I just wanted to explain the reason my girlfriend and I got married now instead of later when we plan to have a wedding (which we are still going to do). You see it takes the immigration process about 9 months or so. And costs all kinds of fees. So rather than wait for my girlfriend to be able to come to the US after we got married. We decided to get the marriage license now, and have the wedding later on. That way when we do have the ceremonial wedding, she will be able to come back to the US with me.
Now getting the marriage to be recognized in the US was another thing. The two days spent running around Bangkok was definitely interesting experience.
Our day started off on Tuesday around 11 AM. We left for Bangkok via bus. That was a first for me to take a bus in another country. Well our bus trip was over an hour long to get to the bus station in Bangkok. When we got off, we then proceed on with taxi, my first stop I wanted to go was the US embassy. But some how he took us to the Thai consular office instead. :| Well, we needed to know where that was anyway, but I still needed to head to the embassy. So we grabbed another taxi. He decided to take the toll road to get us there faster, off course we had to pay the toll. Not a big deal, only 1.25. Hell the cab fare was only 2 bucks when we got to the embassy.
Anyway, we are now in the US Embassy and I head off to the citizens line. I wait to talk to one of the friendly people behind the window. Which I then request for papers to marry Thai citizens. I was handed a affidavit and instructions I needed to follow. I also had to pay a $55 dollar fee for notarizing my affidavit. Oh no problem I will head off to the bank down the street. So my girlfriend and I head off to the bank and hit up the ATM. I try to withdraw 8k Baht. No go, there is some sort of transfer error. DOH! So I have to go inside the bank, which of course had a very long line. So while in line I counted how much money I had on me and my girlfriend. 2200 Baht, damn almost enough. Then I notice my girlfriend has a $10 bill in her wallet, I am like perfect, we can use that. So we got out of line and head back to the embassy again. I go to the window to pay for fee's. Guess what, I can only use either dollars or Baht. DOH again!!
So I tell my girlfriend to wait for me at the Embassy while I go run back to the bank again. I get back in line and wait. I finally get up to the counter when I ask to withdraw 8000 Baht again from my visa debit card. The clerk says ok, but I need to see your passport first. Awww crap, its with my girlfriend. So I now run back to the embassy and once again. The guards by now are laughing has the see my go through the gate again for the third time. Anyway, I grab my passport and anything else they might ask for and head out to the bank again. Wait in the freaking line one more time and ask another clerk for 8000 Baht. I show them my passport and two other forms of ID. Sign my credit card slip and receive my 8000 Baht. (wahoo) So now I run back to the US embassy for the last time. go inside and pay the notary fee in Baht. 2360 was the total I paid, got my receipt and head back over to the citizens window. It's closed. DOH!!! They apparently close at 3:30 PM.
Well I was not willing to give up, I proceeded to the side and try to get someone's attention. I do finally manage to do that and a lady comes and helps me out. Hand them my affidavit and receipt. I swear I everything is truthful, and then I wait a few minutes while they notarize it. Finally get my papers back with the notary on it. Yeah! Ok, next on the check list is the to head over to get this thing translated. Oh great, where do we find a translators office. So we head outside to grab yet another taxi. He takes us to some Thai government facility for god knows what. It is not what I needed. But we get out and go inside. Maybe they can tell us where. No go with that either, so we head back outside again. By this time We are famished from our days of catching buses and Taxis. I was thinking food when I noticed across the street there was a translators office. Wahoo!
So now we rush across the street and hand them my affidavit. They tell me what the fee is and proceed to ask a few questions on how certain things are pronounced. Now the lady goes to type up everything in Thai and we have wait for her to finish typing it. We get the translated version back and my girlfriend reads through it. We handed it back a couple of times for revisions. Finally with that is all done we decide to head home since it was too late to go the Thai consular office.
Under suggestion of the people of the translator office we take the BTS train. Which is basically an elevated electric train that cuts across much of Bangkok. And since traffic is major suck in Bangkok at that time we head off to the BTS station down the street. We ride the train to the end and get off to catch a bus back to Saraburi. When we get there we eat dinner and take a couple of motorcycles home and crash around 11 that night.
