The day had arrived.  It was yet again another fine sunny and beautiful morning at the Sananwan Palace.  I sat there chilling out by the poolside and calling the Embassy.   Yes they had my temporary passport ready and I would go and pick it up.  

After getting the document, I made several backup copies and scans and immediately got a money belt from a shop on a soi nearby so to safeguard it.  I would quickly become rather paranoid about constantly checking where the document was.  This system eventually developed into something more professional but it was all built on paranoia for not losing key documents which proved to be quite important actually. 

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Next it was lunch, and then a trip to Thai immigration.  This was all the way near Don Muang airport.  I got off the MRT then took a Grab scooter to the building.   As soon as I walked in, it confirmed the horror stories.  There were tons of people around, and many doing the 90-day reports that expats in Thailand must do.

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The whole reason for coming here was to activate the new passport with a Thai stamp.  This would allow me to exit the country later and then get a Cambodia stamp and visa.  

In order to do that, it was just a case of sit down and take a number like at any government office all over the world.  Even though it was packed, they processed everyone fast and they even smiled at me.  I wasn't expecting that.  It helped that I had all my paperwork together and with multiple photocopies.  They commented how they appreciated that, and everything worked to get the stamp within minutes.  There was a bunch of stuff written in Thai on the stamp that probably said something like 'this replaces the old one that was reported lost or stolen'.

Next, I went back to the city center and did more shopping.  We then went on a property hunting tour.  Long story on that one.  James and I discussed the failings of the property manager Prateep who had essentially cheated me out of a year's worth of rent with the latest customer in my condo.  I was basically told, "You've got to fire that asshole right now as of this minute."  I said "Of course, but what about the money he owes me?  He keeps saying he'll pay back this date or that date etc."

James said, "You've got to be kidding me.  His word means nothing.  I would get a lawyer involved if you need to."

[Update November 2022:  In the end I fired Prateep and took the losses.  My lawyer got involved also.]

Later on we got shitfaced with Thai whiskey and who knows what happened next.

All the events of the last week or so had caught up to me, and Thailand was evidently not the stress-free paradise it once was.  Maybe it never was, or that was all in the imagination.  Evidently, Thailand was proving to be more hectic than we realized.