Day 38. Breakfast, bus, police station, Airport. Ned didn't show. It's out of my hands now. On the way to the airport we passed a field with a sign “Clone Observation Area” but I didn’t see anybody from Canada. [Author's note: that's a joke referring to all the Canadian men in Thailand. The following paragraph refers to the forms used by the government officials in India. They'll take a form that was designed for English lettering and they keep offering it for their own needs. The little changes add up and before long there is not enough space to write your answers.]
We just flew over some very expensive rice paddies and stretch over a mile out to sea. By the way, if you're planning to do much, get used to filling out forms. They're in English, although you'll smile when you see the trial and error way the evolved. First, they transliterate. Then they make changes as they encounter problems and loopholes. It can get comical.
[Author's note: years later I don't recall the specific incident however it was a plane flight from Phuket to Bangkok, and then onto Delhi in India. I believe the form I'm referring to was during a visit to the Indian consulate in Bangkok to get some necessary visas stamped. If so, there was an incident I'll mention here which may reappear later because it's hard to remember the exact sequence of events.
When I got to the consulate there was a lineup at one overworked clerk’s desk, with the rest of the office generally taking it easy. Of course each person got up to the desk complained about the wait. I noticed it was taking around 10 minutes to process each form so I paid some street kid to go bring me 2 cups of tea. As I got to the front, I turned to the rest of the people in line and said this was my 10 minutes. I set the cup of tea in front of the clerk, sat down, and said nothing.
Neither did the clerk. We just sat there drinking tea for 10 minutes. Then he picked up his rubberstamp, and with his other arm swept all the paperwork off his desk on the floor. Then he stamped my visa. Then I left.]
