Thinking back to my comment on 'shiny new visas' in our post on Chinese Visas for Australians (Phnom Penh), you might be forgiven for thinking that I spoke too lightly of how the visa run is the bane of existence of the long-term backpacker. It gets worse.
Once we got to Vietnam we decided to alter plans somewhat so that we could visit Phnom Penh at the same time as Tim and Steph, and then return to Vietnam for a visit to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay before China. If we had planned this in advance, we would have acquired a multi-entry visa. Instead, while in Ho Chi Minh City at the start of our Vietnamese adventure, we approached a travel agent to acquire a new visa for our return trip in early March.
Paying more than we thought we should for the service, and persisting through some difficult communications with hand gestures and sulky looks, we walked away with two new single-entry visas after a protracted processing time. We then spent the rest of our time in Ho Chi Minh and Cambodia before flying out of Siem Reap for Bangkok.
After a harrowing overnighter in Bangkok (including a heart-stopping 130km/h ride with a nasty taxi driver who pretended to be lost) and a delayed flight, we finally made it to Hanoi on April 3. Tired and hungry it was only passing through immigration that we realised that there was anything wrong with the visas we had purchased all those weeks ago. According to Immigration, what we thought were (and I still insist look like) new single-entry visas, were in actual fact visa extensions on our original entry visas (which had NOT been stamped as cancelled). This means that we had no visa on which to enter Vietnam. Without the local language skills to negotiate or explain properly, we were faced with a frustrated, grumpy and 'you foreigners do this all the time' attitude immigration official who was who was dis-inclined to sympathy, particularly when a nice fat $$$ sign was flashing in his eyes when he looked at us.
I didn't feel like shaking my fist in the air and screaming "Dolphin Sands Road!", I was too busy trying not to burst into tears but I was screaming so loudly inside I thought I would psycho-symptomatically go hoarse.
Waiting three hours at Immigration, with no one talking to us except the occasional official who would take our passports away and not give them back for a disconcerting amount of time was nerve-wracking and incredibly uncomfortable. It was not an experience I wish to relive. We saw another couple just prior to our arrival shouting and getting quite angry at the Immigration staff, which obviously got them nowhere. Determined to maintain an appearance of calmness, we managed to work out our 'options'.
Option 1 - Return to Bangkok
Option 2 - Purchase a conveniently available 'Hanoi City Tour' which comes with immediate visa approval and processing.
You don't need to stretch your imagination too much to understand the implications of option number 2. Insulated from such corruption in Australia, and in uncomfortable circumstances, it took us a little while to fully process it, and really it was not an easy decision to make. Feed the corruption to continue with booked plans and commitments, or give it up and find some alternative way to spend the time, with the cost of a new flight thrown in to boot.
It ended up being probably the most expensive tour (that goes nowhere) you've ever seen.
The process, if that's what you call it, was relatively simple, and involved paying cash for our 'Hanoi City Tour'. Visas took less than 10 minutes and we were out the door with some tips from the remarkably helpful and polite VietJet staff member Ms Pham (who had been trembling when it came to any interaction with the intimidating Immigration team on our behalf).
On the way out, I asked the 'travel agent', (with a cynical smile) "when will you pick us up for the tour?"
Her response was a knowing smile, "Haha. No." And she walked away.
No comments:
Post a Comment