While creating this blog, my memory kept on flashing back, when I first traveled alone abroad, particularly going to back to Thailand to get starting on my new journey. I was really excited that day that finally my desired to live and worked in Thailand had finally fulfilled.
My most exciting and a little quite embarrassing travel experienced, when I arrived at Hatyai International Airport, I kept asking to many people walking through the exit, where I could find the way to immigration counter because I had to pass to the custom for the stamp of my passport as well as to obtain my tourist visa to enter the kingdom. Unfortunately, no one understood me as well as none of those persons I asked understood or speak the English language, and sadly, at that very moment, I didn’t speak their language either. So, what I finally did, I stood up near to the exit door, and tried to look for the custom area, and I had in my mind, that I would never leave at the airport, if I couldn’t find the custom and to get the visa. Not long enough of standing near to the door I heard something, I heard that my name had been called, saying, attention plet (please), then I heard my name had fully mentioned. So, I looked around and tried to look for the immigration area. And when I walked a few steps away from the exit door, a lady who’s wearing a uniform, came closer to me, and I asked me, if I was Miss so and so. And I immediately, said “yes”. Then the she asked where was the sticker that had pasted by the lady at the Bangkok Airport before I boarded in the airplane. I told her that I kept it in my bag. And she told me that I should not keep it because it was the signed or marked that I was a foreigner traveling with connecting flight, and it helped the attendant at Hatyai Airport to recognize the foreign passengers, and it made them easier to lead the foreign passers to the passport control area. Huh. In spite of that, the lady custom officer so kind to accompany me to the place, where the custom was located and got my passport stamped and got my tourist visa to enter to Thailand. Coolness! By the way, that lady officer can speak English well so we understood each other.
Well, speaking of keeping the sticker in my bag, it was because when I looked at all the passengers boarding in Thai Airways nobody was wearing the sticker and I was thinking why I was the one who had this sticker, so I took it off and put it in my bad. Through that experienced, if ever I would travel to other countries with connecting flights, and if some flight attendants would put sticker on my blouse I would never remove it because it really serves with a purpose.
Just now, a few thoughts came in my mind, what if, at that very moment I rushed to leave at the airport and went inside the country/city without obtaining a tourist visa. (By the way, we Filipinos have given the opportunity to travel to Thailand by just obtaining the tourist visa at the airport.) What would happen to me when the immigration officer catches me that I didn’t a visa? Well, we never know? Anyway, I was really thankful that I was able to travel with the group when I first travel to Thailand. So, I had some ideas already that I should get a visa first before entering the Kingdom. Honestly, I truly treasured that experienced because I’ve learned a lot.
