New Year, New Country, New Adventures

We arrived in Thailand today, January 1, 2015. New year, new country, new adventures.

We decided a few days ago to come over the border and go to the closest big city, Hat Yai. We had heard about Hat Yai a couple weeks ago from Tom, a new friend we met at our cafe in Penang. He used to live and Hat Yai and said he really liked it because there were not many white people which made it a more authentic Thai experience. When I looked up Hat Yai originally on Lonely Planet I shied away from it because there was a terrorist attack here in 2013 that killed 3 people and injured 400. Southern Thailand can be a rough place as there are religious extremists here who sometimes carry out terrorist attacks. After spend another week or so researching Thailand, and not being able to find anywhere in the southern half that we really wanted to go to (or that we could afford) we committed to Hat Yai.

With this commitment it meant we would be crossing over into Thailand along the southern land border - something else we have heard lots about both good and bad. We confirmed a hotel room, bought our bus tickets, and started to get excited.

We mentioned to a few people that we were going to Hat Yai and then we continued to get more and more input about our decision (I'll come back to this topic shortly). We found out there isn't much to do in Hat Yai (except prostitution, it's the prostitution capital of Southern Thailand). We were told there would be lots of Malaysians here as it is close to the border and much cheaper than Malaysia. From research online we found there is almost nothing for a tourist to do in Hat Yai - except "massage parlours" and actual massages. But we had committed so we were going and we were going to be excited about it, and we were going to have a back up plan just in case we got here and felt unsafe and wanted to leave.

This morning we woke up around 7 am, got ready and headed down to the McDonalds, bags in hang, to catch our van to Hat Yai. Almost every time we walked down our street in Malaysia we were constantly honked at by passerbys and taxis, both to congratulate us on our white skin and see if we need a ride. This morning, when we would have been happy to pay almost anything for a ride, none of the taxis would pick us up. It took us almost 30 minutes to trudge down the street with our suitcases and backpacks, about twice the normal speed, but we made it to McDonalds about 10 minutes ahead of our departure.

Being the morning after New Years there weren't many people about. We sat on the steps outside McDonalds until our van (Thai Van 5236) pulled up for up. The van from the outside looked quite flash - rather new, very dark tinted windows, almost a bit gangster (except for it being a van). We couldn't see into the van at all so we were a bit nervous, or at least I was, I cannot speak for Elizabeth. The driver loaded our suitcases into the back and then opened the side door. There were three Malaysian men (2 of Indian decent, 1 Chinese) sitting in the middle row. We could have either climbed into the back row or sat in the front row. Obviously we chose the front.

We then went down the road to a hotel and picked up there Asian tourists - a mom, dad, and teenage daughter. They sat in the back row to the mother's obviously disappointment. Then to another McDonalds where we picked up to other Asian tourists and then a third stop where we got our last passenger, a young solo female traveler - maybe 30 years old and Asian. And then we were off to the border with a completely full van.

The van drove along, about 50kms/hour over the speed limit, to the border stopping once for a potty break. Then, about 15 kms from the border, everything changed. We were going alone just like normal when the driver pulled quickly over to the side of the road and stopped very closely behind a stopped semi truck. Another van pulled up right behind ours, our driver got out, went back and talked to the other driver, and then came back. The solo female traveler, who was likely Thai or Malaysian and knew the driver as she must do this route often, started looking around nervously and getting rather excited. She then told the guy next to her what was going on - which was apparently rather dramatic based on her hand motions and voice - and that was that. We had no idea what happened and tried to ignore the whole incident. Maybe sometimes it's better just not to know?

About 5 kms later we pulled into a rest stop. The driver pulled behind the rest stop building, not in front like the other vans, had us get out for our 10 minute break, and then took all of our passports and disappeared. We had no idea where he was going with our passports or why. I didn't want to go too far from our stuff so I stuck by the van. And since we were likely hiding the van behind the building from whomever we stopped by on the highway - or something related to it - I was just trying to not think about what was happening. And we hadn't even crossed the apparently dangerous land border yet. Yikes!

After about 15 minutes the driver came back, passports in hand, along with Thai arrival and departure cards. We paid him each RM$1 for our departure cards/passports and then we were back in the van and off to the border.

As we approached the border we passed through one Malaysian checkpoint with militar guards with large automatic weapons. Although they were clearly heavily armed, they all looked like they were more excited about their impending lunch break than they were about searching our van. Plus, the gun was slung over his shoulder in a way that didn't look like he could respond too quickly anyways. Or at least not faster than I could duck under the window. He waved us through.

At the first border, where we officially left Malaysia, everything went very smoothly and quickly. The lines were very short and they had 2 immigration staff to each line. When it was my turn I went up to the window and the guy started asking me about my time in Malaysia - how long I'd been there, where I'd been, where I was coming from, etc. He then asked if I would be coming back to which I replied "Probably not." He then replied "that's good." I jokingly asked him what that meant, if he didn't want me back in the country, and he said no, that wasn't it, but there were no jobs. I told him we were going onto Singapore to get jobs and he asked me what I wanted to do there. I told him we were planning to work in a restaurant. He suggested I model. Flattering I guess. He was very nice. I have never had a customs agent tell me not to come back to a country because there were other places to go - although I do agree there are better places than Malaysia.

Then it was off to the Thai border. Again we waited in line there, everyone from our van in the same line. When I got up the counter I hadn't filled in where I was going in Thailand so I had to scramble to get that done. The immigration officer told me I could have a 30 day visa (I thought I would be getting 15). He asked if that was okay and I said yes. Then we had a nice playful back and forth of about 6 exchanges where he kept saying "Not Okay?" and I would say "Okay" and so forth until he finally stamped my passport. Elizabeth only got 15 days - Australians!

We had heard the day before that the visa was going to cost us RM$120 or about USD$30. We both had enough cash on us in both Malaysian Ringgit and US Dollars to cover the cost but we never had to pay anything. I am really just not sure how all this works. Why some people say you have to pay, why others say you don't, what the difference is.

With our money still in our pockets we got back into the van and then all drove over the border together. They never checked our bags, never asked us about contraband, never checked the van, it was much, much easier than I expect. There were officers around with machine guns, and multiple road checkpoints after we got into Thailand, but it was just so easy. Once again a better than expected experience.

We finished off our bus ride to Hat Yai, got into our first Tuk Tuk from the bus stop to the hotel (where we were terribly ripped off, but compared to US prices it was still reasonable), went out for our first fabulous Thai meal (the food is exponentially better than Malaysia), and then took a 2 hour nap in the room. After that we had Thai Massages of 1.5 hours each for THB$300 or about US$11. We will be getting another round in 2 days. Than dinner in the city - another fabulous Thai meal - some people (and elephant watching) and then back to the hotel to exercise and blog.

For the elephant watching, while we were sitting at dinner reading to each other from the book I bought about temporary migrant workers in Malaysia, an elephant walked around the corner. Now we are eating in probably the busiest part of Hat Yai - the tourist area where there are lots of people and cars and bike, and then an elephant just wanders around the corner. It was a very young elephant - or at least small, maybe only 6 feet tall - and was with a guide, but I have never seen an elephant just wander around the corner in the middle of a city. So cool and so weird!

Anyways, that's all for now.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve last night. We were in bed early in preparation for our big travel day today. Best of luck in the New Year and I will keep you all up to date with regular blog posts about our continued travels and adventures.

Best!