Anyway, these emails caused Aom some degree of minor panic (me too!) as we had no idea whether she got Settlement in UK or not.
Of course, the only way to find out was to go to Bangkok and VFS.
A quick dress-up-fairly-smart and we got a taxi to Pattaya Tai mini-bus depot. One of the 15-seater mini buses was there already so we bought tickets and off we went the 90 minutes to the capital.
(These smaller buses are great as opposed to the regular ones which tend to crawl down the 'motorways'; the 15-seaters hammer along at break-neck speed driven by maniacs. The only down-side is that you cannot take any luggage; people only. This is also the reason we have been staying in Pattaya as it's within easy reach of the capital for just this sort of eventuality).
OK, we arrived in Bangkok at around 12:45 and jumped on the BTS (sky-train) heading for Regent House. It was patently clear that Aom was very nervous as she bought tickets for the wrong station (two stations short) so we had to get off, buy two new tickets to continue.
Regent House and VFS was surprisingly quiet; it's usually a mad-house of people. We had a quick chat before Aom disappeared beyond the dreaded security doors into the bowels of VFS. God how I hate the place; so many times we've been here. The place is full of tears from failed applications and the occasional whoop of joy at a success. I sat and waited nervously.
15 minutes later Aom re-appeared clutching the two huge dossiers and some envelopes. I tried to read her expression but it was not 'til she was near that I noticed a slight smirk.
SUCCESS!!!
There inside her passport was the long-awaited Visa. A sort of ant-climax followed; I could hardly believe it after 18 months of gathering documents, getting them translated, Aom going on English Language Courses, sitting exams, enduring two long medical examinations, etc, etc. And, finally, it's (almost) all over. FANTASTIC.
However, there's a caveat; her new visa is not for true Settlement.
* The UK Border Agency rules are such that her visa is valid for 30 months after which she can apply for a further 30 months. "Indefinite Leave to Remain" or full Settlement can only be granted after this; a total of 5 years.
So, it's not quite all over yet, but it's a great start.
* No longer the case, but correct at time of writing in 2014.
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TOP LEFT: The building we both despise; Regent House, home of VFS Global.
TOP RIGHT: Inside Regent House and the dreaded security area. Beyond those doors people's futures are at stake; success and failure lie beyond!!
CENTRE RIGHT: The smile on her face says it all. The end of an 18-month ordeal.
BOTTOM: Again... the smile says it all. That's the bit of paper we've both worked so hard for.
MONDAY (cont'd):
Got back to the apartment around 16:30, popped along to the local "Big-C" hypermarket and bought, amongst other things, some "fizzy stuff". Ate out a local eatery and demolished said liquid when we got back 'home'.
TUESDAY 19th:
Quiet day. Took a run up to the Khao Phra Bat temple on the hill-top overlooking Pattaya. A reason for doing this was to charge-up the battery on our motorbike which was a bit flat after being away.
Evening, Aom cooked-up dinner and we got to bed handy because another of Aom's cousins, Koy, was coming down from Surin to stay with us for a few days. She arrived at 4am!! on the overnight bus.
WEDNESDAY 20th:
The two girls, Aom and Koy beetled off to Nong Nooch Park together leaving me with a quiet day on my own. Just took a stroll down to the beach and chilled out (hardly 'cos it was bloody hot) for a few hours until the girls returned.
Very noisy with these two chattering away at nothing in particular and trying on different clothes; they've just this minute beetled-off to the salon to get their hair done (strange things women).
I suppose I'll have to take the pair of them out to dinner tonight. It's going to be so hard to be in the company of two gorgeous Thai girls... ho-hum.
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TOP LEFT: Well someone had to help make the photo better... a rose between the thorns? With Aom and Koy.
TOP RIGHT: Aom with cousin Koy. The torches are given out to help read the menus.
THE REST: Various poses at various places.
THURSDAY 21st: It's a hot one today. 
It's taken ages for these two girls to get going, but we're off to Na Klua... eventually. 3-up on a bike.... no problem here.
Be good to get back in the sea again.
Eventually arrived at Naklua at around noon. Usual feast of fresh corn-on-the-cob, huge prawns and a big fish reminiscent of a large mackerel (maybe it was).
The two ladies spent ages messing about in the surf yacking away. Back to the apartment and made plans to go out in the evening.
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TOP LEFT: Yep,that's 3-up on a 125cc bike. It's the done thing here and nobody gives a second glance (except for looking at the girls).
TOP RIGHT & BOTTOM: Aom and Koy dossing on Naklua beach.
THURSDAY EVENING:
A loooong night. The three of us ate locally and then bused down to Walking Street.
Walking Street's not normally an area we would go for a night out; it's extremely touristy and most bars and restaurants are that bit more expensive. However, this was Koy's first visit to Pattaya and so it's as well to show her this (in)famous street.
I'm not sure how we ended up at this place called "Peppermint" but it's where we spent the last expensive hours of the night out.
As you may recall if you've read earlier pages (Page 15) Peppermint is the gogo club I was going to be working in as General Manager. I know many people there, male and female (particularly the latter) and it's the one place in Pattaya I should not really go into with my beloved, especially as my ex girlfriend, El still worked there as a hostess (not a dancer) and it was good to have a chat with her over a drink; Aom looking considerably non-chuffed. However, Aom is fully aware of my past and she even knows some of the girls there herself.
It was an expensive visit as several of the girls I know came over and, of course, one has to buy them all a drink.
After leaving Peppermint, we ended-up playing pool at around 3:30am, and it must have been around 5am when we got back to the apartment. I don't know how she did it, but Koy was up and leaving for the return bus to Surin at 7am.
Below are photos of a parade dwown the length of Beach Road, Pattaya. Longboat and buffalo races take place annually. After the parade competitors and spectatotors gather around the beautiful area of Lake Mabprachan in East Pattaya on the weekend to watch these two of Pattaya’s most energetic events, the international Long Boat Races and the Buffalo Races.
These traditional Thai culture activities are held annually especially throughout Chonburi and the Eastern Seaboard. This is the 12th year the event has taken place at Mabprachan.
These pics were of the buffalos all dressed-up (the girls too). I missed the chance of getting photos of the longboats; they'd gone past and it was too hot to go chasing after them.
