A Beginning and an End

6:45 PM Hong Kong Time

I'm waiting in the airport in Hong Kong for my immigration to clear. I guess this is as good as any place to start a blog about my travels. Horrible place for me to be worrying about going to my grandmother's funeral.

The situation is that the Vietnamese consulate gave me a visa that isn't valid until December 1st. If you look at the date above, that's somewhat of an issue for me. I thought it wouldn't be an issue and that the Vietnamese would be glad to have someone spend money in their country, but apparently not.

I got to the United Airlines terminal and upon seeing my visa, the check in lady told me that I couldn't go and told me to speak with her manager. Said manager is very civil but he says that he can't do anything. Only after about ten minutes of telling him about how I thought that there had to be something we could do, he finally caved and called the immigration officer for Hong Kong. Can't do anything my ass. Unfortunately the Hong Kong immigration officer for Vietnam couldn't help me and so he tried calling Vietnamese immigration at Ho Chi Minh City airport. Annoyingly, they didn't pick up so the United Airlines manager tried sending one of his colleagues to talk to immigration directly. I guess it takes a lot to get them going, but when they do, they get the job done.

7:00 PM Hong Kong Time

Right after I wrote that sentence the United Airlines came up to me and told me that Saigon immigration will make an exception just this once but I should remember to get a valid visa next time. What is with me and always having trouble with visas? They said the same thing when I messed up my visa in Canada (a story for another time.)

7:30 PM Hong Kong Time

I am now currently sitting across from a guy who really loves his Taiwanese noodles. Lots of slurping. They already brought me the bill before I got my food. That's kinda normal here. They make you go pay at a kiosk. I ordered braised beef in heavy soup with noodles. They've also calculated the cost in a bunch of different currencies.

Funny how a little piece of paper reflects the world economy. The Canadian dollar is still regarded as much stronger than the USD. The Gold British Pound is more than twice as strong. Maybe I should start applying for that Canadian citizenship.

8:00 PM

They've started boarding. I always wait till the line's died down till I get on the plain. After all, the plane is going to take off at the same time no matter how soon you get on.

Take care everyone. I'll talk to you in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.