A quick update: After several hours with no e visa approval, I went to immigration anyway to pay my overstay fine for two days, thinking I'll get the visa for Cambodia tomorrow. At the gate, the guards wouldn't let me in, however, because I wasn't wearing long pants! Great, I thought, a day wasted.
After flagging down a motorbike taxi to get back home, I grumbled to the driver about my no pants misfortune, so he said he could lend me his. Brilliant! On a sidewalk, he took off his pants for me to wear over my demin shorts, then we went back to immigration.
There, I was told that my overstaying for two or three days was no big deal, so I could pay my fine at the border.
When the motorbike driver dropped me off, I tipped him well, so everyone was happy. Bavet, here I come tomorrow, or the day after at the latest.
I can't believe what I'm reading. I was under the impression that you made it back to Vietnam to live happily ever after. Instead, the country of your birth is making you jump thru a bunch of bureaucratic hoops ?
Total fucking bullshit....who makes money off this scam ?
I don't know much about Cambodia except the American Military dropped a million bombs on the place, of which half a million are still laying around.
I googled Krong Bavet & they offered me a room at the Blue Star Hotel for $17 a night with free wi-fi. The worst dives in America cost more than that. The Hotel Thanatos doesn't even come up lol.
The SonyA6000 & the Canon 80D are sweet....stay cool brah & best of luck.
Yes. How can any country justify a policy of giving its native citizens only temporary stays in the country of their birth? Is that the reason why you've been traveling from country to country for the past several years, Linh? Of course, one option would be to pay a cartel several thousand to drop you off at the US-Mexico. Once in the US, you'd never have to worry about being deported and migrants (unlike tennis great Novak Djokovic) aren't even checked for their vaxx status. Maybe they'd even give you a one-way plane ride to Martha's Vineyard.
Those children have such life and curiosity in their eyes.
As for the Korean inn, I wonder what happened to all those flies and bugs. Even by the mid-20th they had to be gone, because my Korean mom doesn't talk about them being as numerous, and she lived in the usual mudbank village outside Seoul. I know in my own lifetime I've seen the bug count go down, not nearly as many bees and butterflies as when I was a kid. (Now we have an overabundance of invasive stinkbugs, potato bugs, and Joro spiders to replace them though) We really have been killing this planet's diversity to make humans feel less crawled over.
Linh, any idea why Vietnam is making it harder to stay there for a extended period? I would think that after the Covid hysteria lockdowns they would want foreign cash. Also, just as Vietnam was starting to get foreign retirees (who bring in a lot of money compared to the local population) they pulled up the welcome mat.
Lihn, doesn't Vietnam have some kind of "jus sanguini" right to Vietnamese citizenship? I understand you were born in the U.S., but both of your parents are Vietnamese. So it should be possible. Also isn't your ex-wife and other family relations Vietnamese? There should be ways to get at least a permanent residence there... I think.
Oh. So it makes even less sense that he doesn't automatically have Vietnamese citizenship. Doesn't Vietnam have birthright citizenship? Or maybe by becoming American he had to renounce the Vietnamese citizenship?
Linh, I had no idea if your difficulties and feel terrible that someone so talented has so many difficulties to face in old age. Hopefully, things are looking up and your visa problems are on the way to being resolved for the next little while , hopefully five years. Best wishes for the next few days. Is Laos a possibility? I have heard good things about it.
Many Vietnamese-Americans have dual citizenship, but I'm only an American. USA! USA! I'll try to get another five-year visa exemption soon, so that will buy me time.
I'm sure many readers would like to know why you are no longer a citizen of Vietnam, Linh. I believe that native born US expats keep their citizenship for life, unless they formally renounce it.
Hi all,
A quick update: After several hours with no e visa approval, I went to immigration anyway to pay my overstay fine for two days, thinking I'll get the visa for Cambodia tomorrow. At the gate, the guards wouldn't let me in, however, because I wasn't wearing long pants! Great, I thought, a day wasted.
