A World Traveler Still Can Make Rookie Mistakes

“Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” -Erica Jong

“What do you mean I need a visa for Vietnam?” I asked bewildered, when I reached the ticketing agent at the no-name airline in Singapore Changi Airport.

I was extremely proud of myself. I actually reached the airport one and a half hours before my flight. But this wasn’t by some newfound internal shift to finally be on time for something. Getting to the airport with ample time to spare was a direct result of missing my actual flight to Singapore three days before in Dallas.

In my fifteen years of travel in over 60 countries in six continents with hundreds of flights and thousands of miles traveled under my belt, I can proudly admit that I’ve only missed a few flights and there is a good story for all of them. I won’t recount the numerous flights that I barely missed as I frantically run through airports, plead to ticketing agents, airport personnel, and other passengers to let me through as they call for last boarding.

There was the time in Rio de Janeiro where I was on time for my flight, but the flight was delayed for reasons not disclosed. I was asked to wait nearby until the flight was ready to board at an undetermined time. I waited and chatted with a friend via Skype, excited for my day long layover in Panama. Two hours later, when I grew suspicious and asked about the status of the flight, the attendant blithely informs me that my flight left without me since they announced boarding and final boarding in Portuguese. I was livid.

Then, there was the time in Buenos Aires when I planned to leave for the airport a whole two hours before my international flight back to the States. But I happened upon a Women’s March that suddenly appeared on the street after I emerged from a famous cafe that I had to experience before I left the country. The streets of Buenos Aires filled with thousands of women, children and male supporters singing, chanting, stomping, drumming, fists flying in the air, chests puffed up with pride with colorful handkerchiefs tied around wrists and necks. How could I not purchase a kerchief and join in the march to the city center? But when I tried to hail a cab thirty minutes later after I’ve had my fill of the rush of the Women’s March, the taxis were conveniently on strike. When finally, after many failed attempts and some scant tears, I bribed a taxi driver to take me to the airport, all the streets were blocked for miles in every direction and I could almost see the airplane above my head bound for the United States without me. I was embarrassed.

Finally, there was the time that I missed my flight in Cairo. I was waiting for my COVID-19 test results so I can enter the United States per the government requirements at the time and it was running late. When a courier finally delivered my results to my hotel in central Cairo, I asked the taxi driver to step on it. But the dizzying organized chaos that is Cairo traffic, even an hour before midnight was as thick as noon traffic in NYC. Not to mention, my taxi driver got lost getting the airport. I was bewildered.

(Side note: the next day, I almost missed my flight in Cairo again, even with a three hour lead, because my Uber taxi overheated and I had to help him push his car out of the crowded road. He hailed another cab for me when I panicked, but the new cab driver had more years behind him than before him, with major tremors and the actual cab was at least 20 years old. Cairo traffic was still no respecter of persons. But I did make that flight.)

The last time I missed my flight was only a few days I arrived in Singapore. I’ve been living in Dallas for several years, fortunate to live near the airport, until I moved to an area in Dallas that would allow me to have beautiful views of the Dallas skyline and its increasingly overwhelming traffic day after amazing day as more expats call Texas home. Still, I completely underestimated Dallas traffic at six in the morning. I promptly missed my flight once again. I was perturbed.

So on the morning of my flight to Vietnam from Singapore, I made sure the time gods were on my side, and I made a great effort to arrive super early to the airport and by my standards that’s two and a half hours early.

But as I stood in said airport, my brows were in a deep furrow and my stomach kept doing somersaults. I repeated the question as if I didn’t clearly hear what he just told me: “What do you mean I need a visa for Vietnam?”

The stout yet petite ticketing agent turned my question into a statement:

“You need visa for Vietnam,” he replied, his face stone cold.

I have been wanting to travel to Vietnam since I lived in South Korea fifteen years before. It has always been high on my bucket list but the cost of traveling there from the United States was prohibitive, until I found a flight deal to Singapore from Dallas. I used one of my favorite travel hacks: travel to the cheapest country near my desired destination and procure a cheap flight to my desired destination, essentially getting two trips in one. At the time of writing, flights from the US to Vietnam always hover around $1200-$1400 USD. I happened upon a rare flight deal to Singapore from Dallas at around $600. Flights from Singapore to cities in Vietnam start at less than $100 if you purchase far enough in advance.

This is a savings of at least $600 USD if I played my cards right, I realized, salivating in anticipation. But I didn’t. I didn’t play my cards right at all.

“Well, can’t I just get the visa on arrival?” I retorted to the agent, annoyed that he offered no other explanations or possible solutions, as I stood there helpless.

“No ma’am. You need visa before we check you in,” The agent responded with a slight tilt of his head as if he felt sorry for me.

“Oookay! Can I apply for the visa online?” I asked, while my fingers were already clacking my smartphone searching for the Vietnam government website to get an online visa before I finished my sentence, hoping that the savvy millennial in me would quickly fill out the form, pay my fee and show my phone screen to the agent so he can check me in already.

“Yes, but take fo’ hour to expedite,” he answered with more gusto and a crooked smile and no more pity in his voice.

Suddenly, for the first time since the agent said the word visa, I was genuinely concerned. Normally, airlines send information to passengers if additional documentation is needed before an international flight. Yes, it was my responsibility to check if I needed a visa. I have all the excuses in the world for not checking this vital information before my trip.

