USA Visa Application - The myths.

I am not trying to brag about they joy of getting my US Visa application approved. Because I believed most of you had it 10 years ago when I never thought that I will ever be on the plane to The State. Not in my dream. But life is like that. When you learn to dream hard and wish big, the universe hear you and make it happen.

I just wanted to share my experience about US Visa Application so that all of you quit worrying like I did. 

First thing that I ALWAYS heard from EVERYBODY about US Visa Application (for the non immigrant) was - "Oh, they are very strict. You need to have a solid reason why you want to go there. Good luck with that". But, tell me, what is more solid than "Tours and Sightseeing?". That is solid, concrete enough for being the reason why you fly abroad, besides work and running away.

Then it follows with:
1) You need letter of Invitation from someone in USA.
2) You need to have a lot of money inside your bank account to show that you can afford to fund your expenses for the whole period of stay.
3) You need to know about the map / area you're going to visit 
4) You need to show them the proof of ALL properties you own in Malaysia
5) They wanted to see your bank statement
6) They wanted to see your payslip
7) They wanted to see your staff confirmation letter as well as staff letter offer
8) They wanted to see tour program and proof that you are going for sightseeing
9) Never mention you going alone
10) If you are single, and going alone, the % to get rejected is almost 100% So please be married
11) Wear proper, professional outfit
12) Take train. It's very hard to park your car nearby the Embassy.

...and the list continues.

I mean, that's bullshit. And I must admit. I got bulshitted - big time.

Same as Japan Visa Application. People said that you need at least RM10,000 in your saving account to be able to visit Japan.

Expensive paper work's processing fee of RM512 is TRUE though. Approved or rejected, it costs you non refundable RM512.

I was dreading to apply US Visa because of that amount. I can handle the failure and rejection. But not with such cost. Anyways, sooner or later, I still have to go through this. But I choose sooner to find it out by myself.

The feeling of attending JPJ Driving License test come rolling in all over again. 

After following the necessary, create my account profile for online registration purpose at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ , filled up DS-160 online, print out the deposit slip, make that payment at Standard Chartered Bank, log in again and set the interview appointment according to my date and time preference, all set up and my anxiety mounting. I won't list down the steps because that's your job to read the procedures, tips and advice on that website for your own sake.

I was ill worry from the stage of filling up DS-160. But Mike's advice is 1 - BE HONEST and tell the truth, but not the unnecessary truth.

I was torn between the two. Between telling all truth and get rejected, or lie and still get rejected. FML. That is not torn between the TWO. That's negative thinking! I am a very positive person but what was written on forum, blogs, article and rants I read online about Malaysian's experience in getting US Visa ... sent me downhill.

So, I chose 14 February for the interview appointment, 9.20am. Smooth traffic from Shah Alam to Ampang, I manage to arrive the Embassy early. Earlier than advised - 20 minutes before the appointment. Parking is easy. Just park at open space car park with guard next to Micasa Hotel for RM8 per entry with VALET service. Walked about 2 minutes, there you see dreadful line right along of lifeless colored US Embassy's wall.

My advice - try to be there 1 hour before the interview appointment. Not 20 minutes. Because you still be at the gate by the time of your supposed appointment. So I ended up queuing and waiting for almost 3 hours outside of the building plus TWO waiting rooms. When they call up your number, don't be so happy that the waiting is over - because the FIRST call is only for you to hand out your passport with 1 white background 2 x 2 inch passport photograph. SECOND call is just to take ALL of your 10 fingerprints. Lucky they didn't request for the footprints as well. Plus saliva and blood sample.

I was so envy to see people around me. They came in with minimum group of 3, friends, office mate or family. Some with official letter from their office management sending them off for conference. Some is following the husband attending conference. Some with flight booking and tour program. Some are the spouses of flight crews.

And as I sat there alone observing, I was busy thinking how to answer to all the TRUTHS that I filled up in DS-160. Im SINGLE, going ALONE, I don't have RM30,000 in my saving for my 1 MONTH STAY in USA, I don't have exact date to buy my flight ticket, I don't have invitation letter, I don't have all the most of other people has.

