Plus ca change.....I always got photos for passport/work permit and other official documents from the nifty Silver digital store on the 2nd floor of MBK. A mere 150 baht got me six photos and a personal session with the PhotoShop assistant who retouched away the most haggard and baggy aspects of my eyes, mouth, neck etc.I recently went to Silver for a photo to accompany the five-year Thai driving license that replaces my temporary one-year permit. Alas, Silver no long offers personalized PhotoShopping. A very unpersonalized sales assistant said I could either put my face in the hands of some back room photo editor or take my business elsewhere.
How badly could they screw up a teensy one-inch square photo, I reckoned. And even if they did, the Land & Transport Department isn't the US State Department and nobody there would notice or care. "Make me look young, but not too young," I requested and wandered off into the mall during my 30-minute rejuvenation process.
Without my assistance, the "me" in their PhotoShopped version ended up looking as authentic as Madonna in her '4 Minutes' video with Justin Timberlake. I couldn't tell whether the retoucher left my sagging eye folds as to honor the "not too young" part of my request or because he ran out of time. Either way, this Jennifer was unrecognizable.
Of course this being Thailand, none of this mattered because the list of required documents for changing a temporary to a permanent license I picked up at the beginning of the month was incorrect. Ever since the remodeling of the licensing department last year, applicants are now photographed on the spot. Illuminated by brilliant white lights against a harsh blue background, the me in their "real" photo looks as unreal as the Silver shop's "fake" one.
Who am I anyhow?
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