10 months of work, a promise of results

10 months of work, a promise of results. Share in the work as you follow along with me.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

That ain't right!

After reluctantly leaving the majestic temples of Cambodia, we were off to Vietnam. Our flight was in the evening so we had a chance to sleep in and rest our feet from all of the walking in the heat at the temples the day before. In order to kill some time in the afternoon, we checked out a silk farm. The tour was "free," but the tour guide expected a donation from us. It was an awkward moment as Peter fished around for some bills to pay the man for his brief service. We didn't buy anything from there, because it was all hand-made, authentic silk. It was beautiful, but out of our price range.

We went back to the hostel to collect our luggage and then off to the airport. We got in line and then to the counter and everything was going well. The nice lady asked for our letter for entry. Letter for entry? I know the service I contacted about the Vietnam visa said we couldn't arrive by road entry, so I booked the flight several days earlier. I had a letter that said the visa service was going to send my entry letter, was that good enough? She practically said about my phony letter, "That ain't right!"

"Well can't we at least get on the plane and get our letter and visa at the airport in Vietnam like every other international airport?" She answered, "That will cost you about 400 U.S. dollars per person. It is cheaper to do it here." I was thinking, "That ain't right!" They were nice enough to let me use their office and check email with the visa service. The problem was that we wanted to go to Vietnam during the Lunar New Year. Bad idea! All of the normal operations shut down and you now have to pay lots more for the same service. That ain't right!

I received an email from the visa service when I was traveling to the airport that said they would process the letter if I confirmed payment and flight details. I expressed my urgency and wondered whether they would receive and process the letter because it was nearing 5pm. I didn't know working hours for these types of things. All the other airline offices seemed to be closed as well. Our flight left in 90 minutes and I had no letter to get on the plane and if we got on the plane it would cost a boatload when we got off in Vietnam. Not again!

Perhaps the only reason why their office was still open was that another customer missed a flight and was now trying to find another one. She wasn't happy either. I finally got word back and confirmation for processing the letter . . . which would take about 30 minutes. Once I gave the "OK," I would need to wait another half hour before it was ready to print. It was now nearing 60 minutes before our flight's departure, not boarding, departure. Those 30 minutes seemed very long. As I waited anxiously in the office, the airline rep calmly told me that I should probably go to the check-in counter soon because it would be closing. "Yes," I replied with a smile, "I'm doing my best." The email finally arrived and we walked hastily to the check-in counter where we were an hour prior with no letter of entry. Now we could board the plane properly and enter Vietnam.

The only other wrinkle in this travel day was paying for the visa. We had no Vietnamese currency, so we had to withdraw from an ATM. They had no ATM s on the floor where immigration was, only past immigration and customs. We had to get special allowance to pass through and get the money. No ATM where you need to pay for a visa? - That ain't right! After all of this, we eventually passed the unfriendly immigration officials who gave us a very merry unwelcome to Vietnam. I hoped this wasn't a sign of things to come. Taking out your anger on tourists who've had a long day, say it with me, "That ain't right!"