I Know The Hotel Very Well!

The IARU III was going to be held in Bangalore, India. There was no RAST's committee available to attend. Since my boss supported me to be there to observe, RAST then assigned me to be their delegate.

I had applied for the visa to India in order to attend the Chennai 199... SEAnet convention but I don't remember at all how I had applied for the visa. KH6QJ told me that, when getting old there would be 3 things faded, one of them was the memory. The other two were forgotten.. That must be my case.

A month before the conference, I prepared for the visa and air ticket. I downloaded and filled the application form, together with other documents required and went to the Indian Embassy very early in the morning. There were about 10 people waiting before me. The gate was opened at 9 am. With security checked separately between men and women.

There was a very handsome man at the Embassy's door checking the documents, wrote the number on the application, looked at me and said
"one."
I guessed that he meant the window number one.. so I slowly walked there.. did not know what to do.. Were they going to call or how..? There was a light sign over the windows with number 25, did not change at all.. Was it any meaning?

I decided to go back to that handsome guy and asked. He seemed to be very annoyed when telling me to see the number sign over the window and the number on my paper.. I thanked him and his long face and hurried back to the seat to wait.. My number was 79. I should have brought a book to read..

Looked around, upstairs was a library.. Ah ha.. Good.. I went up.. The library was close on Monday!! So I took a magazine down with me to read.. It was very interesting that I found no interesting story in it but the beautiful wording..
So I took that chance to study how to something that meant nothing.. It is very interesting indeed.

Until noon time, the number was only 38.. The embassy will take the visa application until noon and will open again at 3 pm to distribute the processed passports. They said, the gate will be closed and will not open for anyone until 3 pm..

What should we do, almost hundred people there and the embassy provided only water and toilet. It seemed that we would be staved in the prison. At 12:30, the officer closed the windows and went for lunch.. !

After awhile the other officer announced that we were able to go for lunch, the embassy gate would open for us at 2 PM..
Wow!! Many faced were like being reborn..

I looked for a bookstore, got a book and a cup of coffee and came back to wait.

At 3 pm. all of us were startle with the loud running sound, as if there were a troop of soldiers running to the field. Suddenly, a long line of people was queued at the window number 2. They came to collect their visa.. A man I talked to in the morning had come back to get his visa.. but about 40 of us still waiting to apply.. Some had already gone.. so we arranged our number and queued in front of the window number 1 to make it faster..

Finally, at 4 pm. I got my turn. When they knew that I was going to the meeting, they send me to a room to be interviewed.. The man checked the ARSI's invitation, confirmed the date, smiled and said
"I will give you one month visa."
That was more than I need. I was sent out to pay, instead of 1700 baht for normal visa, I got business visa, and had to pay 2000 baht.:-(
I had my messenger to collect the passport on the next day.. The visa was stamped..

My flight was on Saturday night, and I would reach Bangalore on Sunday morning.. I traveled alone so I did not want to be there at night.

After dinner, my husband and the kids sent me to the airport. I was the first person who checked in. A man checked the visa and said..
"Sorry Miss, your visa is expired"

WHAT!!!! How could that be..? But yes, it was!

I was trying to find the way to contact the embassy people.. and had to give up.. It was Saturday night.. August 5, 2006.

I went to the embassy on Monday morning, tried to tell them what I needed to do and that I did not come to apply for the visa.. but the man was so busy answering the phone, one after one. An Indian business man beside me was also trying to tell him that he had appointment with someone there, but the man waved him away, kept answering the phone..
That business man was very upset, turned to my smiling face and said.. "This guy is incredible, very incredible."

I laughed. I was almost upset, but then I felt that all were very funny.. Incidentally the embassy person that the man wanted to see came out.. That man's face was suddenly changed from green to sweet pink in a blink.. This also amused me.

Finally, after 2 hours of waiting, I could manage to see that embassy guy who gave me 1 month visa. He said it was my fault to apply for the visa too soon.

They gave visa one month from the application day.

I said I must get the visa before getting the air ticket and I had informed him the day of the conference.. He looked at the paper again and said..

"Oh I see, they changed the meeting day, right?"

I could not help laughing of the way he put it..

"No, there was no change, but it was my fault that I did not check the visa date. I never had this problem before."

It was my new passport. He looked at it and said.
"Yes. I will tell you. You are new about the visa. Every time you get the visa you must check here.. and here.. " He pointed on the visa. "I will change the date for you. Next time you must be careful. Other embassy may not be kind."
What could I say but to thank him? I wonder what he would have said, if he saw my old 3 full passports.

I flew that night.. reaching the airport at 11 pm. I was not sure whether there would be any one from the IARU to see me so I walked around and around..
No one there..
So I had to open my luggage, took the address of the hotel out. A man dressed the airport uniform kindly help me. He looked at the address of Royal Lodge and Hari hotel and said..

"Ok, don't worry, I know theis hotel very well."

That was very good. He brought me to see a man that I assumed the taxi driver, explain to him.. That guy looked at the address, shake his head, move his hands and said..

"Yes, I know this hotel very well."

I felt much better.. The guy grasped the luggage from my hand and walked so fast, almost run.. I had to run after it. I passed a van with a group of Thai people. We wore the same yellow polo shirt cerebrating the King's 60th year of being our King. They looked at me with very concern manner and shouted, "Are you alone?" I could only answer, yes and had to run after my luggage which runing very fast before me.
Then we reached an old taxi car. This guy put my belonging in the car and talked to the taxi driver who had to see the name and address of my hotel again.. and said..

"Don't worry, I know this hotel very well."

The luggage guy open his hand before me..
"Tip, madam."

I was angry this time, I said no, I did not have the rupee. He said he accept every currency and had the change.. ha ha I told him, let me find the hotel and I would gave his tip to the driver.

It was quite far from the airport to town and the taxi cost was 400 rupee or 4 USD, same as what I read from the website.
It was a dark cool night and many advertisement signs shone nicely in the darkness.. I then notice that we crossed the bridge again for the 3rd time.. and the advertisement signs were similar to those I saw..

Yes, the driver was lost. He was really getting around that bridge 3 times. He then turned to me..
"Sorry, Madam, I seemed to be confused a little bit.. Let me ask the way."

He stopped in front of a few men, dark skin and full of bead.. I was a bit uneasy.. They moved their arms, shook their head for a while and the driver seemed to be brightening up. He got on the car and .. Phew, on the noses of those guys.. But, none of them seemed to care..

This time, after crossing the bridge, he then ducked under the bridge. It was construction site.. Quiet and very dark.. I am sure that you can imagine my feeling..
We got to the street finally.. the taxi drove up and down the street for few time and we saw Hari hotel.. which was within 100 meters we should see the Royal Lodge hotel as informed by Raja, ARSI’s Hon. Secretary.

The taxi could not find it. He stopped at the Laundry Shop, told me it was Royal Lodge.. Then he had to ask again and.. Phew, on their noses again.. andm the same, no one cared..

And we found it. !! The driver took my belonging in the hotel, about to leave, and ran back.. “The tip for that guy.. He would be killed to go back without tip.” So I gave him Thai baht..

I don’t know whether the driver would keep it for his own or to that guy and whether they were about to use it or not, but don't worry..

They knew the hotel very well...