All I have is my career, my monthly salary, my passport with a lot of stamps in and out of the country, my cheap possession, my expensive dream and my extravagant wishes :( 
But I put on a nice dress that day though :)
And I can do the snoop dog rap :|

Finally I got called in. And the magic questions were;

1) What is your purpose of visiting USA? - I swear I already prepared a brilliant intro for that. I was going to say "it is for sightseeing, experience and knowledge. Since I am working with tourism related industry, I can implement everything that I've gained during my visit into my work"
But hell, he cut me off with "OK" right after I said "sightseeing.."

2) Is somebody going with you? - Alone
3) Do you have family in USA? - NO
4) Do you travel a lot? - Yes. And he asked me to list the countries that I already visited. And again he cut me off in the middle again right after I mentioned the fourth countries.

He looked at his computer screen, and switched back at me with the words I longed to hear. "it make sense, I got no problem to approve your application. Here's your ticket for visa collection. Oh, we will courier it to this address" He circled the paper contained my office address. (You can asked them to courier it to you. No need to pick it up. That's a part of paper processing fee is for)

All the documents that I prepared a week earlier, -  untouched. So I used it to cover up my head from the rain while I walked back to my car.

It was the sweetest moment that happen to me in less than 1 minute. Quicker than pre mature ejaculation. That's my Valentines' Gift this year.


But, you may still get rejected to enter US soil at the port, tho'.

Haha.

Thailand : To Krabi from the Phuket. 2013

IDK. I can't think of appropriate post title from the 1st one.

We decided to take minivan from Phuket Bus Terminal to Krabi. It costs THB 140 per person, for 3 hours ride, compared to boat ride which is THB1600 - 2000. But the view and the stops that the boat made along the way before arriving Krabi are nice.

There are more destination available departing from Phuket Bus Terminal. Bangkok, Hatyai, Samui, Surat Thani, Trang, and some of it I don't even know it exist. You can check the schedule and journey duration HERE. But I don't know why they didn't include minivan in that schedule (from Phuket to Krabi) because the one that we took is air conditioned minivan.

We arrived Krabi Bus Terminal at Krabi town at 3PM. And had to pay additional THB500 per taxi from Krabi town to Aonang Beach.

we stayed at Red ginger Chic Resort, a boutique 4* property but with 5* surroundings and service! In fact, Red Ginger sit in one row, back to back with luxury property like Ananta Burin Resort, Buri Tara Resort, Centara Resort and Mercure but with cheaper price.

Love the chic lobby, a mixture of wood, white, red and gold, it really brings out the oriental feel instead of western. We were served with hotel signature drink, which is red ginger on ice. Refreshing! Terus buang angin beku sebab duduk dalam minivan lama lama kan..

Love the lobby tiles

I was pretty shocked to get huge room with 2 huge beds!

..and what makes me glad is that, they provide picnic basket complete with beach 2 mats, where I was planning to get it after the troubles with island hopping in Similan! You know.. I need a proper carrier for towels, a bottle of sun block, mineral water,  my camera, mobile phone, lip gloss, sun glass etc etc. And they provide umbrellas too! It was raining here and then sometimes in Krabi in January.

...after check in & a lil bit refreshed, we checked the area out. And oh Im glad that I bought that dress from Cotton On on sale. It's  only RM45 and I regretted it when I brought it home. But then, I love it now & wear it every now and then. haha.

Personally, I love Krabi compared to Phuket. It's smaller, quieter and more laid back. Well, I don't know about other part of Krabi tho'. But here, my hotel location is just nice since it is in between Aonang beach and  Nopparat Thara beach. - left side of the hotel is Aonang beach - vibrant at night with bars & restaurants, small shops & stalls selling cheap food by the local Muslims, tour desks & motorbike for rent are all over the places. On the right side of the hotel is Nopparat Thara beach which is more quiet, clean & swimmable compared to Aonang Beach.

Nopparat Thara Beach

Small shops, souvenir stalls, local and western restaurants are back to back along Aonang Beach. Opposite is the beach

Aonang Beach

Long tail boats are everywhere, ready to get you to the nearby/ remote island anytime.

