Greetings from the lovely city of Da Nang, where litter-free streets abound! Getting here proved to be quite the adventure, but it all worked out in the end. I’m about ready to get out and do some exploring, so here’s a quick recap on the way things went down yesterday.
Left for Manila a little before 5 a.m. with my fellow travelers, neighbors Jeff and Davina. We’d made arrangements with my landlord to park Jeff’s car at her house to avoid the exorbitant parking fees at the Manila airport. We arrived without incident (other than the notorious Manila traffic), parked, then called a Grab car to transport us to the airport. Again, other than traffic, we encountered no difficulties and made it to the airport just before 9 a.m. for our flight scheduled to depart at 11:55.
When I reached the check-in counter, the agent asked to see my Vietnam visa. After looking it over, she showed it to the agent next to her, then returned it to me and processed my boarding pass. Then she asked to see my visa again, chatted with the other agent again, and then asked about the duration of my stay, since only my arrival date was listed on the visa. I explained that I had been told that Vietnam immigration would enter that date. She nodded and handed me my boarding pass. I exhaled a sigh of relief.
I had a Subway sandwich for the first time in years for breakfast/lunch and proceeded to my boarding gate to await departure. They began boarding early, and we departed the airport ahead of schedule. I was exhausted for some reason and fell asleep before takeoff, then woke thirty minutes or so into the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Da Nang. When I got up to pee, I noted something that had never happened before in all my years as a frequent flyer: I hadn’t fastened my seatbelt before we took off. Swan says the flight attendant walked by checking, but must have assumed my seatbelt was on, hidden by the protrusion of my big-ass belly. Oh, well. I survived the breach of safety protocols, and our plane landed in Da Nang at 1 p.m. local time (Da Nang is 1 hour ahead of the Philippines).
Da Nang is a tourist hotspot, and the immigration lines were among the longest I’ve ever seen. It took me forty minutes to get to my turn with the officer. I gave him my passport and visa. He looked at the visa and started punching stuff into the computer. He paused, then took another long look at the visa. He pointed to the date, which I thought was the arrival date, and he told me it was the departure date. So, my visa had expired. I tried to explain, but he wasn’t interested and called someone over to escort me to a desk in the back. The officer there reviewed my paperwork, took my passport, and told me to take a seat and wait.
Ten minutes later, a couple of women in Philippines Air uniforms approached and asked to see my return flight information. They took my paperwork and walked away. Oh shit, I’m going to be deported! They returned after a bit and had me follow them to the visa on arrivals desk at immigration. Americans are not eligible for a visa on arrival, but apparently, an exception was going to be made for me. I had to fill out a new visa application (in duplicate), and I was so stressed that my hands were shaking. Then, out of nowhere, a young man in civilian clothes told me he was there to assist me in getting my visa approved. But it was going to cost me $135, around three million Vietnamese dong. I asked if I could use a credit card, but he said no. I said I’d need to go to an ATM, but since I couldn’t leave the immigration area, that wasn’t possible. I had given Swan four million dong I had gotten at an exchange booth in Manila. She was anxiously waiting in the baggage claim area for my situation to be resolved, so I sent the “agent/fixer” over there. Jeff had dong from his previous trip, and gave the necessary funds to secure my visa. Once the money had changed hands and the visa was issued, I was a free man again.
We got our bags, I hit an ATM to repay Jeff, and we caught a Grab ride to our hotel. I deny being an alcoholic, but after the shit I’d been through, I needed a beer big time. We put our bags in the room, then crossed the road to the Paradise Beach Bar, which I had enjoyed on my previous trip here. And guess what? It was chilly outside. All I packed were shorts and light shirts, but I’ll be shopping for a sweatshirt before we head up for our stay in the Ba Na Hills. It’s not cold-cold like winter, but it’s still uncomfortable for someone who’s become acclimated to the heat in the Philippines.
After a couple of extra cold beers, we took a twenty-minute walk along the beach road to my favorite eatery from last trip, Dirty Fingers. Still as good as ever. Then we headed back towards our hotel and stopped at the Roadside Bar for a nightcap. A couple more beers, and I had had all that I could handle, so we said goodnight to Jeff and Davina and made it safely back to our room.
Oh yeah, something went wrong with my blog, and I wasn’t able to log on yesterday. I understand my reader(s) were blocked as well. Hopefully, that issue has now been resolved.
And now you know the story of the first day of my trip. Here are some photos from the adventure:
Yep, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for today.
Still in the August 2016 LTG archives, and work sucks, I’m walking and playing darts, and some new craziness has arrived in my life in the form of a gal named Eun Oke.
I haven’t had time to watch today’s YouTube video about Da Nang, but here it is if you are interested.