After flagging down a motorbike taxi to get back home, I grumbled to the driver about my no pants misfortune, so he said he could lend me his. Brilliant! On a sidewalk, he took off his pants for me to wear over my demin shorts, then we went back to immigration.
There, I was told that my overstaying for two or three days was no big deal, so I could pay my fine at the border.
When the motorbike driver dropped me off, I tipped him well, so everyone was happy. Bavet, here I come tomorrow, or the day after at the latest.
Linh
So was the driver just standing there in his underwear?
Hopefully he was wearing boxer, not brief.
Probably sitting.
Linh
I can't believe what I'm reading. I was under the impression that you made it back to Vietnam to live happily ever after. Instead, the country of your birth is making you jump thru a bunch of bureaucratic hoops ?
Total fucking bullshit....who makes money off this scam ?
I don't know much about Cambodia except the American Military dropped a million bombs on the place, of which half a million are still laying around.
I googled Krong Bavet & they offered me a room at the Blue Star Hotel for $17 a night with free wi-fi. The worst dives in America cost more than that. The Hotel Thanatos doesn't even come up lol.
The SonyA6000 & the Canon 80D are sweet....stay cool brah & best of luck.
Bill
Thanks a lot, Bill, I'll look up the Blue Star. Thanatos was a joke... Its real name is Thanata, whatever that means.--Linh
P.S. Blue Star is no good, because it's in Tay Ninh, a nearby city, but in Vietnam! Booking can be sly that way.
Sorry about that, Linh. I'm confident your higher power will lead you to the proper place.
Yes. How can any country justify a policy of giving its native citizens only temporary stays in the country of their birth? Is that the reason why you've been traveling from country to country for the past several years, Linh? Of course, one option would be to pay a cartel several thousand to drop you off at the US-Mexico. Once in the US, you'd never have to worry about being deported and migrants (unlike tennis great Novak Djokovic) aren't even checked for their vaxx status. Maybe they'd even give you a one-way plane ride to Martha's Vineyard.
Those children have such life and curiosity in their eyes.
As for the Korean inn, I wonder what happened to all those flies and bugs. Even by the mid-20th they had to be gone, because my Korean mom doesn't talk about them being as numerous, and she lived in the usual mudbank village outside Seoul. I know in my own lifetime I've seen the bug count go down, not nearly as many bees and butterflies as when I was a kid. (Now we have an overabundance of invasive stinkbugs, potato bugs, and Joro spiders to replace them though) We really have been killing this planet's diversity to make humans feel less crawled over.
Hopefully you'll find underwear soon!
Linh, any idea why Vietnam is making it harder to stay there for a extended period? I would think that after the Covid hysteria lockdowns they would want foreign cash. Also, just as Vietnam was starting to get foreign retirees (who bring in a lot of money compared to the local population) they pulled up the welcome mat.
Lihn, doesn't Vietnam have some kind of "jus sanguini" right to Vietnamese citizenship? I understand you were born in the U.S., but both of your parents are Vietnamese. So it should be possible. Also isn't your ex-wife and other family relations Vietnamese? There should be ways to get at least a permanent residence there... I think.
Linh was born in Vietnam.
Oh. So it makes even less sense that he doesn't automatically have Vietnamese citizenship. Doesn't Vietnam have birthright citizenship? Or maybe by becoming American he had to renounce the Vietnamese citizenship?
Makes no sense at all. You will have to ask Linh about those 2 questions.
Linh, I had no idea if your difficulties and feel terrible that someone so talented has so many difficulties to face in old age. Hopefully, things are looking up and your visa problems are on the way to being resolved for the next little while , hopefully five years. Best wishes for the next few days. Is Laos a possibility? I have heard good things about it.
Good luck to you. Do you have US citizenship? Are you eligible for Vietnamese citizenship?
Hi Peggy,
Many Vietnamese-Americans have dual citizenship, but I'm only an American. USA! USA! I'll try to get another five-year visa exemption soon, so that will buy me time.
Linh
I'm sure many readers would like to know why you are no longer a citizen of Vietnam, Linh. I believe that native born US expats keep their citizenship for life, unless they formally renounce it.