Artistic response to Trans-pacific flightWell in short there is a lot of humble pie out here and I inadvertently ordered up a pretty big slice that has made me feel somewhat ill. But more on that in a minute.
It has been 8 years since I flew across the Pacific which is evidently long enough to push the horror of 14 hrs in a tube completely out of my mind. Sadly it all came rushing back in about 30 minutes. If you have flown across the Pacific before, or the Atlantic for that matter, I won't belabor the experience. If you haven't I am loath to color your future experience with my opinion so sufficed to say it was a long trip.
Life in the tubeAnyway all laborious/tedious stories aside we had a good flight. Saw some of Siberia and China from the plane and arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) around 10 pm a day later than when we departed Phoenix. It was at this moment that the servers came out with the humble pie.
Siberia from 30,000 ftI sauntered up to immigration in Vietnam only to be greeted with an incredulous airport functionary asking where my visa paperwork was. Blithely I responded I was prepared to purchase a visa on the spot which increased the functionary's bewilderment. "Sir, you can't enter Vietnam without a visa," he informed me. "That's alright," I replied, "I'll just get one here. Where is the paperwork?" Enter Humble Pie stage right. "Sir, visa paperwork is to be completed before arrival," replied the immigration guard, "you will have to return to your port of origin and process it there. It should only take two days or so." Move heart to soles of sandals.
Arriving Ho Chi Minh City
As Mike and I were disinclined to get back on an airplane without handcuffs and a swat team we asked if here was another way. Like most things, even in Vietnam, time, distance, rules and what-not can be mitigated by cold hard cash so we were informed we could pay extra, stay in a state sponsored four star hotel for the evening and get our visas the next day. After a brief discussion, we looked into each other's hollow eyes and saw that there was no way in hell we were getting back on an airplane back to the states, we decided to pay the money, (ashes, it tastes like ashes) made the arrangements and got a free ride to a nice hotel, had some Tiger beer and drifted off to sleep.
In place at the State sponsored First Hotel
Tomorrow - cheaper accomodations, passport photos to enter Cambodia (no flies on us now), and some Saigon flavor.
Arriving Ho Chi Minh City As Mike and I were disinclined to get back on an airplane without handcuffs and a swat team we asked if here was another way. Like most things, even in Vietnam, time, distance, rules and what-not can be mitigated by cold hard cash so we were informed we could pay extra, stay in a state sponsored four star hotel for the evening and get our visas the next day. After a brief discussion, we looked into each other's hollow eyes and saw that there was no way in hell we were getting back on an airplane back to the states, we decided to pay the money, (ashes, it tastes like ashes) made the arrangements and got a free ride to a nice hotel, had some Tiger beer and drifted off to sleep.
In place at the State sponsored First HotelTomorrow - cheaper accomodations, passport photos to enter Cambodia (no flies on us now), and some Saigon flavor.