I was a burnt out medical professional that worked long hours and wanted to nap on my days off, I was grieving the recent tragic loss of my soul dog pretty hard, I was just getting over my first sinus infection that lasted a whole month due to all my stress, I was dealing with homeowner issues since closing on my first home a few months before, and I was simply tired and horribly sleep deprived. Vietnam was the escape I desparetly needed. But none of these excuses mattered in that moment.

“But I’m going to miss my flight? Can you call the immigration office? Surely, there is something that can be done. I can’t miss my flight to Vietnam,” I retorted.

The agent called the immigration office five times. Each time he was greeted with a ringtone that was never answered.

And now, I panicked.

“Can’t I just board the flight? I did the application and I have my receipt,” I push my phone a mere few inches from his eyes to show proof. “By the time I land, four hours will pass and my visa will be ready,” I pleaded, attempting every possible angle for me to get on the flight that I was uncharacteristically early for.

Why is being early for my flight being punished with this major inconvenience? How can I possibly miss a second international flight in three days? I could almost taste the flight that would take me to the country I’ve desired to travel to for years. It was within arms reach. I was just a hop and the South China Sea away.

Still, the agent dismissed all my angles with a shrug. We were at an impasse. There was nothing to be done.

In a desperate and final plea, I contacted the Vietnam immigration office via email, typing an eye grabbing subject-line in all caps: VIETNAM E-VISA URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED. Within minutes, I received a response from Immigration: $85 for a one hour expedited visa. Eureka!

I could not sign the document for the expedited visa fast enough, my fingers trembling as I typed.

In total, I paid $136 USD in order to process the visa in one day and $85 USD for the one hour ULTRA expedited visa.

But I still missed my original flight that closed boarding one hour before the flight.

So I waited, while frantically searching for another flight to Vietnam for the same day.

And when I looked up from my search, I realized with dismay that I wasn’t the only one in my predicament. Around the airport, I noticed several Western travelers also frantically trying to secure a visa and/or new flights. I spoke to two Americans who were working with 3rd party companies offering ultra expedited visas for $300 USD. I even met someone whose birthday was printed wrong on his visa, though no fault of his, and he also paid $300 to have it amended. Several others applied for their visa a week in advance and it wasn’t ready in time for their flight. Guess what? $300 to get an expedited visa. The next flight out of the next no-name airline to Vietnam that I found was, unsurprisingly, $300.

Three hundred dollars was the magic number of the day. Is this a legal scam?, I wondered with the Americans. The pattern to get last minute visas seemed dubious at best.

As I sat at the edge of my seat waiting, rocking back and forth and chewing my nails, the “ding” of a new email disrupted my thoughts:

“Dear Natacha, please find the attachment of your official E-visa for your immigration process at Vietnam airport.”

My heart raced and I shrieked with joy. Having possession of that digital attachment with Vietnam’s red and gold emblem never felt so good.

That digital document which was nothing more than a Word attachment cost me $221.

I ran to the ticketing agent for the airline that had the next flight to Vietnam, almost hurling my credit card towards the woman, not wanting to miss the last few seats.

“Cash only please,” she replied in a sharp tone pointing to the ATM machine, unfazed by my rush of excitement.

Are you in on this scam or do you just get a commission, I wanted to ask her but kept it to myself.

I returned from the ATM machine with fresh-off-the-press warm bills in exchange for the golden ticket: a boarding pass to Vietnam!

Finally!!

The total cost of my gaffe: $221 for e-visa + $300 for a last minute flight to Vietnam from Singapore + $15 airport lunch = $536

All in all, I attempted to travel hack my way to Vietnam by flying for $600 cheaper to Singapore. Yet, my MAJOR rookie mistake, even as a world traveler, cost me the $600 that I saved.

Yes, I was angry at myself for not checking for visa requirements before my trip. Yes, I was mad at the Vietnam immigration for their archaic visa approval process that did’t include e-visas or visa on arrival. Yes, I was livid at the obvious legal scam for obtaining said visa when they know you’re desperate. Yes, the experience left a funny foretaste in my mouth for Vietnam even before the trip started.

But, when I finally arrived in Saigon a few hours later, my outrage melted away as I gazed upon thousands of scooters filling every inch of every street, squeezing through traffic like water gliding across rocks. The whole city of Saigon was lit up into a kaleidoscope of colors, as thousands of pedestrians sidestepped traffic and crossed treacherous roads expertly. The smells of food stalls sizzling meat and fish, the sounds of a million beeping horns in an apparent concerto, and the taste of the thick, sticky smog-filled air left me in a dizzying trance as the adrenaline of the day started to wear off. This is the Vietnam I’ve been waiting for. This is the Vietnam that made my heart smile.

Total dollars actually saved on my travel hack: $64. Memories cherished when I finally experienced Vietnam: Priceless.

So, a world traveler like me can still make rookie mistakes. The unexpected still happens on the road no matter how prepared or unprepared I am. Travel budgets do get surpassed in unexpected ways. And flights do get missed whether due to terrible traffic, unexpected taxi strikes, Ubers breaking down or getting lost. But like a gooey caramel that I savor as it glides slowly across my tongue, the lifelong memories of my travel adventures over the years make every missed flight or extra dollar spent undoubtedly PRICELESS.

If you’d like to read more stories of my travels around the world and all the misadventures and harrowing tales traveling as a Black woman ensues, plus travel insights and hacks I’ve learned traveling through six continents, join my brand new newsletter, Traveling While Scared. Also, I wrote a travel memoir and when you join, you’ll be amongst the first to know when I publish and can even sign up to be a beta reader!