Out of the fire.... I hope!
Trip Start
May 06, 2006
1
50
81
Trip End
Mar 23, 2009
Singapore,
Singapore
Sunday, May 6, 2007
So, I won't be working in Australia any more. Some of you may recall how surprised I was that it was so easy to get an online visa last time - I think it arrived within 24 hours. Well, I figured there'd be no problem again and being as I didn''t have my new card yet I couldn't apply for a new one sooner. So, my new card arrives and on the internet I go to sort the visa. Well, after paying the fee thy flash up a form I need to fill out before my visa can be fully processed. It turns out that ços I've been in Thailand (not a "low risk TB country", apparently) for over 3 months I have to go to the hospital and get chest x-rays done to prove I don't have TB. So, I realise I have all of 3 days to complete the process - two of those being a weekend.
I was going to Bangkok the next day anyway and after not being able to print off the form I needed I decided to head to the Oz embassy to try and sort it. Aside from the fact that they barely spoke English they were completely unhelpful and basically told me that by entering on a tourist visa my other one I just applied for will be cancelled - even though it hasn't even been processed yet ços they're waiting on the forms before they act on it. Another load of money down the drain. It also messes up my plans big time and means I'm gonna be using a lot of money I don't have to travel around without working.
So, my plan is either to return home or to go to New Zealand earlier and work there for a year first instead. So, with that thought in mind I figured it would be easier and cheaper to do the x-rays in Thailand than it would be in Oz and after looking on the NZ website I knew I'd have to get them done for there too so off I went to the hospital. The website told me the recommended hospitals they had would all have the forms I'd need so it should all be easy. Pah! After much confusion it transpired that they didn't have the forms and that I'd have to go back to the internet and print them off. Bearing in mind this whole embassy crap has taken practically the whole day thanks to them having 2 and noone knowing exactly where to end you, the hospital would be closed before I could get back with the forms. "We open at 9 tomorrow morning though". Great, I have to leave by 12 to catch the plane so there's no hope of me getting that done. A completely wasted afternoon. And I mean completely. I may as well have not gone ços nothing helped.
My last evening was fairly enjoyable with Helena and Jom and Helena and I got some very Thai photos done at a sticker booth thing! The next morning I had a box I needed to ship home with my collections from 8 months in Thailand. Post offices are always open on a Sat morning so no probs... except this one weekend happened to be a Thai holiday so it was closed. Wonderful huh?! So, the box has gone back to Kanch with Jom with what I hope is enough money to cover the weight! After an emotional 2 days Jom and I said an emotional goodbye and went our seperate ways. All the (cheaper) airport buses were full so I had to grab a taxi and once at the airport found out the driver had no change - it worked in my favour and I had to pay less! Yey, a good thing!
I arrived at the airport very early for some reason and couldn't see my flight number anywhere. Worried that I was at the wrong airport I went to the desk and they gave me the check in time and counter numbers. After waiting around for an hour a lovely little sign goes up that my flight's cancelled. By this point I'm too exhausted to get mad, to cry, to do anything. So, I patiently wait in the que and find out they've put us all on the next flight 2 hours later. Not perfect but better than nothing. My bag is then 8 kilos over the limit at about 1 pound 50 a kilo... so much for the cheap flight! 'Cos mine was cancelled she speaks to the manager and only charges me for 5 kilos... of course had I had the energy I would've fought but I just didn't care any more. I handed the money over and headed through, glad to be on my way out!
As Helena put it - "I can't work out if Thailand loves you and doesn't want you to leave or hates you and never wants you to come back!". At the point it felt like the latter and the feeling was completely mutual!!
Anyway, I''m now out and in Singapore after many problems finding a hostel at that time of night. I came to the one I stayed at before and slept on a mattress on the roof. Not quite the idea I had of a slightly luxurious last night in South East Asia but better than sleeping at the airport which is what I thought I'd have to do at one point!
In a couple of hours I fly to Oz where I will decide on what I'm gonna do once I've found my feet again and investigated my options! I'll keep you all posted on whether you have to look for jobs in England for me! Hope all is well with everyone and hopefully the next few entries will be happy stories rather than nightmares!!!
