Hi
When traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Thailand, at the border check point locals told me to put 1 malaysian dollar in my passport, otherwise life would be a hassle. At first I thought why should I do it and assumed that it is only for the locals.
Then it was my turn to present myself before the immigration guy, and he started looking at me head to toe while his hands were busy turning the pages. I was just waiting with a grin, until he finally said "one dollar" with a staring eyes. Ow man, this one dollar practice is for everyone crossing the border! Bad luck for methat I don't have a one dollar malaysian note, so I finally have to gave him a 2-dollar note instead. After that, the official stamped my passport and returned it to me saying "welcome to Thailand" with a fresh big smile.
Lesson learned is to check with the locals. We're traveling for fun, and when a $0.35 could make our life in such a difficult situation, I'd rather pay.
This story happened at the Malaysia - Thailand border of Wang Kelian. A very busy border with thousands of people passing through every day while donating 1 malaysian dollar to the Thai immigration officials. They will be able to afford a brand new GS every week
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