Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Starting Again, From The Beginning


The process to get our visa to live in Portugal was a little complicated and had us running out to buy more ink and paper for the printer!  This weighs 4.1 kilos / 9.1 lbs!  

On June 1st we submitted our applications to the Portuguese Embassy in Bangkok.   We took the bus from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport.  From there we hopped the Airport Rail Link to the end of the line where we caught a BTS train to the river.  We then took a water taxi to the stop for our hotel.  The Royal Orchid Sheraton which is next door to the Portuguese Embassy.  It took 6 hours!

As we were waiting to catch the water taxi to the hotel and we saw these men working barefoot and standing on bamboo scaffolding while using electrical hammer drills and saws....what could possibly go wrong?

This is the inside of Royal Orchid Sheraton water taxi that took us down the river to the hotel.

Just one of the many different kinds of boats on the river in Bangkok.

The view from our room on the 22nd floor.

My Mojito was just ok, but Vince's Brandy Alexander was delicious and the smell reminded me of Christmas because they sprinkled nutmeg on the top.

We were the only ones in the Italian restaurant in the hotel so it felt like Vince booked it just for us.  My spaghetti was full of flavor and the bread was fresh and yummy.

Vince had spinach ravioli and it was amazing.

This is a view of the Portuguese Embassy from the river.  It is a two minute walk from the hotel.  When we went the next day to submit our paperwork, the guard asked to see our passports, let us in and we walked through a courtyard that had several resident peacocks.  The guard did not ask us to turn off our cell phones or take them away from us, they did not wand us or scan us or ask us to take off belts or shoes.  It was so civilized, comfortable and refreshing.



Exactly six weeks later we were back again to have the visa stamp put in our passports.  We watched from across the room into the second floor office where the Ambassador placed his signature on the visa. 


Here is a toast with the Late Harvest Riesling we brought back from New Zealand.



Next Stop........Lisbon!



All of the Monkeys are ready to go!