Wednesday 20 December 2006

the police officer, part II (busted)

A new day on the messy roads of Chiang Mai, and i headed off for the immigration office together with T to extend our visas. Following a rickshaw and some other guys on motorbikes through the narrow ”sois”, i began to feel driving motorbike in Chiang Mai was not that difficult anymore. Then, from nowhere, a police officer on motorbike appeared. He rased his arm and stopped me. This time i had my passport in my pocket. And this time i didn´t got away that easy. He asked me for my passport, went away and started to chat with some other guys in uniform. Then he came back with a bunch of paper. He tried to explain something in thai english i didn´t understand, and when i tried to take my passport back he pointed first at himself, then at his motorbike.

”You must go police station at Wallolot malket” he said. ”Follow my moto(l)bike”.

I was of course confused, but i kickstarted my bike and started following the officer (still holding my passport), and saw another guy driving up behind me! I was busted, indeed. Finally at the police station, i realized i wasn´t the only criminal arrested today. The highway police had been busy. The place was actually crowded with both thai and falangs, and many of the falangs not there for the first time. It was like:

”Hey Ben, you here again?”
”Uh yeah Jerry, what you here for this time?”

…and i was the new kid on the block. After listening to Ben and Jerrys storys about the highway police way to long, the police officer who still had my passport came back, gave it to me and told me to wait ”5 minutes”. I was afraid the thai bureaucracy would take the whole day, me stuck with Ben & Jerry (the kind of guys visiting Thailand only in one purpose...)! But i was surprised, it only took a few minutes of paperwork, the clerks working fast. Then i was charged 400 bath for driving the wrong direction on a one-way street and free to go.
Silly thing is, i was actually driving the same way the thai guys did, and they were not stopped. But i have now realized that for thai police officers, falangs on motorbikes is a good extra income.

And the immigration office? No problem. 30 more days. But i still have to do this ”visa-run” in the end of january.

And, yes, talked to Lasses friend today. Gonna meet him on Friday, maybe he have a studio for me! Pleeeeeeease…

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