"What the hell am I doing back here in my comfy bed?" I think, as I rise from a deep slumber. I'm supposed to be halfway in to a 14 hour flight to Taiwan. I can fix this. I need to find out: 1) How fast can I get a visa? 2) When is the next available flight? 3) Can I rearrange my time off to fit a new trip? 4) If I can't salvage this trip, where will I watch the superbowl?
The only flight available this week departs for Saigon on Tuesday night. The Vietnamese Embassy is closed until Monday, but the website indicates that the consular department is open for three hours this morning. An expedited visa takes 1 to 2 business days. Today is Thursday. I do the math. Holy crap, I've got to go now! Fast forward ahead and I'm running up the stairs to the Vietnamese embassy. "Sweet dude, like, I totally made it and stuff. Wait a minute. Uh oh, What's this? No, it can't be!" Closed until Monday. That just does not leave enough time to catch a Tuesday night flight. It must have been the D.C. branch that was open today.
Oh, well. I'll figure it out, but there's nothing more I can do right now. It's one of those rare days in San Francisco- warm, sunny and clear; made even more unusual by it's appearance in late February. I feed the meter, not knowing where I am, and head off, not knowing where I'm going. I wander around, not towering over anyone, but feeling like a traveler, when I notice the 'Southeast Asian Cultural Center.' "Cha-ching!" I'll bet they can help me get a "wisa." I walk in and sure enough, there's a travel agency inside and yes, she can indeed help me with that and all of my travel needs. Objective 1 completed.
I call China Airlines to find out how much it will cost to change the reservation. The agent tells me there's a $100 rebooking fee. She then corrects herself, saying there's a $250 cancellation fee. To me, the first number sounds much better and I profess my love for it. She replies that the second number is the actual amount, but... "if you insist, I'll talk to my supervisor."
She tells me her supervisor is at lunch and she'll call me back at two, which she does, and since I insist, it's decided that $100 is sufficient. Objective 2 completed.
The only flight available this week departs for Saigon on Tuesday night. The Vietnamese Embassy is closed until Monday, but the website indicates that the consular department is open for three hours this morning. An expedited visa takes 1 to 2 business days. Today is Thursday. I do the math. Holy crap, I've got to go now! Fast forward ahead and I'm running up the stairs to the Vietnamese embassy. "Sweet dude, like, I totally made it and stuff. Wait a minute. Uh oh, What's this? No, it can't be!" Closed until Monday. That just does not leave enough time to catch a Tuesday night flight. It must have been the D.C. branch that was open today.
Oh, well. I'll figure it out, but there's nothing more I can do right now. It's one of those rare days in San Francisco- warm, sunny and clear; made even more unusual by it's appearance in late February. I feed the meter, not knowing where I am, and head off, not knowing where I'm going. I wander around, not towering over anyone, but feeling like a traveler, when I notice the 'Southeast Asian Cultural Center.' "Cha-ching!" I'll bet they can help me get a "wisa." I walk in and sure enough, there's a travel agency inside and yes, she can indeed help me with that and all of my travel needs. Objective 1 completed.
I call China Airlines to find out how much it will cost to change the reservation. The agent tells me there's a $100 rebooking fee. She then corrects herself, saying there's a $250 cancellation fee. To me, the first number sounds much better and I profess my love for it. She replies that the second number is the actual amount, but... "if you insist, I'll talk to my supervisor."
She tells me her supervisor is at lunch and she'll call me back at two, which she does, and since I insist, it's decided that $100 is sufficient. Objective 2 completed.
I run back to the travel agent all full of glee. I hand her the hundo that she wants and ask her to make sure that my visa is for multiple entries so that I can go to Cambodia and back. The next sound out of her mouth is something between a gasp, a laugh and a scream. "Oh, they want double for that. Communist government want to take all your money." I bet. I decide to go with the single entry and deal with it later, so it remains to be seen if the country formerly known as Kampuchea will be seen.
"One, Two, Three Four. Hit me! I Feel Good." But there is one thing I regret. For the last six days I've abstained from drinking to keep myself sharp. Those are six sober days of my life that I'll never get back so I must begin at once to make up for lost time. One final note: I got the very last seat on that flight and as that was happening my original flight was just landing in Taiwan after it's first 14 hour leg. Cheers
