Choose another map, showing:

• China
• South East Asia
• Asia
• Eurasia
• Eurasia, Africa & Pacific
• The World

Other entries in Pakxan

my.

we get to the border! course, we realize we've just been totally scammed by our guest houses in hanoi and that this will be our last bus and we're on our own after that. no one knows for sure where we'll get dropped off but at least there are 11 of us - safety in numbers (and I'm not the only idiot for getting scammed like this ;) and we're getting across the border before the visa expires. all is looking better!

BUT, queue disaster #2. saved all for me - so lucky! I'm the first to hand my passport to the vietnamese border police, but last to get it back. and actually, I didn't get it back- they are passing it around sloooowly flipping thourgh pages. are they admiring all my stamps?! (goody!) there was this girl in a pink shirt (definitely not the border uniform) sitting with them - they say something to her, she looks up at me and smiles and asks "where did you enter viet nam?" "chao doc in the south, why?" (still smiling) "you have no entry stamp, you'll have to go back to chao doc to get it"

huh?

K - chaou doc ALL the way in the south in viet nam.my visa is up toDAY. I'm meeting a friend in vientiene in a week. this can't be happening....I've heard so many visa horror stories. I'm actually in the middle of one. shit, crap, yeah, every swear-word I know is going through my brain. (I notice the name badge of one of the guys: nguyen mau phuc - the irony didn't espcape me...) I look at the passport myself. the stamp really isn't there. did I actually miss that??!!

but seriously - they weren't budging.they were sending me back to the south. we tryed to suggest I "pay" for the entry stamp (bribe). that didn't fly. we explain my visa is up, I already have my laos visa, c'mon, look at me - do I look dishonest?! (K, don't answer that). they keep saying - you have to go to chao doc. grrr.....panic....panic........(but don't yell, don't yell...)

we ask if they can call rather than me HAVE to go all the way down there. "we don't have a phone". one of the guys in my group is helping through all this and he pulls out his phone. "what's the number, I'll call?" we are in a stand off for over an hour. the bus driver is threatening to leave. shit - this really can't be happening to me!

they have me fill out a statement about what happened. now in the states, you do this, and there's some lawyer just itching to turn it against you. my first reaction was to refuse - this is where I get myself thrown in jail right? but everyone said this is meant to help me (of course you'll say this....), but I really didn't have a choice...and it's better than them saying "no" so I do it.

I start pleading with the girl (who's just visiting today, thank god. otherwise there were no english speakers there) - listen, I'm traveling alone, I'm afraid to get left alone on this border (we're in the middle of no where), if you were traveling alone imagine this happened to you, etc etc. I was desperate to try anything and it's true, I was really pretty afraid at that point.

she tells me they actually ARE calling chao doc. the bus driver is really getting antsy to go, but he just pulled out a fag, so that's at least a 5 minute distraction. "mees, have a seat please and wait". argh - for how long??

it's SO down to the wire, the fag is done, the driver wants to go. I'm pleading with him when I hear "mees, we hear from chao doc. it's ok. you can leave."

wow. what?? shit. crap. nice! and i didn't have to bribe or pay anything extra! what a relief!!! I make small talk with the girl while they finish stamping everything. she advises me to be more careful. I agree through gritted teeth that yeah, sure, I like viet nam (they still had my passport so of course I had to lie).

I litterally RUN across the border since the bus driver is getting ready to leave. suddenly the mess of last night seems minor compared to what just happened. but the day still isn't over....

Add to del.icio.us Add to reddit

Photos / videos of "my.":