Where Is My Visa?
Or Sometimes Things That Could Go Wrong Do Go Wrong
Celeste Plamondon-Zurbrigg
We were part of a group of twelve planning a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, and
Thailand with a Toronto-based adventure travel company. Some of us decided to
stop off at Hong Kong first for a few days. We enjoyed many activities and sights.
Spoiler alert: I used my credit card several times!
When we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, we had to
present our Vietnam tourist visa, which we had
obtained after spending time and money before
leaving home. The tour started and we enjoyed a
Ha Long Bay boat tour. A few days later, we arrived
in Hue, a former imperial city. Next up was the
ancient town of Hoi An, a UNESCO World
Covered escalators, Hong Kong
Heritage site. We all fell in love with it. There
were lanterns hanging all over the place. Several
of us had fun bicycling in the countryside.
For one of my purchases during our stay, my
credit card was denied, so I used my cash instead.
Our next stop was Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon),
where we enjoyed many highlights.
On our last morning in Ho Chi Minh City,
we boarded a bus from our hotel to travel to
Cambodia. About fifteen minutes later, we stopped
at a bus depot, where our passports and Vietnam
visas were being collected to prepare for the border
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crossing. When I realized I did not have my visa,
I informed our tour host who immediately made
some calls.
He told me, in the gentlest way possible, that I
needed to get off the bus. A taxi would be called for
a return to the hotel and a tour company rep would
pick up my passport to arrange for an express visa.
My husband offered to go with me. Thus, we said
goodbye to our friends. When we arrived at the
hotel, we asked for the same room. The room had
had an air conditioner problem that had been fixed,
so we knew that it was a good cool room.
After my passport was picked up, we spent time
exploring more of Ho Chi Minh City.
The next morning, I decided to put a few more
things in the safe. As I pushed things around my
visa appeared! Wow! My heart started beating fast.
I contacted the tour company and reported the
find. Within an hour, my passport was returned,
and the bus was arranged to pick us up.
In the aftermath, I analyzed what had happened.
When we had arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, I had
emptied my money belt because, in the hot, humid
conditions, it was wet with perspiration. I had
scattered the contents to dry in the safe. Then when
we’d removed the documents from the safe for
our departure, this piece of paper was out of sight
(stuck to the top of the safe). Thank goodness we
had asked to be assigned to the same room when
we returned!
When we arrived at the Vietnam–Cambodia
border, we were able to exit Vietnam without any
problem, thanks to my visa!
We arrived in Phnom Penh and were reunited
with our friends after having been ‘kicked off’ (in
the nicest way possible) the bus the day before.