Wednesday, August 12, 2009

International driver's permit


Wow! What a rush! I spent the entire morning yesterday in Petaling Jaya.First, was a trip to the Road Transport Department. I had to apply for a
international driver's permit for the road trip in the US.It costs about RM150 for the document and took about an hour to get it issued.I pre-empted the beauracracy by filling up the forms in advance and providing the
necessary documents to support my application.Now, the funky thing was this: I have been driving around with an expired driver's
lisence and had it renewed only on Monday.With that taken care of at an expense of RM90 for three more years, I went ahead
to print a set of passport photographs. This will set me off at RM12 a pop if I do it a photo studio.By the time I got to the Road Transportation office, the place was packed with
folks and I was about 20 customers behind on the waiting list.But lucky for me, service was prompt. My number was up and all there's left to do,
was to wait.When I received my ID and driver's license with the permit, I checked it and found
out that it belonged to someone else.There was a mix-up and I had no idea who the rightful owner of the permit was.Then, I made a bee line back to the counter and told the clerk that there was a
boo-boo.She was in a state of panic and told me to come back in a few days.To me, this is a no-no. I was there to do it once and for all.Lucky for me, the despatch dude who was there to apply for the permit was about
to leave the carpark. I managed to get him on time and swap the documents... *phew!* Now that I have obtained the international driver's permit, I can rest at ease with
the driving in Nevada and Arizona during our excursion in September.

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