I admit, I'm a little disappointed. Originally, we had planned to go to Vietnam for ten days, following in our tradition of taking a big adventure trip in October each year. In the past I've gone to Hong Kong, Singapore, Myanmar, and Cambodia, but for my fifth year in Thailand, I'll just be staying in the country.
My passport will expire in March, and it's just too expensive to renew the passport (4000 baht), transfer my Thai visa from my old passport to my new passport (2000 baht), apply for a Vietnamese visa (1000 baht), and apply for a Thai re-entry permit (1000 baht). That's nearly 300 dollars for visas before I've even left Thailand. Instead, for the first time since moving to Thailand, I'll be spending the year in the kingdom without the chance to explore neighboring countries.
But!
I'm determined to make the most of it. Besides, I haven't done nearly as much traveling in Thailand as I would have liked to. This is my chance! Tomorrow evening, Pinky and I will be boarding the night train number 13 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to begin our grand adventure in the north!
If all goes well, I hope to return to Bangkok with many happy memories and a journal full of notes for my latest book. I'm keeping a positive attitude, and I'm excited about seeing a part of the country that I don't know very well.
Northern Thailand, here I come!
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