What I didn't know at the time was that passport theft incident would set up a chain reaction of events over the next several years.  Combined with the onset of the covid pandemic in 2020 and my attempt to apply for a new school in Malaysia which also failed, this all conspired to bring about some of the worst mental health I had experienced in my life.

All this talk about failing forward is great, and I'll eventually get there, but right now I just feel depressed and generally like shit.  Then and now.

At the time, there was a whole bunch of bureaucracy that needed to be tackled.  Early on Monday morning I printed out and copied all the documents necessary for the task.  Then I tried to reach the Canada Embassy by taxi.  It didn't work because the drivers weren't willing to sit in the traffic jams.  So I got a cab to the BTS station and took the trains to the Embassy.  It turns out it's just a small rental space in an office building with minimal facilities.

The official on the ground floor asked to see my police report which I showed her.  I went through a metal detector, put my stuff in a security locker, got a pass badge, was escorted up the elevator to the 15th floor, exchanged that pass badge for another one, handed over my cell phone, took a number, then waited my turn.  I met some people in the waiting room and told my story.

When called up to the officer I repeated the same thing but in more professional language.  "My passport was stolen nearby the Cambodia border."

The officer thought the border guards seized my passport and asked, "Did they take your passport away at Cambodia?"  I said, "No, it was a thief at a gas station nearby the border on the Thai side.  Border officials weren't involved."  She then asked, "How did you get here?"  I said, "I took the bus".   I then realized it was quite a bit of luck to pull this off as normally the police or military will get on the bus and ask for ID documents.  But not so with us.

One of the first things they asked me for was a birth certificate which I didn't have.  This was going to severely bite me in the ass in 2020 also.

Then I was asked for two references in Bangkok and a guarantor.  That happened to be none other than my cycling friend James.   At first the officer was saying that without a birth certificate they couldn't process a replacement passport.  But apparently with my guarantor, they said they could issue a two year passport without the birth certificate.  The catch was it would be non-renewable.   Meanwhile they could issue a temporary passport in a few days.

[Update Novemember 2022:  That two year limited issue passport proved to be the killer of my next trip in 2020 just before covid.  The one way this could have worked to solve would have been at some point to get a birth certificate mailed which eventually I did.  The only snag with that is they are so large and awkward to carry they don't fit in wallets]

While the officer was processing something, James basically said it it straight:  "Who the fuck carries a birth certificate on their person while traveling abroad?  It's not like you can just keep that in a filing cabinet somewhere.  You're constantly on the move."

We then both saw the sign that said no coarse language, no aggressive or hostile manners.  Oops.  She pretended not to hear us.  In terms of Embassy officers, she was one of the better ones.  I have dealt with some real nasty ones before.  She actually smiled afterwards and was friendly.  I thanked her.

I later went online to find out whether I could order a wallet sized birth certificate.  It turns out they don't exist anymore and they *intentionally* only print the large awkward ones that are designed to sit somewhere in a filing cabinet.  That doesn't do any fucking good for those like us who live on a more nomadic existence.  Sometimes it truly amazes me how incompetent governments can be.

With this done, we hired two illegal Grab scooters and went off to a phone shop to get a replacement smartphone.  That done, and temporary passport on the way, it was some decent progress made towards getting back on my feet.

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During the waiting time for the passport this week, I basically rode laps around the hotel in outer Bangkok and tested out the new smartphone and Garmin GPS devices.  I also made several trips in and out of the city to hang out with friends and do some high intensity gym classes and social events.  Aside from that, I couldn't really go anywhere without a passport. 

This began to set the stage for limited distance riding and a feeling of being cooped up and riding laps.  This would be a *very* familiar concept for lockdowns and quarantines.  This was rather ominous.  Even now in April 2024, I was wondering when I could ever get out of this mental funk.