Have you ever heard that saying? I am sure you have. It definitely applies to the plans of an Expat in China. I am nearing the end of my work contract and with it my work visa will expire. Well as you may know, visa issuing governments usually put the actual date that your visa expires on your visa. Brilliant, I know. That way you will know in advance when to begin working on your plans, whatever they may be. Well, back in November, I thought I would use this facts to start making my plans. So, I reminded my boss, and he in turn reminded the school, that we needed to get the paper work in order for my new visa. They said no problem. That doesn't happen until February. We have plenty of time. Well, November became December, and inevitably December turned into January but guess what? Still no visa. So now, one week before we travel to Thailand, and two weeks before that aforementioned expiration date arrives, they tell me "we need to talk because there have been some developments". Not exactly what you want to hear after you have spent money on plane tickets because you have been assured that there will be no problem getting the new visa. Do you know what the development was? The development was that there has been no development. They have not even submitted the paperwork! On top of that, the agency where they are supposed to submit it is closed for the week. I guess knowing the expiration date a year in advance is not as advantages as I thought. Hence, the new visa will not be ready before our flight to Bangkok. So our options are: 1. We cancel our trip and hope they get our new visa. 2. We wait until they get our new visa then we go to Thailand. 3. We go on our vacation as planned, get a new tourist visa while we are in Bangkok, and then get the work visa once we return to China. My boss has agreed to foot the bill for any extra expense that we incur for having to stay in Bangkok longer than planned. Right now we have opted for plan three. If everything goes as planned in a week we will be enjoying the beautiful beaches and warm weather in Thailand. But we won't hold our breath because as the saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry". - Frank
We once again find ourselves in "The Land of Smiles", picturesque Thailand. We are visiting our friends Jeff and Melissa on the beautiful island of Krabi. So far we have found the people here to be very friendly, the food very tasty, and the scenery pretty amazing. Yesterday we visited one of the local national park, and saw a waterfall. 
