Popular Post geronimo Posted February 16, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2020 This occurred about 7 years ago …. It all began when a Thai friend of mine pointed out that my d/l had expired, so I made a mental note, and a few days later, turned up at the Land Transport Office (Area 4). Dressed suitably, and armed with the letter from immigration (I already knew about that one), the health certificate (which you can get from any clinic) and passport, I arrived as the doors were opening, and being a veteran of this type of mission, I was not at all concerned. I filled in the necessary forms, was given my ticket number, and along with about thirty other people, was shuttled off to complete the reaction tests, which were all held in one large room. There were four stations, one was the colour-blind test, another involved sitting on a chair and pressing the solitary brake pedal as the light changed to red, and one to test peripheral vision. Easy enough! I was impressed with the way each group was swiftly processed and within 30 minutes, we were all in the projector room. The very polite government official announced that we all had to sit and watch a 50-minute film, and promptly left us to it. Most were glued to their smartphones and the ones that were viewing the movie were a little less attentive than you would expect, and eventually, the lights came on and the same lady announced that anyone whose licence has expired for over 12 months, to please stay behind, while the others could get their ticket and wait for their d/l. Of course, I headed off with the others, at least until she caught my attention and promptly reminded me that my licence had expired for 13 months already! I hadn’t bargained for the multiple-choice test, but, hey, I’m game for anything, and although I am a fluent Thai speaker, I learned the natural way, and to my cost, I never learned to read and write Thai. She announced that they have an English version, so I was shown to my booth, which was very hi-tech, and we were all spaced far enough apart not be able to cheat (can’t imagine why they need to do that!) and after the booth takes your photo, your name appears and away you go. There were a total of 30 questions, twenty seven of which you had to get right in order to pass, and we were given a total of 50 minutes to finish. I whipped through them (as usual) and without hesitation, pressed the big red SUBMIT button and was told I had actually scored 21! I steadied myself, as this was quite a shock, but she smiled and told me to come back tomorrow morning and retake the test, and as I left she added, “There’s no extra charge” I turned up the following morning and this time decided to take my time, going through each question, looking at each possible answer, and with less than five minutes to go, I confidently hit the big red button. I scored a measly 17 this time and my heart began to sink. The women arrived and managed to stifle her giggle, “Oh dear, we are getting worse” she exclaimed reassuringly. She asked me to return on Monday, which I did, and for some reason, I arrived late, which, as it turned out, was perfect. This time I was the only person sitting the test, and as she showed me to a booth, she specifically told me NOT to press the submit button, but raise my hand. I complied, of course, and this time, I was supremely confident, as I had meticulously thought each question through. She arrived and at the speed of light, flicked through all my answers, smiled and said the magic words “Got Boom See Daeng” It turned out I got only one wrong, and much to my (and her) delight, I passed. I realised that she would have made any necessary changes, and I smiled as gratefully as I could. I then proceeded to the row of officials who were actually issuing the licences and after a quick webcam image, and a review of my details, I had the 5-year piece of plastic at last! Interesting enough was the fact that there was nothing lost in the English translation, no confusing questions or answers, with perhaps the exception of one, where all four answers were correct! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmsally Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 After the banking debacle, I wasn't too sure whether I should read this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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