Have you even seen the TV show “The Great Race”, which is based around a group of people all racing to get to a pre-determined destination first?
Well, we have experienced our own Great Race. Let me enlighten you about our adventure.
Firstly we got really cheap flights to Vietnam from Jetstar, and I mean, really cheap, “Thanks Jetstar”. We purchased these cheap tickets over the internet about 6 months ago and during that time the departure times had been changed several times but we were fairly flexible about timing. A month out from departure we thought we should have a little look at what Vietnam has to offer and maybe decide on a few things and places we might like to see. Of course we spoke to friends that had already been there and everyone said what a fabulous place it was and that we would love it. Because we were going just outside of peak time we did not make any arrangements except to book our first nights accommodation in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City). We were all over the internet looking at tourist information sites etc. taking everything in.
A little background on the travellers :-
Both experienced in international travel.
Both travel light only onboard luggage required and a backpack.
Well cashed up for the trip, converting AU dollars to US dollars and Vietnam dong the day before travel.
Copies of drivers licences, itineries and passports, just in case originals were misplaced or stolen.
The journey was always going to be tiring due to the fact that we were originally going to Sydney for a function prior to departing for Vietnam, (friends 60th). Well, unfortunately we ran out of time for that function but we still had to leave from Sydney. This meant that we had to fly to Sydney from the Gold Coast on the morning of departure for Vietnam. This was OK and the only flight we could get had us there a few hours prior to departure. Before I forget, the trip from Sydney to Vietnam involved a stopover in Darwin for a few hours – the price you pay for cheap flights. This meant we were either on a plane or in an airport for 23 hours.
The flight from the Gold Coast was late so arrival in Sydney was not going to give us the length of waiting time we expected. Great, we thought. On arrival at Sydney airport we were going to waste a little time, maybe have something to eat, but fate stepped in and we decided that we should make our way to check in and have something to eat on the other side of security. Off to the Jetstar counter with documents in hand, flight confirmations and passports. The very friendly staff member accepted our paperwork looked at the computer screen and then promptly said “and may I have your visas please”. Well if only the cameras could have seen our faces, “What Visas”? She then explained to us that you require Visa’s to get in and out of Vietnam. Now I know what you are thinking that we or I must be blonde but no, and in defence of my not knowing about visa’s, at no point of booking or in the paperwork that followed or on any of the websites we visited to get information from or about Vietnam did anyone ever mention Visa’s. There we were, ready for our Asian adventure and now being told that we need a visa. “What do we do now”? The girl at the desk was just great. On the phone she gets to the passenger service people who ring the consulate of Vietnam and ask if it is possible to get a visa today (in one a half hours before the plane leaves). The reservation staff promise to keep our seats open for us provided we call them as soon as we know or have our visas. Jetstar staff gave us the address of the Vietnam consulate and the direct phone number for passenger services. So, off we go running through the terminal in Sydney to the nearest taxi rank. We give the taxi driver the address, which is across town, at lunch time on Melbourne cup day, when everyman and his dog are looking for taxis. We explained our plight as we are driving and in the process of telling the story realise that the likelihood of getting a taxi to return will be slight. So we ask how much he will charge us to wait. We agree on a price and feel a little more comfortable that we will at least be able to get back to the airport for either a trip home or our flight to Darwin – Saigon. As we arrive at the consulate the taxi ranks are all full of very glamorous people waiting for cabs to get to their Melbourne Cup functions.
The taxi driver indicates to us the building we need to go to and he will go and park somewhere and wait for our phone call. We rush away through a parking area and find some stairs to go up into the building we thought housed the Vietnam Consulate. WRONG, it was a shopping centre. So we madly look for an information desk – none to be seen but wait, there is a policeman, you can always rely on a policeman. Trust us to pick a policeman new to the area and he had no idea. Finally we found someone who says we are in the wrong building. We need to go next door. So off we run, bags in tow through the shopping centre, outside into the street and next door we find the building, go inside and wait impatiently for the lifts to the 5th floor. Hooray! we have found the consulate; I’ve got to say by this time we are both becoming more stressed by the minute. We get inside to see a sign that says, closed between 12.30 and 1.30 for lunch. It is now 12.27 the Vietnam man behind the counter says, do you have your form? “What form” So we grab one each and quickly fill it in – back to the counter and the man says, “you leave – come back” – we say NO we have a taxi waiting and a flight to catch, “WE STAY HERE!”. Well he says we do have an express lane but you will have to pay $300. “How much”? $300 AU dollars “you pay me NOW!”. “OK do you take visa or Vietnam dong or US dollars”? No, you pay me $300 AU dollars NOW. We don’t have enough Aussie dollars so he tells me to run down the stairs to an automatic teller and get some cash. So, off I go down the lifts which seemed to take forever, then find the auto teller and a person using it, very slowly. Tapping my foot just loud enough for him to hear me he finally got out of the way. I collected my money and off I run back upstairs to the consulate. We wait and wait and finally they put a Visa stamp in our passports. Feeling relived we make our way back out of the building and call the taxi we have waiting. By this time the traffic in Sydney has increased and it is a slow trip back to the airport. At this point we are thinking that the cheap tickets we purchased have just made it up to the regular price after our little $400 excursion, $100 for the taxi and $300 for the staff at the consulate.
On the way back to the airport we ring the passenger service desk to let them know we are on our way and to hold the seats, we will make it back just in time. Arriving back at the same reservations girl, she processed our boarding passes and we made our way through security and were able to relax a little. But wait, they had seated us on either side of the isle and not together. Luckily on the trip to Darwin we were able to change seats with a fellow so we could sit together, but Darwin to Saigon we sat apart. It was a long flight.
Full marks to Jetstar, they were very helpful and we did appreciate their efforts. We did have cause to call Jetstar about the return journey as well, but that’s another story. Stay tuned!