After spending 9 hours at an immigration office trying to get a Visa to travel to South East Asia I am left wondering if it is all worth it. Not that I have any problems with my background check but because of the horrendous queues that kept me there the entire day. This inconvenience I can handle if it is a necessary measure that law abiding citizens have to go through in order to keep those undesirables out, but is it really helping?
Needing a visa to travel to another country is common place now amongst the vast majority of countries around the world. Visas help a country keep track of who is coming in and going out of the country. Landing cards that must be filled in on arrival to a country also help to show when you actually used your visa (as a visa is merely an invitation to visit and most are valid for entry within a month) and when you will leave the country. Landing cards also help to get important census data such as the type of people going into and out of a country.
Security at airports has also increased massively over the past decade making it more difficult to make that last minute flight, you have to arrive at the airport in plenty of time. Furthermore, restrictions on what can be taken on board and some flights have even banned laptops nowadays. I appreciate that this is a necessary evil of modern travel but if you add this up to the hassle of getting visas in the first place it makes anyone want to put off any kind of long term travel.
The problem I have is that criminals can easily get around this system. Fake passports are easily obtainable if you have the right resources and contacts, likewise visas can be gained in the same manner. If someone really has a passion to enter a country, I think there is little the authorities can actually do to stop them. So my question remains, are we putting too much unnecessary red tape on the average law abiding citizen?
What I would say is authorities need to make it easier for normal average people to get visas and the necessary documentation to travel abroad. For some developing countries you need to prove you have money for your trip, you need to show your bank account details and an outward bound ticket for your next destination. Now this seems fine, but if you are backpacking around the world often you don't make plans 30 or 60 days in advance. Getting extensions once in the country is also tiresome and being kept waiting around, virtually being treated like a criminal is not giving a good impression of a country.
If criminals really want to enter a country, they will find a way. Unnecessary red tape is just putting off people who spend vast amounts of money from visiting countries. I am certainly thinking twice about visiting certain countries just because of the sheer hassle of getting a visa to travel there. I would have thought with competition for tourists at an all-time high, they would be making life easier to travel to their countries.
How to Meet and Asian Girl
Traveling around Asia and living in Asia you come across a lot, and I mean a lot, of very beautiful ladies. If you are attracted to Asian girls you will find they have beautiful smiles, are very friendly and they like to look after themselves. Many western men move to Asia and marry an Asian girl or even take them back to the west to make a new life. If you are contemplating dating an Asia girl, there are different ways of going about this and there are a few things you must remember. Here is my Guide to dating and Asian girl.
A Guide to Teaching Abroad
We here all the time that teachers are leaving the profession in droves. They can’t handle the classroom management needed nowadays, or the constant changes in regulations, the hoops that they have to jump through. Many are leaving to find a new life abroad where regulations are not as tight and students seem to want to learn a lot more. Here is a look at some of the options for those looking to teach abroad
Isaan, The Jewel of Thailand
Many people who visit Thailand think of only Bangkok, Phuket or Pattaya, the famous tourist destinations. If you spread yourself further afield then you will come across some of the most beautiful places you have ever seen with some of the nicest people. The Isaan region in the North-Eastern part of Thailand is a region you simply must visit to get a real perspective of life in Thailand.
