Farangringa must run for visa

When I lived in Argentina for four years I worked illegally the entire time. I had a tourist visa and left every 3 months, which was easy as a tour guide in Patagonia and also with the frequency that I visited the states.

Thailand is a very popular place with "farangs" (gringos in Spanish and "foreigners" in English) therefore, it is really difficult to find a job here and work illegally. So, I entered Thailand on a tourist visa and when I arrived the school began the paper work for my work visa. in order to process the work visa the employee has to leave the country in order to change the tourist visa upon which they entered for a non-immigrant B visa (a valid work visa for one year). Dara Academy gives us 15,000 baht for the visa trip. There are several borders you can go to in order to do this but you aren't always guaranteed that they will give you the visa So, Dara strongly suggests that one goes to Penang, Malaysia where they have "connections".

There were 8 of us that had to make the visa run and it was definitely an experience.
We had to take a plane from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then another one to Penang, but they were both short trips.

The first thing we did when we arrived was find a place to stay. Someone had suggested a guesthouse called The Banana guesthouse. You assume if it is recommended it is going to be somewhat nice. When we arrived we were shown the different room options. The first word that comes to my mind is dodgy. However, in order to save money I stayed in a room with two of my co-workers. However, I couldn't do it the second night and moved to another guesthouse. It had just opened and was beautiful.



Because we're in Malaysia for visa purposes we didn't have a lot of time to see the beautiful beaches and national parks of this country. However, there is something that is quite beautiful, or rather, striking, about this small country: the diversity of religions condensed into one area.

More than half of the population is Muslim but one can still feel the religious diversity just by merely meandering through the streets. Other prominent religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism.

There is a very large Indian population, as well, in Penang. There is a Little India in Penang that is famous for its Indian cuisine. The Banana guesthouse was two streets away from there so on our first night in Penanga we ate at a famous Indian restaurant that had amazing food. I ordered paper chicken, garlic naan, and masala tea. There weren't any alcoholic beverages available at the restaurant because the owners were Muslim. Since we were on "vacation" and we work with high school kids I suppose we felt the need to rebel and act like high school kids? Poor high school-esque excuse I just made...So, like high school kids, we ordered our food and then walked to the local 7-11 and bought a beer to chug. haha, when in Penang, right?

The next day we all took a taxi to the Thai consulate in order to process our visas. You have to turn in your paperwork and of course pay a hefty fee, and then wait 24 hours for them to process it. So, we had the rest of the day to do as we pleased. The boys decided to find beer and my friend and co-worker, Hilary, and I decided to walk around and see the city. There wasn't much to seek out, no major tourist attractions, no interesting monuments. The town is dirty and often dirtier with lots of motor bikes. It was really hot and I was beginning to feel a bit weary of wandering until we randomly chose a different street to walk down. The first thing I saw was a closed cafe called "Amelie". It had potted flowers in the front and the most beautiful sign.



It was simple and simply spectacular. We just sat there for a moment wondering why the cafe was closed and happy to have seen the sign and its lovely little message. After gazing we realized that we were right next to an amazing temple.

It almost seemed like a refuge from the heat of the day and the dirty streets. We wandered in and up to a beautiful area where one burns incense is supposed to remind us of the fragrance of the Buddhas teachings which pervade the world. I think we also burn them for luck, for spirits, for strength, for whatever. Sometimes you just feel like burnin' some incense.
As we walked inside we started talking about the term "passed away" and its distinction to death. I really like what the term "passed away" seems to express: the spirit moving onward, forward to something else...and those that remain burn incense to remember, to seguir (to continue) to keep turning down random streets.


The incense sticks were massive and bright pink, really spectacular. In this temple a man gave us a wee tour and then we just sat there and enjoyed the beautiful and this place we had stumbled upon. We continued down the street and well, found another temple. We were contemplating entering when a small Malaysian man who was smoking cigarettes and reeked of whiskey somewhat lured us inside the temple and began to explain many of the rituals of going to the temple. First, we bought prayer flags and a large bundle of incense sticks (normal size, not like the ones above). Then, we entered the area in which you perform the ritual.


Each of the bundles of incense sticks represents something different. Unfortunately, I can't remember all of them but one set was meant to burn for your families as well as anyone else that could possibly use a little blessing. So, we made our offerings and then the last part of the ritual is the burning of the prayer flags. It was quite a beautiful ritual, actually, and I wish that I could remember the details. Lesson to self: Write these things down.

Some other memorable photos from the trip:
This is my co-worker Nick (from Florida) , who is also an avid Breakdancer as well, or, as he calls it a "B-boy"

This another temple we saw as we were leaving another. Then, literally one block away we saw this mosque: The world's religions.


I love this tuk-tuk. It just makes you want to take it for a ride, like it will take you somewhere magical with its colorful flowers, like to one of your favorite childhood places or something. You know those places? The ones in your memories from childhood that were so perfect and picturesque, where life was dreamy and innocent...ah, take me there tuk-tuk.


Anyways, we all got our visas and now we are back, back to "Thai reality", I'll explain that one at a later date...