Well, regular readers know how I roll through my Sunday routines, but things change occasionally, even if it’s not much of a change. Sweet stroll, floating bar, John’s place, Red Bar, Jumpin’ Jacks. What’s new and what’s missing? Read on!
As seen on the Sunday Sweets Stroll:
So, no Hideaway feeding, but in its place:
On to dinner at John’s place. I have to wonder if this was the last one. No wine for Swan, and many more items on the menu that are no longer available. It seems like they are intentionally not restocking food supplies and are trying to sell out as much as possible before closing. I hope I’m wrong about that, but I don’t think so. Still, if you are losing money, you don’t have much choice but to close it down. It’s just not the same without John there.
A visit to Red Bar after dinner, and then a nightcap at Jumpin’ Jacks brought the evening to a close.
We did stop at the print shop on the way home to get a copy of my Vietnam visa.
(deleted visa photo for privacy purposes)
The trike made it to the house without incident this time.
It’s the last day of July 2016 in the LTG archives. I gotta say, this journey through the past has been heartrending lately. Back in the states, my kids were selling the contents of my house for me, almost as if I had died. And in a way, I did. One life ending and another yet to begin. But I made it through the storm.
Today’s YouTube video discusses ten things you don’t want to carry when you travel. I watched it just to make sure I’m up to speed for my upcoming trip to Vietnam. I recall the first time I visited Thailand, I was still into vaping and carried several e-cig pens with me. Somehow, I made it through customs without incident. Later, I was standing on a street in Bangkok waiting for the light to change and puffing away. A foreigner came up to me and said, “Dude, vaping is illegal in Thailand. The police will arrest you for that!” Damn, guess I got lucky.
Let me wipe that smile off your face:
And now it is time to prepare for another Hash Monday.
Back tomorrow with a full report.
When the winter rains
Come pourin' down
On that new home of mine,
Will you think of me
and wonder if I'm fine?
Will your restless heart
Come back to mine
On a journey through the past.
Will I still be in your eyes
And on your mind?
Your Viet visa is fucked, mate!
Valid from January 8th, 2026 until January 8th, 2026.
You can literally spend one day in the country.
Have to sort that ASAP. Did you do it yourself, or use an agent.
Is watching John’s resto wither and die anything like watching a sunset, just slower and sadder? Gonna be a shame when it closes down. Unless someone comes along to rescue it. I wonder what will take the resto’s place.
Whoa. Greg has a point.
You need to get that validity date checked ASAP, for both you and Swan (maybe there’s a reason why the dates are the way they are, but find out that reason and make sure it won’t bite you in the ass later). You might also want to blur or mosaic out your passport number and expiry date on your blog. You don’t want malicious parties to harvest that data. In this day and age, leave nothing private dangling publicly in the wind.
If you went to “the print shop” to get your visa, I assume this is an e-visa. Do you not have a color printer at home? I’d buy a B/W laserjet for normal home use and a color deskjet/inkjet for when you need to print special documents in color. (There are color laser printers, too, but they come with disadvantages.)
I have a bit more time to reply.
I have done 4 of these Vietnam visas in thw past couple of year.s The e-visa site is super glitchy – feels like you are back in 1998.
The “until” date should be the date you are planning to leave VN.. It currently says January 8th, and should be January 22nd (or whenever you pan to exit VN)
Even though the visa is valid for *up to* 90 days, they will only give you the length you ask for. – It is often better to request the full 90 days, even if you only plan to stay a few weeks….never know, you may love it and plan to extend your stay, get food poisoning, twist your ankle on the hotel stairs etc. The price is the same for 3 hours or 3 months.
As a Filippino, Swan gets 21 days as a visa exempt visit, so she is okay.
But yours depends on who prepared the e-visa. If it was you, you are shit out of luck – options are to delay yoir trip until a new visa can be issued, (4 or 5 days – There is a backlog now because the immigration offices there were closed from Jan 1st to 4th, and all the e-visas are processed manually) contact an agent and have a same day visa arranged. They can get it sorted within an hour, as many of them have connections in, or even outright *work for* the immigration department and do the agency thing as a sideline. But this will cost you a pretty penny…..you may be looking at $2-300 for it to be fast tracked – Check “Emily Visa” or “Visa Rose” on facebook. They have good reputations.
If you used an agency, and it is a mistake on their end, they *should* fix it for free, but they may get stroppy about this and try and insist the error is on your part (You sent them the wrong dates, for example)
The airline may not even allow you to board the flighr if they realize you intend to stay beyond the expiration date of your visa.
Another *very risky* option is to just fly there and overstay. Generally the punishment for up to 2 weeks over is just a fine. *Officially,* it shouldn’t be too high…..perhaps just a hundred bucks, but you may be blacklisted from VN for a couple of years, and at the end of the day, you will have broken the law, and are really at the whims of a (likely) corrupt official in one of the most corrupt countries in the region. Plus is getting close to Tet (the local New Year), and many bureaucrats will be angling for bribes. As I said, this isn’t the recommended option, but if you go for it, make sure you get to the airport in Danang very early, to give you a chance to sort things with immigration (Play the confused old fart) – but a standard tactic on their part will be to stall as long as possible to spook you into paying a higher bribe as the likelihood grows that you may also miss your flight. Also if you go this path, and you are stopped by the police – random ID check, hotel reports you are an overstay, getting drunk and pissing your pants in public etc, you *will be* arrested.
All the options suck – I guess much of it would depend on if your flights and hotels are ammendable as to whether it is best to delay by a week while you can prepare a new visa, or if it makes more sense to have an agent prepare a fast tracked one.
Bear in mind, the immigration department there only works office hours, so if you go down this path, have them arrange ir as early today as possible.
Good luck getting it all fixed anyhow
**And yeah…..Kevin is right…..blur out your personal info on the photo you uploaded. There are loads of shitbags online, even sometimes in these comments – last thing you want is some of that stuff to go public.
Greg, Thanks for the heads up on potential visa issues. I contacted the online service I used and they told me:
So, as things stand now, my visa has the correct arrival date and the “valid until” date is blank. I’ll have to trust that immigration upon arrival will give me the appropriate approval to stay for the duration of my trip. Otherwise I’m fucked.
I deleted the photo of the visa to protect my privacy. Thanks for that reminder as well.
Kevin, see my response to Greg’s comment for what the visa service told me. I’ll have to trust that they are correct that immigration will fill in the blank upon my arrival.
I deleted the visa photo to protect my privacy. Thanks for the heads up on that.
I have a printer at home, but I only used once or twice a year. When it malfunctioned, I decided it was easier to visit the print shop on the rare occasions that I need a copy.
Kevin, yes, it has been sad watching John’s place whither away. I was surprised when the maintained the food quality level, but the dearth of customers apparently doesn’t cover expenses. The staff we talk to doesn’t seem to know what is going to happen. Some say the owner (John’s widow) is looking for a less expensive venue. Good luck with that. I expect the shutdown is imminent. I’ll be surprised if they are still open when I return from Vietnam.