Banks, Embassies, and still MORE Bureaucracy!

So guess what time I woke up today? You got it, 6 am. This is so bizarre, I can’t figure out why 6 am is the magic hour. Oh, so the internet guys were supposed to come at 9 am today. Who wants to bet on what time they actually got here? I had heard that the Thais are notorious for their notion of time, but this was ridiculous! First, I waste an entire Sunday, waiting around for them and now, all of Monday morning (they didn’t get there until 11:45 am)!

This is of course, after I scramble around town to catch the BTS and subway to get to Chula, get lost, walk through a bunch of random walkways and paths through the university’s medical center, only to find the International Affairs office still closed – all before 8:30 am! I rush back home after I leave my photos with one of the ladies at a nearby office with instructions to give it to the right person. God only knows if it ever made it to her with one of my new cards. I haven’t heard back from her yet and I wonder if I will be in the next few days.

At around 9:45 am, I get a call from Khun Kritt asking me if the techs had gotten in touch with me yet. Yes, but they were supposed to be here at 9 am. Really?? I’ll give them a call. Thank you. Let me know if they don’t contact you within 20 minutes. Ok, I will. A little after 10 am, I get a call from the techs. They say they’ll be there by 11 am. Yeah, right, I thought.

Anyway, they finally get here and run all sorts of diagnostics. We finally determined that it was because the modem wasn’t getting enough power. I was running it through the power converter because the power plug for the modem was one of those three-pronged ones and my wall sockets don’t have that shape. Luckily, my “universal” adaptor that I had thought to be useless was just what I needed. How serendipitous. So I’m not sure if I’ll be getting charged that 300 baht, but I don’t really care at this point. At least I have a connection to the outside world again!

The other thing on my list to do today is to open up a bank account. I was advised to open up an account with Bangkok Bank, as they have ATMs all over the place. I had been careful to note where I have seen which banks ATMs in the past few days for sake of convenience. When I get to the branch customer service table, they ask to see my work permit. I produce a letter that was given to my by TUSEF to facilitate this process. I was chagrined when I found out that it was going to be enough. The lady told me that I would need corroborating evidence from the US embassy that I had clearance to open a bank account since I didn’t technically have a work permit. I’m still not sure how I classify in relation to the Fulbright Administration, but it’s certainly not as an employee!

So it’s after 1:15 pm when I jump in a cab and tell him to take me to the US embassy. 100 baht, ok? Ok! It was then that I knew I was being overcharged. I wondered if I had accidentally stepped into the wrong kind of taxi, where you bargain for your price ahead of time or if it was one of those where they had a meter. Anyway, I quickly scanned for a meter and found it, but it wasn’t running. I was very much just wanting to get this taken care of because the banks close at 3:30 pm in Thailand and I didn’t know what I would have to do at the embassy or how long it would take. I paid him the overpriced fare and stepped out of the taxi. A sign read “American Citizen Services 8 am – Noon and 1-2pm. GRRRRIEF! It was almost 1:30 pm by the time I made it through security and I didn’t even know how to get to the service desk let alone explain what I needed from them. At any rate, 25 minutes and $30 later, I got a form letter that I filled out that featured an official signature and a seal that “certified” my status as a Fulbright. I don’t know what they did with the letter when they took it to the back for about 15 minutes, but whatever it was, it was going to help me get my bank account.

I rushed back to the Bangkok Bank branch and triumphantly set the new piece of paper down for all to see. At this point, it was after 2:30 pm. It took another 20 minutes or so for me to fill out all the paperwork and ask all the applicable questions like what the annual fee was for the bank account, what ATM surcharges I should expect, where, when and how I could use it. She handed me my new ATM card and a promotional Bangkok Bank gift wall clock to boot!