Laughter is better than tears:
Alright, when I think about how screwed I’d have been if I had been kicked out of the country yesterday, I don’t mind paying the price to have my stupidity with that flawed visa rectified. I consider myself lucky. That stress from the blog malfunction added to the misery, but it seems I’ve overcome that as well, at least for now. So, let’s get on with the exploration!
“He pointed to the date, which I thought was the arrival date, and he told me it was the departure date. So, my visa had expired.”
Nobody listens to bloody Dr Greg!!
With the money you wasted on the dud visa, you could have bought an electricity generator for your house!!
Make sure you go after that dud visa agent. The cunt is already charging 300% the official visa fee…..the least they could do is fill in the application form correctly.
Ten minutes later, a couple of women in Philippines Air uniforms approached and asked to see my [return-flight] information. They took my paperwork and walked away. Oh shit, I’m going to be deported! They returned after a bit and had me follow them to the [visa-on-arrivals] desk at immigration. Americans are not eligible for a visa on arrival, but apparently, an exception was going to be made for me. I had to fill out a new visa application (in duplicate), and I was so stressed that my hands were shaking. Then, out of nowhere, a young man in civilian clothes told me he was there to assist me in getting my visa approved. But it was going to cost me $135, around three million Vietnamese dong. I asked if I could use a credit card, but he said no. I said I’d need to go to an ATM, but since I couldn’t leave the immigration area, that wasn’t possible. I had given Swan four million dong I had gotten at an exchange booth in Manila. She was anxiously waiting in the [baggage-claim] area for my situation to be resolved, so I sent the “agent/fixer” over there. Jeff had dong from his previous [trip and] gave the necessary funds to secure my visa. Once the money had changed hands[,] and the visa was issued, I was a free man again.
Damn, that’s a lotta “dong”s! Not to mention a lotta [errors].
So was it worth it, not worrying about your printed visa dates? Maybe be more careful next time when filling out your visa info. Now, if the website doesn’t give you any spaces to fill out your intended travel dates and visa-duration dates, then the country is basically trapping you into paying $135 (or whatever) every time you come into its borders. Back in the 80s, South Korea used to charge people leaving the country an “exit tax,” but these days, that tax is gone, and the country has other ways to grab your money.
Vietnam looks nice—another “socialist paradise” that really seems to be thriving on capitalism. And Da Nang seems very pretty, not to mention very tourist-trappy, like a gigantic Itaewon. What are the most famous local beers, and are they any good? That guy’s video has some good recommendations for where to eat, especially if you’re vegan (which I know you aren’t). But vegan food ain’t all bad.
Anyway, today is only your first full day in country. Enjoy. And if you have the chance, slap the Buddha’s belly for me. Vietnam is that rare SE Asian country whose Buddhism is more Mahayana than Theravada—unlike Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, etc.
Oh, yeah—one thing the guy’s video mentions is cooking classes for tourists. If that’s not too corny-sounding for you and Swan, why not join one and pick up a new skill? You’ll be the talk of Barretto when you come back able to make perfect bánh mì for twenty people.
San Miguel zero available there? If not, what is your beer of choice?
Brian, No Zero here. I’ve been drinking the popular local brews, mostly on draft. Tiger, Larue, and Huda. They are cheap too.
Kevin, sorry about the errors, that post was even more rushed than usual. I’m a dong millionaire!
In retrospect, I shouldn’t have trusted the visa provider’s information about the dates. Live and learn. I’m just glad it was resolved without deportation. The Philippines also has an exit tax. Swan and Jeff had to pay it (about $30), but since I’m technically a tourist, I was exempt.
On my first visit here five years ago, I went to Saigon. I’d never been to a communist country before, so I was surprised to see all the usual franchises, banks, and thriving economy. Vietnam has a commie leadership that is wise enough to give the people the freedom to live and grow.
Da Nang is beautiful, and it is nice outside of the tourist areas as well. Clean and modern, with excellent infrastructure. I could live here if I weren’t too damn old to start over. I’ve been drinking the local beers and enjoying them. Huda is the cheapest and tastes good to me. I also like Tiger a lot.
I doubt I’ll find room on my agenda for cooking classes, but we are expanding on our usual dining options and enjoying the variety.
Greg, yes, you were right, and I was wrong. Lesson learned. I got screwed, but it could have been worse.
Tiger is actually out of Singapore. I am sure that there is a brewery in Vietnam that brews it, but its origins are from Singapore.
I think now it may be owned by Heineken. Not unusual, as other than micro brews, all beers are owned by probably one three or four major brewers.
Brian, I’ve never been to Singapore, but I’ve had Tiger beer in the Philippines before. Maybe in Thailand and Bali too, I can’t remember. Lots of Heineken here too, but there are better options IMO. My favorite local brew is Huda…it’s cheap and good! Here’s a link to the ten most popular beers in Vietnam.