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Held up in a hotel in Malaysia by gangsters

It was during this strange transition in my life where I was uncomfortable with my life choices and wanted more from life. At the time I was staying in Phuket town, Thailand at the Patra Mansion Hotel/Apartments. Life was great, room service everyday, a giant pool downstairs and people with similar interests everywhere you look.

At this point in my life I wanted to go visit Japan and since my visa run was coming up this was the perfect time to visit or move to Japan. Upon my visa run, this time I was traveling alone without my mate NIC. Cant really remember why. but he was going to join me a week later in Malaysia.

– Lady sniffing glue outside the hostel.

First Day there life was great, decided to stay two weeks to relax and Hangout with some of my Party friends that side as that’s all visa runs really were, one crazy party.

1 night I met this guy, Lets call him Peter for his sake. English guy with enough money to travel the world and still have some. Well at least that’s what I thought. Later that evening at about 2am all the bars had closed we suggested to go home. Once On the scooter taxi on the way home he decide to take a video of us as any good tourist does in the center of dodgy town at 2am. Seconds go by and I hear him stopping the scooter and screaming “They Took It!” Over and over again. He then proceeded to kick the steel garage door we were parked next to threatening the driver to get his phone back. As he assumed the driver was in on it. Which in fact he was.

(- One drunken night with a good friend.)

We decided to walk home as it was just down the block. On the way home we passed one last bar. As one does after the night we had. Idiots we were. Sat there for about 5 min and a Malaysian biker gang of 6 Skinny men on Scooter stopped by demanding we leave with them. I told Peter this is not a situation he will be able to handle alone and so the security at the bar chases them away giving us time to bolt down the street and disappear in our hotel.

On the way to “Tipsy Tiger” Only the best hostel in George Town. We began to give it some speed. At we reached the back entrance to the hotel. We both heard the noise of a scooter getting closer and closer. And there he was, our original driver/gang member. Trying to force Peter onto the bike with force.

At this very moment i realized this oak Peter comes from Europe, cant defend himself. And lacks in mean muscle. Now I’m no gym bunny but I do come from Johannesburg in South Africa.

I wack this driver/gang member over the head with a closed beer can. I then shoved Peter into the hostel but the driver came back for another chance, somehow cutting my arm open I was done. Time for rage! I started bashing this man over the head time and time again repeating how easily I can kill him in a Demonic voice feeling more and more powerful with every hit.

Once my possession of some sort was over when locked the door of the hostel. To my surprise the owner had called protection of 10 Bikers and when I went out side to see if they caught the Gang member. He was being pulled off the roof as he was trying to break in to get us.

(-Photo I took as they handcuffed the gang Member.)

Basically I spent the night at the station giving my side of the story and expressing it was in self defense. Heavily intoxicated too.

Drove back the next day in a taxi with no chairs and requested to leave the island by the Police. I spent the next two weeks hiding myself in a hotel room with the presence of a gang member, sitting outside just as a reminder that if I step foot outside they will get me.

Mayalsia, all fun and games until someone gets there phone stolen.

Yours Jesse

What is a visa run?

A visa run is a short trip over an international border designed to reset the visa in the originating country of the trip.

Many countries which have visa-free travel or grant visas on arrival have a set amount of time that you can be in the country. A classic example is Thailand who allows passport holders of many countries a 30-day stay in Thailand without a visasometimes for curtain passport holders like myself can extend to 90 days. If you fly out of the country and get an exit stamp in your passport, you can reenter the country to reset the clock and get another 30-days. Almost immediately.

In 2017 I was staying in Phuket for several months and I did a visa run to Malaysia, George Town. I found a ticket on a bus 12 hour journey to Malaysia, e would stay for 1 night in a hotel booked by the visa run company and in the morning drive back to Thailand for a small fee of R2500. Upon entry I received a 90 day Visa.

There are rules you need to research before you try doing a visa run because not all border crossings are the same. In the past, Thailand has given different length visas based on how you entered the country (land vs air). You could have flown into Thailand, but if you left over a land border and crossed back, you might have only gotten 14-days on your return. Make sure you do research on the current rules before you do a visa run.

Many countries do not allow for visa runs at all. If you enter the United States as a visitor, going to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean does NOT reset your visa. This is done specifically to prevent people from doing visa runs. If they allowed visa runs, someone in Detroit or San Diego could stay in the country indefinitely by just doing short hops over the border. Even if you were to fly to Europe and back, if it seems obvious you are just trying to reset your visa, you might be denied entry. America’s Greatest National Parks

Other places like the Schengen Zone in Europe, have a total amount of time you can be in the zone over a set period. In the case of the Schengen Zone, you can 90-days out of any six month period. Going back and forth over borders doesn’t reset anything. It just pauses the clock on your 90-days. If you used up your 90-days, you’d have to leave the Schengen Zone for 90-days before you could come back.

3 Quick Tips for Visa Runs

Before you try and do a visa run, do the following:

  1. Check the rules for the country who’s visa you are trying to reset.
  2. Do research on other travelers who have done similar visa runs recently.
  3. Research on what the cheapest method of doing a visa run. There might be cheap flights available, or it might mean getting on a bus.
  4. Investigate to see if you can renew your visa inside the country. This might end up being the easiest solution of all, which would negate the need for even doing a visa run.

Yours Jesse

Ways to get cheap flights that really works.

IT’S THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, TRAVEL. and the questions we ask. hacks, tips and tricks to some of the cheapest flight around.

Some say its all about the platform, website you use. Others say its all about your timing, and when you book that flight. I say it both. And im gonna prove it to you.

My personal website of choice is cheapflights.co.za. simply select your departure point, insert your arrival point. straight forward right, anything but. Here come a couple of tests to prove your timing is everything.

For this experiment we will use a 1 way ticket as we are pretending to travel somewhere for an extended amount of time and do not intend to return with in 30 days. Or do not know when to return. “But what about the proof of a return ticket?”. We can “rent” a legitimate return ticket for 24 hours for just a few Rands onwardticket.com. This allows us into a country and gives us an open end travel time without having to book a date to return or purchace a return flight we may never use. So lets begin.

Dates

Today is a Monday 18/11/2019. I will now book flights with four different departure dates and the cheapest flight price next door.

Departure in 24 hours time

Departure time in 1 week

Departure in 1 Month

Departure 6 Months

Now as you may have noticed booking super early and last minute and booking super late 6 months in advance is great price wise. but no one is really gonna book a flight 6 months in advance unless its a granny. We are the new generation, we need gratification. We need proof. And this is why time matters when booking your flight.

A normal flyer would book a month in advance, giving him or her time to plan and stratergize, get Visas together and even probably save. But we have already done all that in just a few hours. we have our travel hiking back pack ready at the go, no responsibilities just drooling over the smell and humidity of Thailand’s streets and beaches. or Possibly a concert in Paris. whether you are trekking through East Asia or Visiting your long lost relative for a wedding you wont survive. remember, timing is key. Don’t pay twice as much on the ticket and struggle through the rest of the journey.

Yours Jesse