From Australia to VietnamWORDSBRETT SPINUCCI
PASSPORT,
WALLET AND
WATCH YOU
AND YOUR
MATES GET
OUT OF HERE...
TRAVEL
B
RETT SPINUCCI has
provided some very useful
hints from his previous
journeys to South-East Asia and
especially Vietnam in recent years. By
now if you are considering joining
us on our Vietnam Hung phъn Tour
you might not be packing just yet
but at least starting the process oforganising visa’s and what to take.
Brett’s advice will help-VISA CONSIDERATIONS
The most important bit of
information here is that the only
place to arrange your visa is directly
from the Vietnamese Consulate here
in Australia.Do not use any of the online
services as (in spite of what claims
they might make), they do not provide
an actual visa, only the introductory
paperwork to allow you to buy a visa
on arrival in Vietnam.
I recommend against buying your
visa when you get to Vietnam. The
system is usually quite slow and run
by the military. They are not very
HIÀFLHQWRU¶FXVWRPHUIRFXVVHG·DQG
if the border guards feel like lunch or
a pee, tough luck buddy, you’re not
JRLQJDQ\ZKHUHXQWLO\RXDUHRIÀFLDOO\
permitted to enter the country!
We endured a very sweaty three hour
wait in Ho Chi Minh City airport on
one occasion, while the authorities
were fawning over a bunch of
American schoolgirls who had arrived
after we did. They were young and
pretty and we weren’t!
A single entry Visa for Australians to
enter Vietnam and stay up to 30 days
costs (at time of writing) $99AUD. A
multiple entry 30 day visa is $140.
7KH9LHWQDPHVH&RQVXODU2IÀFHV
are located in the Sydney suburb of
Edgecliff (contact for the consular- [email protected] or via the
website - http://www.vietnamembassy.
org.au) and they offer a service that
allows you to post your application
if you don’t live in Sydney. Postal
applications will need a passport
photo attached, payment cheque,