Passports

Yesterday we went to the Thai embassy to renew Jasmine's & Juliet's passports. So the last weeks we've gathered all their paperwork together, adoption papers, birth certificates, house registration. A lot of paperwork you need to do this. And the tricky part is, that the whole document is in Thai script! And we had to fill it in Thai script!! So we got some help from a Thai secretary in Thailand who filled the paperwork out and sent it back to us. A big commitment to renew these passports, we had like 25 documents, originals, copies, pictures...we were prepared. Still it took us about an hour at the embassy to complete the whole deal. Now the only thing we have to do is wait 6-8 weeks and they will send it in the mail to us. What a relief we don't need to go back! However, it is all worth it to us. We like the girls to keep their Thai identity till they are 18, so they can make their own decisions. With dual citizenship they can go anywhere and travel easy. With only a Thai passport it is a lot harder to travel, you need a visa for EVERY country you like to go to, and most of the countries you even need a sponsor for the duration of your visit. Most Europeans or Americans don't realize that with their passports it is so easy to travel, go wherever you like to go. For a lot of citizens from Asian countries that is not the case. Since this passport trip is not the most fun for the girls, we decided to stop afterwards at Dylan's Candy Bar.
A huge candy store from the daughter of Ralph Lauren. Very cute store, and I don't need to tell you the girls felt like a kid in the candy store! They couldn't make up their minds, so much too choose from, so many colors, so many good candy. But they were happy with their choice and the trip to NYC wasn't so bad after all!