And this is just day one... I'll post day 2 later on.
edit
Here is Day 2
Now getting the marriage to be recognized in the US was another thing. The two days spent running around Bangkok was definitely interesting experience.
Our day started off on Tuesday around 11 AM. We left for Bangkok via bus. That was a first for me to take a bus in another country. Well our bus trip was over an hour long to get to the bus station in Bangkok. When we got off, we then proceed on with taxi, my first stop I wanted to go was the US embassy. But some how he took us to the Thai consular office instead. :| Well, we needed to know where that was anyway, but I still needed to head to the embassy. So we grabbed another taxi. He decided to take the toll road to get us there faster, off course we had to pay the toll. Not a big deal, only 1.25. Hell the cab fare was only 2 bucks when we got to the embassy.
Anyway, we are now in the US Embassy and I head off to the citizens line. I wait to talk to one of the friendly people behind the window. Which I then request for papers to marry Thai citizens. I was handed a affidavit and instructions I needed to follow. I also had to pay a $55 dollar fee for notarizing my affidavit. Oh no problem I will head off to the bank down the street. So my girlfriend and I head off to the bank and hit up the ATM. I try to withdraw 8k Baht. No go, there is some sort of transfer error. DOH! So I have to go inside the bank, which of course had a very long line. So while in line I counted how much money I had on me and my girlfriend. 2200 Baht, damn almost enough. Then I notice my girlfriend has a $10 bill in her wallet, I am like perfect, we can use that. So we got out of line and head back to the embassy again. I go to the window to pay for fee's. Guess what, I can only use either dollars or Baht. DOH again!!
So I tell my girlfriend to wait for me at the Embassy while I go run back to the bank again. I get back in line and wait. I finally get up to the counter when I ask to withdraw 8000 Baht again from my visa debit card. The clerk says ok, but I need to see your passport first. Awww crap, its with my girlfriend. So I now run back to the embassy and once again. The guards by now are laughing has the see my go through the gate again for the third time. Anyway, I grab my passport and anything else they might ask for and head out to the bank again. Wait in the freaking line one more time and ask another clerk for 8000 Baht. I show them my passport and two other forms of ID. Sign my credit card slip and receive my 8000 Baht. (wahoo) So now I run back to the US embassy for the last time. go inside and pay the notary fee in Baht. 2360 was the total I paid, got my receipt and head back over to the citizens window. It's closed. DOH!!! They apparently close at 3:30 PM.
Well I was not willing to give up, I proceeded to the side and try to get someone's attention. I do finally manage to do that and a lady comes and helps me out. Hand them my affidavit and receipt. I swear I everything is truthful, and then I wait a few minutes while they notarize it. Finally get my papers back with the notary on it. Yeah! Ok, next on the check list is the to head over to get this thing translated. Oh great, where do we find a translators office. So we head outside to grab yet another taxi. He takes us to some Thai government facility for god knows what. It is not what I needed. But we get out and go inside. Maybe they can tell us where. No go with that either, so we head back outside again. By this time We are famished from our days of catching buses and Taxis. I was thinking food when I noticed across the street there was a translators office. Wahoo!
So now we rush across the street and hand them my affidavit. They tell me what the fee is and proceed to ask a few questions on how certain things are pronounced. Now the lady goes to type up everything in Thai and we have wait for her to finish typing it. We get the translated version back and my girlfriend reads through it. We handed it back a couple of times for revisions. Finally with that is all done we decide to head home since it was too late to go the Thai consular office.
Under suggestion of the people of the translator office we take the BTS train. Which is basically an elevated electric train that cuts across much of Bangkok. And since traffic is major suck in Bangkok at that time we head off to the BTS station down the street. We ride the train to the end and get off to catch a bus back to Saraburi. When we get there we eat dinner and take a couple of motorcycles home and crash around 11 that night.
And this is just day one... I'll post day 2 later on.
edit
Here is Day 2