Border Crossing - Landing in Saigon

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As a US citizen, I am a national of one of the countries that must have a visa to enter Vietnam. The visa on arrival process seemed cumbersome and time consuming, so I elected to get my visa before I left the US. (If you are part of a tour group, the tour company will arrange a visa for you that you can pick up at the airport. I’m not part of a tour group.)

There are two ways to get your visa in advance: you can mail (or bring) your passport to the Vietnamese consulate for the visa stamp, or you can apply for a “loose leaf” visa, in which case you just send a scan of your passport. And, of course, your money, certified check only please.

To me, the thought of sending my passport off in the mail fills me with horror. It would be like sending my kid out to play in traffic, and I have heard dreadful stories about passports being misplaced within consulates or lost in the mail, so I went the loose-leaf route.

They suggest sending everything by certified mail, including your stamped self-addressed return envelope, so that it can be tracked. This will become important. Through the USPS website, I followed the trail of my passport as it arrived at the consulate in San Francisco. It spent a few days there, and they mailed it back to me, using my prepaid tracking envelope… AND THEN THE POST OFFICE LOST IT!

I live in a small town near San Diego, California; the USPS website showed my envelope out for delivery in San Jose, California, 450 miles from my home. Funny, I didn’t think that I was on that mail delivery route.

I opened a case with the Post Office, but they told me that even with a tracking number they can't track the envelope, and to contact my local Post Office. The uninterested clerk at the PO says, "Nope, no envelope here," and when I asked if anyone had contacted the San Jose PO he said no.

Bottom line, just when I was about to put posters up on telephone poles saying “REWARD for the safe return of missing passport, no questions asked,” the mail carrier delivered it – almost two weeks after the consulate mailed it, and asked for a signature verifying I received it. Yay! My very expensive visa was home safe.

I had enough frequent flyer miles to upgrade to business class, and business class on an ANA Boeing 777 is nice. Between the spacious seat and the attentive flight attendant, I have never felt so pampered on an airplane. Club de Fútbol América, the Mexico City soccer team, was also on this flight in business class, headed to Japan to compete in the FIFA World Cup quarter finals.

I did the last leg of my trip on AirAsia, from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City, and my trip went from the sublime to the silly. AirAsia is a super-ultra low cost airline. How low cost you ask? I’ve seen them offer flights for US$3. Of course, you pay for absolutely everything else – an assigned seat, a cup of tea, water – anything they can get another penny from you. But, it does serve as a source of cheap flights for many people.

AirAsia flies from KLIA2, the low cost carrier terminal adjacent to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. However the two terminals are not connected, and signage showing you how to get from one terminal to the other is pretty much nonexistent. Once I headed to my gate in KLIA2, I realized I was just about the only female in that end of the concourse. Based on the appearance of the young men, I figured they were guest workers headed home for the holidays.

Passing through Immigration and Customs at Tan Son Nhat Airport was a non event, though I was a bit taken aback by the Soviet-era uniforms. The Immigration Officer stamped my visa, (not my passport) and passed me through. The customs officers just waved me through – I must look pretty innocuous. There are advantages to being a woman of (ahem) a certain age.

And that was that.

Update: Club de Fútbol América, lost their match in the FIFA quarter finals.

Possibly useful information:

Everything you ever wanted to know about getting a visa for Vietnam can be found at at the website of the Vietnamese Ministry of Tourism. http://www.vietnamtourism.gov.vn/english/. There is a link to get the application online..

To get from KLIA to KLIA2, you must pass through Immigration and Customs and take the shuttle train to KLIA2 where you must go through security. The train from KLIA to KLIA2 costs two Malaysian ringgit, about 50 cents US. They do take credit cards so you need not change money.

There are ATMS right outside the terminal building. Exit the airport, turn right and walk to the end of the building.

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Comments

[Susan Burke]

Hello from Carlsbad!
Hello Karen, I see you're out globe trotting again! Be safe and have a wonderful Christmas whevever you may be! And that Star Alliance lounge is gorgeous! Drink some bubbly for me. :)

[Pierre B]

Great trip
Karen, good to have some news. I hope you are enjoying your trip. Happy Holidays

[Kuan Yin]

Star Alliance Lounge
This lounge is wonderful. It is located in the International Terminal, and is much nicer than the United lounge in the domestic terminal. The terrace you see in the photos is kind of tucked away at the end of a short corridor in the lounge, and as such not many people go out there. It was a really lovely, calm spot.