We Almost Miss Our Trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand

 These blog posts detail our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand that we took from 2/20-3/10/2024 and were produced after our return.

 

2/20-2/22/2024

Capt. Larry awakens at 0300 to find himself covered with a blanket on the living room couch shivering and shaking with chills. He goes to bed, but can’t seem to warm himself no matter how many blankets he gets beneath. At 0630 he wakes Jane and tells her that he is sick. She produces a thermometer and measures a fever of 102.5°. This isn’t good news, because in about nine hours we are supposed to leave for the New Orleans airport to begin our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Of all the traveling that we’ve done, this is the first time that we are faced with the real possibility of having to cancel at the last minute. Jane decides that an urgent care evaluation is needed, and Capt. Larry takes some Tylenol to reduce the fever before heading out.

Calling Jane's name!

At urgent care, Capt. Larry registers a near-normal temperature and is tested for the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Covid. The results of all tests are negative. Four weeks previously, he had stumbled on a beach in Antigua and hurt his wrist catching the fall. The wrist was still painful and swollen and when this history was repeated to the physician’s assistant, an x-ray was ordered. The x-ray showed a hairline fracture of one of the small bones in the hand. Immobilization with a wrist brace for another 4 weeks was prescribed. We left the clinic and headed back home to some bed rest. By early afternoon Capt. Larry’s temperature was normal and he felt much better, so we decided to embark on our trip.

We arrived at the airport and checked in. Our flights would take us from New Orleans to Dallas-Fort Worth, then to Doha, Qatar, and finally to Hanoi. We were not relishing the long flight times which totaled just north of 26 hours. The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Doha alone was just under 17 hours, and we could never really be sure of how many time zones would be involved. The flights were uneventful and we were able to catch 4-5 hours of sleep— something that doesn’t come easily for either of us on a plane.

A welcome after a long day!

Touching down in Hanoi around noon local time, we followed the herd to immigration. Capt. Larry and Jane ended up at different stations with our visas and passports. Jane breezed through the check-in process and was waiting for Capt. Larry. But his agent could not get the reader to accept his passport. Finally, he called an army officer over and showed him the passport and visa. The officer told Capt. Larry to follow him, and as they were walking toward another office, the officer showed him that the arrival date on the visa was the 23^rd. And today was the 22^nd. Capt. Larry explained that the tour actually began on the 23^rd and the arrival date was an oversight, but being a communist country they weren’t going to cut an American tourist any slack. His passport and visa disappeared and he was told to have a seat. Jane was left in limbo. After waiting approximately one half hour, Capt. Larry tried to speed up the process by emphasizing that an airport transfer was waiting to take us to our hotel, but that didn’t cause the slightest stirring. On top of all of this, Jane had both his phone and wallet, but they wouldn’t let her reenter the immigration area. An hour passed. Jane was finally able to convince one of the agents to let her give Capt. Larry his phone and wallet. At least now he could purchase a new visa if required. He told Jane to go meet with the tour representative and explain the situation. After nearly 2 hours of waiting, Capt. Larry found an officer with 4 stars (the most of any of the other officers) on his shoulder epaulets. He asked, “Will this situation be able to be resolved, and if not what options do I have?” The officer disappeared and 15 minutes later another officer emerged with his passport and visa and ushered him through immigration. He proceeded to the ground transportation area and met up with Jane and the tour representative. The bus to the hotel had already left with the other tour mates, but the representative stated that she had a private van coming to take us to the hotel. We checked into the hotel and decided that a good night’s sleep was the order of the day, as our Canadian travel friends, David and Linda, would not be arriving until past midnight. Needless to say, it was one hell of a day!