not the time for a public holiday!

i used to love the first quarter of the year because it meant lots of long weekends in thailand. for some strange reason, there is always a buddhist holiday or some special royal day of some sort every 3 weeks. for non-locals like us, it meant trips upcountry or even trips home to manila.

BUT when you're back in manila and you need paperwork from thailand on the 1st week of may... it's not such a happy time of the year after all.

i absolutely need a clearance from the royal thai police and to obtain one, i need to get 3 sets of fingerprints done at the thai embassy in manila. i tried calling their trunk line the whole freakin' day and only got automated directions... only to realize that today is may 5, the king's coronation day - thus, no one is around to pick up the phone. hmph!

that means it's another long weekend for the khun-thais, and nothing can be done til after the 10th.

but on a slightly happier note, the canadian embassy in manila sent me a letter informing me that my papers are back in manila, and that i need a few more documents to submit within 45 days. i just hope i make it! after that, it's another 6-month wait at the very least.

so near yet so far away!