Jump to content

A trip to Chaeng Wattana Immigration


Flashermac

Recommended Posts

I just had the pleasure of reporting to my "parole officer" at immigration, since it's 90 days again. For what it's worth, I'll post some thoughts.

 

Firstly, do I see the hand of Thaksin in this extremely expensive building in a huge new government area in the middle of nowhere? Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the entire basement floor is a shopping mall. I spotted 8 or 9 banks, 3 car dealerships, a 7-Eleven, and assorted shops and stalls, plus there is a branch of every fast food outlet you can think of. Most of the food is pricey (by the local scale), so I wonder where Thais working there have their meals. There must be a cheap Thai canteen hidden away somewhere. Equally bizarre was the fact that the government mall was playing Jingle Bells on the sound system in early October. :hmmm:

 

Immigration itself is crammed into a space that hardly seems any bigger than what it had at Soi Suan Plu. A sign informs you the Immigration office is for "Bangkok residents only". An arrow points upstairs for Nonthaburi and Pathumthani residents.

 

Things are still a bit chaotic, but it took me only half an hour or so for my piece of paper. Still, the crowds waiting for visas guaranteed they had a long wait ahead of them. The immigration officers are in little cubicles now, which I thought made things a bit intimidating.

 

Getting to the new Immigration site is a pain in the arse. It is close to nothing in particular (except maybe Klong Prem Prison). There is a shuttle bus service so you can get around, if you can figure out where it is going. (There weren't any signs in English.) One could almost use a shuttle bus inside the building too. Unless you have driven there, expect a long hot walk back out to Chaeng Wattana. There will probably be a taxi driver or two waiting to pick a fare, since it is a long way back to civilisation.

 

My general impression? I miss Soi Suan Plu already. At least it felt like I was in Thailand.

:(

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...