At 4PM, we haven't had our lunch since Phuket, so we strolled back to the hotel and checked out the stall foods. Most of the food is THB30 - 50. From crepe to stir fried rice, grilled chicken to deep fried prawn.

yeah baby. It costs us like THB 240 for two of us. Kenyang untuk minum petang.

We checked the menu of almost every restaurants sit along Aonang Beach because I wanted to treat Mike a birthday dinner that night. He pointed out an Italian restaurant and said "it's has your name". So after checking its menu, we decided to come back for the dinner

I was still very full with the streets food we got from the stalls, so I got myself a plate of Italian salad with loads of cheese. I don't like it at all. I still prefer ceasar salad with parmesan cheese though. Mike got himself seafood pasta and the only thing I like about the dinner is just the drinks. I ordered 2 of that lime mint juice. The taste is out of this world.

I tried to find a cake shop or, at least a bread shop. But no sight of it. I really wanted to get Mike a birthday cake, so that he can blows the candles and make a wish.

But then, I saw there are locals sitting at the pavement, selling coloful paper lanterns, big and small for THB80 per piece. So I told Mike that he can fly the lantern up to the sky sealed with wishes :)

So I got him red lantern and we went to the beach to light it up.

It was our 1st experience to light & fly a paper lantern like this :)

I asked Mike what was his wishes?

"It's a secret, I won't tell"  

:(

The night is still young, so we strayed to the Aonang night life.

Aonang has it's centre point. Very small, 2 storey building full of bars and pubs

They also have a Cabaret show at the club called "Blue Dragon" on 2nd floor. But the ticket for the show is THB500 per person, so we skipped it.

Because we already saw them strutting outside off the show and took pictures with them :)

It seems like they are taller than everybody!

and we continue checked out the night life in Aonang Beach streets. I saw a lot of Malaysian with big plastic bags on both hands. Small town like this they also have the appetite to borong ha.. hhmmm..

If there are no replicas, don't call it Asia. lol.

And they still celebrating & wishing people Happy New Year in the middle of January. And look at the sale %

Seriously? All 4 decimal points?? Susahnya nak congak pakai otak ni...

...To be continued.

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Pre-Wedding Photo shoot.

My question is - perlu ke?

There was a pre marital sex then pre marital babies. And now again, Malays are being influenced into a pre wedding photo shoot, which, I really don't know where this practice originated from.

I don't know about them Chinese, because I saw them taking pictures for fun in the studios with fur and Hang Li Po dress since they were in high school. So, they are always associated with this studio photo shoot since forever. So, Im gonna leave them alone.

I'm going to leave out the Islamic point of view part too. Because, everybody already know the answer - it's FORBIDDEN. Kalau kau Islamik sangat, cuba la masuk meminang awek kau dengan senaskah Al Quran. Toksah berinai sanding bagai. Sebab dalam Islam tak de semua tu. Takkan takut dengan bakal mentua kot.. sebab bukan ke kau perlu takut dgn tuhan je? So, leave that out, alone.

So, yeah. I've heard and watched poor guys cried about expensive dowry (duit hantaran lah) while they just started to finish their study loan and struggle to get car loan so that they can bring their future wife for weekends date, follow with a cheap make out in the car and record it with their smartphones. Not to mention buying a loft. They can't get a decent room to rent for themselves to sleep even, so they are staying with parents in order to be able to buy "gold class" movie ticket at GSC every weekends together with a value set of popcorn Combo A.

And now - Pre Wedding Photo Shoot? The cheapest I've heard so far is RM1,000 just for a simple setting/outdoor shoot - and that is not including make over, the dress, the hairdo and so on. So there you go - put another dime in jukebox, babay.

Tanya la tunang kau - "Kenapa mengada sangat?".

I believed in your period of courtship and dating, you guys did take photos together with the help of friends (double date kaaannn) and bazillion front camera captured of you two both doing duck face. Why not saving those silly pictures over the years and compile it, make it into a timeline album as a pre wedding shoot? What is the difference? What ever happens before the wedding is a Pre Wedding. Oh, just because you don't have a special set up of you two together holding the swirly lollipop, riding the scooter on still, making that duck face - you can't call it as pre wedding photo shoot?

