Getting Married in Thailand

The pieces of the puzzle are finally starting to fall into place...Tik and I are getting married! Again!

As you know, Tik and I had a Religious ceremony last month in his hometown of Ranong. Since then, I have finished my last group with ISV, moved out from Baan Unrak (with a promise to return every 2
months) and have carried almost 80 kilos of accumulated crap to the south of Thailand, and into our new home in Krabi!

The past few weeks have been an interesting adjustment; living on an island (if that's what we can call it), running the finances of Tik's rock climbing business (check us out on Facebook Real Rocks Railay!) and settling into a new home with Tik.

Mom and Dad are flying out to visit us this week, and we have decided to sign our marriage licenses, with my parents as witnesses next week in Krabi. So, Tik and I are legally getting hitched, and this time my family will be there to celebrate!

It's kind of a pain in the ass to marry overseas, and it starts with an unpleasant experience at the US embassy in Bangkok (please read previous rant post "Royally Annoyed in Bangkok!")

First you have to prove you're single with a paper from the embassy (which states at the bottom that the embassy doesn't guarantee any of the information is true....
So, basically I paid 50 dollars for a paper that doesn't even prove anything.) What a waste!

Then you get the document translated into Thai. Next, sit in traffic for hours to get to the opposite side of the city to get the document certified by the ministry of foreign affairs and immigration department. (I am at this stage presently.)

After that it should be a quick trip to the local government office in Krabi to sign our marriage papers... Here's to hoping it is smooth sailing from here on out with my folks!

Safe flight mom and dad, happy to see you soon. For the rest of you out there, you can find me sipping champagne at the nail salon tonight; there are finer ways to spend my time in Bangkok!

A rant about US embassies overseas

I would like to take a moment to rant about US embassies overseas...I was kicked out 3 times from the embassy this morning for having a phone, an iPod and a USB in my bag. Here's the worst part, they wouldn't let me leave my electronics at security, I had to take them off the premise and leave them with someone outside. (What possible security threat could my 2 GB USB hold in a secure compound!!!)

I came alone so when I asked the guards outside to watch my stuff they declined saying 'personnel not allowed'...luckily I found an angry expat sitting outside (and who will remain there for several more hours) who was kind enough to hold my electronics while I notarized documents inside....in return I sat with him and listened to him rant about the rudeness of all things relating to uncle sam.

I expect to be treated differently when I am a guest in a foreign country, and I expect to be put out from time to time with Thai authority, but not from my own damn embassy!!!!

Royally annoyed in downtown Bangkok,
Stef

New life in Krabi with Tik!

In case you didn’t know already….Tik and I got hitched! We married on the 25th of July, a Muslim wedding in his home town of Naga (Ranong) in front of all of his friends and family! It was a shock to everyone when we came back to town, what we had done and how quickly…even for us, we were engaged for only 10 days before tying the kno

t! But…all I can say is when I know, I know. Since my last post, there have been so many changes….too many to possibly catch up on in one post, so I won’t even try. Just know that I fell in love with a boy (a Thai one at that!), we recently got married, and I have since finished my last job with ISV and have officially moved out of the Baan Unrak Children’s Home (as of 2 days ago.) My last days at Baan Unrak were bitter sweet, but the kids were genuinely happy for me (Thar Gyi especially!) and we have made a deal that every 2 months I will come to visit for a week or so as long as I have enough money to travel and god willing that I don’t get pregnant for another 3 years, at least! Yes, Tik and I are in no rush to have children of our own. We want to enjoy our time as a married couple and we have a lot to do before we can even consider the possibility of providing more grandchildren to our parents: immigration paperwork for me to stay in Thailand; visa paperwork for Tik to visit Miami; working hard to get the rock climbing business up and running; buy land; build house; travel to Nepall, the usual etc…. The move from Baan Unrak to Krabi was HARD! Emotionally more than anything else….but lugging 3 bags of overweight crap around Bangkok city was no piece of cake either! But I am here now, officially moved in with Tik and working in the office of his rock climbing shop on Railay Beach. The next step for us is to fix up his place for us to be comfortable living in (installing a kitchen and a roof for starters) and registering with the local governor for legal documentation of our marriage. I am happy, in love and feeling refreshed! Stay tuned, for new adventures as my life takes a turn for the…..