A singular experience - getting a visa to Vietnam

In October 2014, I had made a short trip to Vietnam - a brief visit to Hanoi and nearby Halong Bay. To me, Vietnam has always been an attractive proposition as it's one of the less travelled spots and therefore (as I hoped) be less commercial and touristy. Especially, in comparision to regional neighbours like Thailand or Hong Kong or even Cambodia.

The first step was to get a visa. The downside of not being a tourist attraction was very evident when I started the process of getting one. There was no clarity in the information on the Vietnamese Embassy website, no traveller accounts on the world wide web that talked of getting a visa from India and worse, no travel agent who seemed to know how to go about it. It was like a black hole from which not even a glimmer of information escaped. 

There were lots of websites which offered to process a visa on arrival but they didn't seem authentic or accredited by the Vietnamese government and again there was no traveller info on the same. Later, I did find a post on Tripadvisor's community forum that said Visa on Arrival is available provided some pre-travel formalities are taken care of (Trip Advisor FAQ). But, it still seemed a little dicey and I opted for getting my visa before travelling into Vietnam.

The travel agent I was recommended, had no clue whatsoever, which I realised only after I had paid him a fat sum and he had got some basic documentation ready. Then each day was a like a day of discovery for him where he would tell me he needed one more type of document. Finally, when I did a bit more fact-checking, I found this great checklist on Thomas Cook's India website which had details of documents required. I sent it to the travel agent to get him organised. Not to mention, he also gave me tonnes of info on how rude and obnoxious the people at the embassy are or so he 'had heard' (!!!). As if I wasn't already stressed and apprehensive.

The visa stamping required a personal interview. So I trudged off to the embassy. I opted for the consulate in Mumbai. It's in the posh Hiranandani area in Powai. But, the postal address is all I had to go looking for it. There was no landmark given, no signboard when you get there and passers by are completely unaware such an entity existed. Finally, after some amount of going around in circles, I found it. 

I reached there early, by 9AM just to be on the safer side. I had no information on their timings of work. Well... the place was shut. Absolutely & irrevocably closed with no one in sight, not even a watchman or a cleaner or anyone in sight. There were no visa applicants waiting. I asked some people in an office next door who told me, "You never know if they will open. Sometimes they come, sometimes they don't." That left me speechless and thinking, "Must be a sweet deal where you can decide what time to get to office or not at all."

Finally, I went back down to the ground floor and checked with the building watchman who said it opens only at 10AM and added, "Woh log ayenge, aap wait karo" (they will come, you wait). I hung around and at about 9.45 AM someone came and opened up the place. He was a consulate official and asked me to wait for his colleague. That was another 20 mins. The visa officer came and without much delay took my papers. He was about 30 mins processing my documents and stamping my passport. 

The visa officer seemed quite surprised that I had applied for a tourist visa. By then a few more people had come for visas. It seemed that work/ business related visas were more popular and not so much the tourist ones. 

I was out of the consulate by 11AM with a valid visa stamped and ready for me to travel. Not a bad morning's work, I felt, not by a long shot. The fastest I have got a visa to anywhere. 

No fuss, no hassles and oh so polite the officials were. It pretty much set the mood for my holiday and Vietnam did not disappoint me. But more of that in later posts.

In a nutshell here's what is required for getting your tourist visa for Vietnam in India - 

1. A pre-filled visa application form - you can get it from the embassy/ consulate website.

Mumbai - http://www.vietnamconsulate-mumbai.org/en/nr070521170031/
Delhi - http://www.mofa.gov.vn/vnemb.india

2. Passport should be valid for at least six months from the date of submission of visa
application.

3. Two recent colour photograph, 35 x 45mm in size with white background.

4. Covering letter from the applicant on company's letter head stating his name, designation, purpose and duration of visit.

5. Proof of accommodation: hotel reservation including the name and phone number of hotel.

6. If staying at friend’s / relatives place, the applicant can stay maximum up to 15 days. If the stay is longer then the host needs to apply for the visa for the applicant at Vietnamese immigration.

7. Proof of airline reservation for a round trip.

8. Foreign exchange endorsement on the applicant’s passport / Credit card copy of the
applicant is required.

9. Updated Bank statement for the last 3 months is required.

10. One photocopy of the first and last pages of the passport.

11. Personal Presence is mandatory. There are two options in India - Delhi or Mumbai. You can get the addresses from the website (mentioned in pt. 1)

Again, Vietnam visa details on the Thomas Cook India website.

Only one aspect struck me a bit odd - the consulate asked me (via a note signed and stapled to my visa) to have a min of 1000 USD on my person before entering the country. Thankfully, I needed more than that for my trip, so it wasn't too much of a bother. Nevertheless, it seemed like an excessive demand considering pts. 5, 7, 8 and 9 above, were complied with. 

Note: While the information on visa requirements given above are current for now, it can change any time. It's best to check with the embassy/ consulate nearest to you before you travel.

Anyway, I hope this helps any one planning to travel to Vietnam. I'll leave you with photos of this beautiful and breathtaking country for now.

The famous ceramic mosaic wall in Hanoi &
a poster in the art style typical to Vietnam

Handcrafted greeting cards with pop-up figures

The marina at Halong Bay

Delicate inlay work in a Chinese antique furniture piece

A Vietnamese spring roll - very DIY

Frogs in the well/ village ponds... whatever!