Dude! Are you for real? You and your future wife holding swirly lollipop making cute face with colorful balloons in the background isn't a real life living before, during and after the wedding. Because before, during and after the wedding you guys busy finding the way to fund that wedding! Bahahaha.

Well, I know, everybody wants a picture perfect in everything. Mine included. But I won't spend it on fake moment and show it to people that is US right before we tie the knot. BS.

I don't know if my boyfriend will get down on his knees ever and ask for my hand to be his "Bonnie Elizabeth Parker" to run this life of sin, forever. But I do put an anchor to every special moment when we were together on trips or even stupid dinner in town from the beginning.

and I know he is smiling when he look at this now. There were so many memories we created together and it will stay the sweetest if we go on our separate way in the end.

I have million of our sweet pictures together. And only both of us know the exact story and situation we encountered behind every pictures. The exact feelings, and it is real.

You have Instagram. It comes with cool filter and it makes every stupid shoots looks amazing though. Start capturing your sweetest moment and compile it. It is more meaningful.

Uh, and this post is not for them rich bastards.

Ciao.

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Thailand : From Phuket to the Krabi : Warming Up 2013

Warning : This post has a lot of Ass shots.

Every beginning needs a warm up. So do my year 2013. I choose island hopping around Phuket and Krabi, Thailand to warm up my beginning of new year as well as celebrating Mike's 34th birthday. I recall back 2012 and I realized that I did not go to any beaches at all for the entire year!! So, to make it up for that, I've decided to do a serious island hopping, swim under the sun and get serious tan line.

There is no introduction needed for these two (Phuket and Krabi). Russians go for the beaches, Americans love it for its girls and weed, European go for young Thai girls and ladyboys (LOL) and Malaysian go there for shopping (seriously..Malaysian travel abroad to shop. See how rich Malaysians are, and yet complain about toll and taxes).

Food wise, no issue to find Halal, Muslim food. It's everywhere. It is cheaper and full of flavor (as usual) than what I used to have back in KL.

Down the road from our hotel, we had this for our 1st lunch. And it costs us less than THB500.

Fried beef with black pepper and curry power. Yums! (Rasa ala ala rendang daging, tapi lagi awesome)

Chilli crab with onion spring and egg...

What I tell you, licin hingga menjilat pinggan. (Plate licking good)

Some people make faces when I mentioned Phuket and Krabi. "Boring" according to them.

Well, I agree if they are not a beach lover, or know how to swim. I agree that beaches in Patong or in Aonang are no longer crystal clear. It might turn to Langkawi 5-8 years from now.  You need to take a boat and go to the island nearby to enjoy what Phuket and Krabi has to amaze you.

I've been to Phuket back in year 2011, do the kayaking and that's it. It was 3 short day visit and made a wrong choice on hotel location. (Too far from Patong Beach Area). Any mistake in Thailand is not that expensive for you to amend it compare to other countries. Just buy that flight ticket and go do it all over again.

We stayed at Citrus Heights Patong, which is located at Nanai Soi 8, 10 - 15 minutes walk from Junceylon/ Bangla Road (not that really close, but still is walk able distance). Huge room complete with cute kitchen cabinet, front load washing machine, 2 doors fridge and microwave - A 1 Bedroom Studio Apartment unit like BUT, ALL of those facilities meant nothing to me when there is no knife or plate provided for the guest me to enjoy sweet water lily, Thai's mango. I brought down the fruit to the bar downstairs, yes, they helped me to peel off the skin, but then put the skinless, diced mango back into the plastic bag that I got from the fruit stall. I understand about hotel policy about knife in the room. They are afraid we get too high and start to stab the pillow, the bed, the room wall. But, seriously? No plate for the guests? Urggh.

However, thumb ups for the shuttle service, 4 times daily to Jungceylon and Bangla Road.

But here's is my recommendation if you MALAYSIANS that are up to shop and dine ONLY in Patong - you can choose to stay in PIMNARA BOUTIQUE HOTEL. It's cute and everything just at hotel's doorstep. I don't know about the noise you may get when you sleep at night though.

