Anh to the Rescue!

Anh, Manager of Yellow House in HCMC
Last night after we had bought our train tickets to Hue and Danang and our plane ticket back from Danang to Saigon we realized our visas run out next Tuesday. We came back into the country on the 9th with a 30 day visa we had bought in Cambodia on the 24th. We only realized last night that the 30 days counted down from the day the visa was issued, not from the day we came back into the country.

We were in a quandary--you must have passports to travel and to register into hotels. But it takes four to five days at best to get the visa reissued. We wondered about the logistics of having it renewed in Danang--but there was the possibility of an unforeseen delay and I must be back in Saigon on the 27th to pick up Henry on the 28th and have the G&R on the 29th.

We researched options on the internet, then this morning I visited a few travel agents. They all said it would take several days. One even said it would take a week to ten days. I have read about two day rush renewals but I coudn't find anyone who said they did that.

Then we thought of Anh, the manager of Yellow House where my mother stayed for two months before I got here. They have a travel agency in the lobby that is very efficient, and Anh seems very knowledgeable and eager to assist. We spoke with her and she said she could get the visas renewed and send them to us either by bus to Hoi An or by FedEx to Danang. In the meantime she made copies of our passports and our visas and gave us an official receipt that indicates we have applied for an extension. This will allow us to travel by train or bus and also will be accepted for registering in hotels.

We must have our actual passports and visas when we fly, so Anh will more than likely have them sent to Hoi An by bus and we will pick them up there. In a worst case scenario if the visa isn't ready I suppose we could catch a bus Friday night after the wedding and ride back to Saigon rather than catch our Saturday plane. It is so helpful to have somebody like Anh who knows the system and who is willing to listen and figure out a solution. The people I spoke to earlier in the morning don't know us and don't care about the problem. They just say "a week to ten days" and that's all. Anh knows we have been here waiting for me to adopt Henry and she has continued to be helpful. I can't wait to take Henry by Yellow House so she can meet him.