At the outset, I must confess that I was not very comfortable publishing this post. Though, while writing it, I felt far easier in my mind with all the venting. It felt good to get it all out of my system.

One of the things I dislike is when fellow Indians who travel to or live in other countries come back and describe everything that is wrong with India. The thought running uppermost in my mind at those times is "Hell, why do you come back then?!"

However, I am going to stick my neck out and do a similar number here. I must add in my defence that these incidents really, really got my goat, to the extent that I ended up having at least one minor scrap with a 'fellow Indian'.

On this recent trip to Thailand (of which I blogged in my previous post), the following incidents were cringe-worthy and extremely unpleasant.

1. At the airport in Bangkok where we had to stand in line for a visa on arrival, there was a long queue. Flights had come in from various Indian cities and many of us were standing in line for our passports to be stamped. We had arrived at a time when there was to be a shift change among the Thai visa officials, so it was taking longer than necessary. The queues of Indians meanwhile disintegrated into one large mass, which looked like the hordes that try to enter an unreserved railway compartment at most Indian railway stations. Only the security guard near the visa officials' booths ensured that they did not run forward and trample everyone in sight. 


In that fracas, there were still a few people who wanted to behave like civilised beings and were quietly waiting their turn. But the uncouth ones, shoved and pushed people around, so much that it almost ended in yelling and shouting. I have to admit, I added to the noise levels for giving someone an earful for trying to get ahead of me, out of turn. The Thai officials seemed unperturbed by the ruckus but I thought I detected an even slower processing of the visa, almost deliberately. 
(If I had been in their place, I would most certainly do the same or probably deny the idiots visas and deport them!). Next time visa in advance, for sure - a lesson well learnt. 

2. In the shopping arcades and malls, we (I had friends with me) noticed that when there were Indians around, the shop keepers  became very wary and would not really talk to us directly. If they did, it would be a bit more aggressively. (Thais are some of the nicest, calmest people I have ever met. Aggression is not something I would normally associate with them). As we spent more time shopping, we realised the shameless haggling our fellow Indians were resorting to, was the cause of all the heartache. In most Asian countries, bargaining is taken as a norm, but not so in Thailand. The Thai shop keepers were more or less rude about the whole situation, either quoting absurdly high prices which they would drop to the regular amount or simply refuse to entertain the Indian customers. 

3. The best feature of the country for me were the amazing foot massages that were to be found at every street corner. Every evening after the end of a long day we would all troop into this place near our hotel for an hour long foot massage. Simply heaven! But I digress. 

During one of these sessions, there appeared a noisy bunch of 3-4 men (they spoke a certain Indian language which made it easy to identify them) who came in and demanded massages, loudly. That itself shattered our peace for the evening. After the receptionist told them the different types available and the details, they decided on the ones they wanted - some body massages/ scrubs on the list. As the masseuses were directing them into their enclosed spa areas, one of the men, loudly stated "massage only women, only women". Meaning: He wanted to ensure that the masseuse for him and his friends were only women. Since I was watching the whole spectacle like a drama unfolding before me, I noticed the masseuses looking at each other and unspoken signal seemed to have been conveyed. The men were told that "all women" was not possible as the women masseuse were busy. The masseuse would have to be men. 

Thais in the tourism industry seem to have devised means of handling the nastiness that comes their way. And this was in an upmarket, posh area of the city, not one of the seedier areas. I hate to think what might have happened there. 

It's sad that women in Thailand, especially, the hospitality industry are seen as 'available' irrespective of what they do or who they are. But, no matter what the profession, treating a woman with any less respect than you would treat your friend/ family/ acquaintance is just NOT DONE. 

4. On my way back, while boarding the flight, there was a newly married couple ahead of me. At one point, we were waiting to enter the aircraft and were being assisted by the airline's ground staff. The man said something to the lady attendant (from the airline) who was standing nearby. His English was not very good so his speech was indistinct. The lady asked him to repeat himself. He did not say anything, instead pointed to her eyes and made a gesture indicating the slant of her eyes and grinned at her, idiotically. She was so furious, that she just walked off. The man's wife just looked on. It was so infuriating to not be able to tick him off or say anything nasty because he just would not have been able to comprehend what it was about. Most people around me, I realised, from the conversation I overheard, thought nothing of cracking jokes about the shape of someone's eyes or the way Thais spoke. Racism was the last thing on their mind. Any ranting on my part would only seem like I had lost my mind, not them. 

My experience of Thailand was of a people who were friendly, polite and soft-spoken. To get them angry and/ or aggressive, one must really offend them. 

I am not even relating the behaviour on board the flights, am sure many of us are familiar with it on domestic flights itself - the incessant calling of the stewardesses for inane requests, asking for freebies etc.  

It's sad to have to gripe about the behaviour of Indians abroad, but I did search around in my head for any good, decent stuff I came across. And there was nothing, zilch. 

When I was relating these incidents to a friend, back home, he joked that India tourism's advertisement ought to also be created in reverse to teach us how to behave in foreign lands with citizens of those countries. It's certainly not something that can be taught overnight, but a mindset that must change, if we are to be viewed more favourably wherever we go. 

(Pic courtesy: Google search)