Please bear in mind, everything along Bangla Road is not free. Free sightseeing, yes. But if any of the 'ladies' or guy with cute furry animals offering you to take pictures with them and their pet, you have to pay.

Here is the glimpse of Phuket Night at Bangla Road/ Patong Beach. WARNING : 18SSXXX.

..and lucky me, mine really know how to take care of himself :P

Here, extra extra for you drag queen fetish :)




I remember my Bangkok visit - my friend and I was having trouble, to find Ping Pong show. It wasn't trouble, trouble, but we had to take taxi to FIND the bar with the show. But here, in Phuket - they holding the card board with "Ping Pong Show" along the road. No secret. You just need to pick the right "house" to go in.







These girls apparently do not have any good pole dance routine. And my BF, Mike, can do better than these girls if he go up there.

Ok, cut story short. I wanna show you the beauty of the beaches in Thailand already!

We went on Similan Island Tour. Is not that cheap and I was the only Asian tourist on the boat, by the beach and deep sea snorkel that day.Hotel pick up at 6.00AM (!!!) and it was quite a long ride from Patong to Taplamu Pier (about 1.5 hours). We were served with simple breakfast and got our snorkel equipment right before we got on the speed boat. And oh, briefing by tour guide of what to Dos and Don'ts during the trip.

"Similan" is the word that derived from our Malay language which is Sembilan (Nine)! Meaning that the Island are grouped of 9 big and small Island. However, for 1 day trip, we unable to visit all 9 islands. But only 4 islands which are : Island no. 9 (Ba Ngu Island), Island no. 8 (Similan), Island no. 4 (Miang island) and Island No. 7 (Payu Island). We landed at 2 of the four islands, and snorkel at the other two.

I've checked with few other sites on Similan Island Tour - they are all not really have the same itinerary and boat route. Some tour they visit Island no. 6 or 5. well, it depends on the price I guess. 

After 2 hours speed boat drive plus 1 hour just floating due to failure propeller (the kapitan fixed it on the spot), I tell you, I was so close to throw up in a plastic bag which I finally handed to me at the hour 3. I never had a sea sick before. I've rode a speed boat or small boat since as far as I can remember, I did whole night  deep sea squid jigging in Terengganu even - so I refused to take the sea sick pills given to me at the pier. Some of the girls already vomited and went flat on the boat. And I just hold tight to my plastic bag. (Wow, now I feel a bit nausea while recalling that situation)

Anyway, when we reached at the Ba-Ngu Island no. 9 for snorkeling, by looking at its clear blue water, makes every shitty feelings went off, I put on my jacket and mask, jumped into the crystal blue water. I don't mind gulped a few cups of sea water after so long! The scorching sun, sea sick, long land and bot ride are so worth it.

We snorkeled for 30 minutes or so, then we speed off to the Similan Island no. 8 for lunch break (and more snorkeling).

We were served with warm lunch, and Halal. I over heard a conversation of a girl from Middle Eastern, she asked the food caterer about the food preparation and all. And the girl caterer told her that she is a Muslim so, please do not worry about the food.  SO, I EAT.

We had like 1 hour stop at Similan Island, we play and swim. I was so excited because the clearest beach water I ever been in my life was Perhentian Island. So, I was feeling all overwhelmed when soaking myself in one of the 10 BEST DIVE SITE in the world. 

Then we speed off to the Miang Island no. 4 and get more snorkel.

Last stop is Payu Island no. 7. I was speechless until I forgot to take a picture of the sand in my hand :(  the sands are like baby milk powder. Almost no corals around and you can see the fishes at even at ankle deep water!!

Me with little mermaid pose

Mike sunbathing in style.

We finished the tour at 6PM. I swim too long and too much until my arm muscle hurt (or maybe I never swim as crazy as I did that day), so it hurt my entire muscle body. (Ada muscle ke? heh)

Oh yeah, I applied SPF60 for face all over my body, 100 times. I do want to get nice tan without hurting my skin. Mike applied the sunblock lesser than me, so he ended having his skin sting few hours after we came back to hotel.

To be continued with Krabi and more Islands...

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