I could have written a few blog posts between the packing list (which was not accurate to begin with and then changed ALMOST completely so that entry is as good as useless) and this one but I have been either packing, working, or aggressively drinking. What was I supposed to do, update some blog no one reads during my last few days alone with my boyfriend?
I was a huge worrier this whole trip, of course. I am not, in any sense, a seasoned traveler. I have only traveled outside of the country for the first time this year to go to Costa Rica, and Max (the boyfriend) pretty much did all the mental lifting required for that. I have NEVER traveled by myself by plane, even domestically. And with that caveat:
The trip was not terrible. At all. The whole thing beginning to end was downright easy. Max dropped me off at JFK where it took me a whopping 15 minutes to check in and get through security since it was 11 at night. I flew on EVA air from JFK airport in NYC to Taipei (15.5 hours) and then had a 2 hour layover and then it was another 3.5 hours from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City. I cannot say enough good things about EVA air: they gave me a pass on my ludicrously overweight luggage and even gave me a pass on an extra freakin bag that they definitely could have charged me another $150 for, the seats were roomy and comfortable, there were lots of movies and games to play on their in flight entertainment system, I pretty much walked around the whole plane with impunity when I got antsy, and the in-flight food was like 4 steps better than a suburban high school cafeteria. Their plane was huge and felt modern and ergonomically designed to make you chill out. The pilot on the JFK to TPE trip even gave this zen little speech about being disconnected from all the problems of the world while you slip the tethers of the lower atmosphere and the busy people and goings-on in the countries below. Which I guess would be true, except you could pay $12 an hour for WiFi. I didn't. I'm cheap. I read 2 books and watched 2 movies and swilled white wine until I fell asleep.
The Visa on Arrival was just as easy as the website told me it would be. All I had to do was hand the person working the desk the some printouts I received via email, a visa application/questionnaire, a photo of myself, and my passport. I waited around for a little bit until my name was called, and then I paid 25 USD and got my passport stamped. The thing that really stood out about this process is that other tourists who were waiting around to get their Visa were assholes. I feel bad for whatever Vietnamese beach village is going to be overrun by those velour tracksuit-wearing, fake eyelash-batting savages. GROWN ADULTS pushing and shoving, cutting the queue, and harassing the staff. Plus I chased down a lady who dropped her passport as she's rushing off toward customs, you would think from the way she looked at me that I was trying to hand her a dead animal.
I thought for sure getting a taxi would be this huge debacle, what with all the complaints online people have about unscrupulous taxi drivers driving you off into Districts unknown and extorting you for a ride to your hotel. This is not how it went down at all. I went to a desk at the airport to buy a SIM card. ($9 for 12 gigs seemed pretty good to me!). At the same spot, I bought a pre-determined taxi trip to my hotel for another $9. The cab, thankfully, had air conditioning and I got to experience the complete free-for-all that is the traffic flow here. Seriously, even though I have seen videos and read tons of accounts of crazy motorbike traffic here, I was still unprepared for how crazy it is. That will probably be a post in itself. Within 30 minutes of constant near low-speed collisions, I was at the front desk of my hotel.
Which brings me to now. I'm in my room, waiting for my various electronics to charge. This place is like a step up from a hostel, maybe a step down from a Motel 6. It is private and looks mostly clean though. I am DYING to explore, but I am pretty much falling asleep as I write this.
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