It is an odd quirk of Thai law that foreigners like myself are required ever 90 days to leave the country and receive a re-entry visa, even if we (like myself) have a year-long visa. For whatever reason, the closest and least expensive place to travel to for someone like myself in the Chiang Mai area is the Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing. This is my second visit to that crossing, and I hope it will be slightly less dull than my last, but equally peaceful.

I do not have time to write very much for this entry, as I am about to head off to the bus station (and I am waiting for the driver, Pi Moo, to come, it being about ten minutes shy of 6:30 in the morning, when I am far from a morning person). At any rate, there are a few aspects of a visa run that always interest me to ponder and determine along the way. For one, I wonder if today will be a busy visa crossing since yesterday was some kind of Thai holiday—I have heard that it was some kind of holiday for Rama V. I don’t know enough about Thai calendars to say with any degree of certainty.

For another, I’m curious about whether this trip will be as enjoyable (or more so) than the last. I wonder what movies will be shown on the bus ride to and from Mae Sai, and about what food they will provide on the bus (the water will be greatly appreciated). I am also curious to see what sort of people I will be crossing the border with. Will it be mostly farang [Westerners, or guavas] (as it was last time) or whether it will be Thais. Border crossings are always so fascinating, even if one is going to the Burmese equivalent of Nogales or Tijuana.