Hong Kong to Vietnam

Since I have reason to go to Saigon as a side trip this visit, I looked at getting my HKG/SGN ticket while still in USA. The prices seemed high, and the Vietnam visa advice seemed iffy. I am always confident that if you want efficiency, competence and a good price, Hong Kong will deliver. I decided I would just wait until I got to Hong Kong to take care of the ticket and Visa.

9:30am I apply for a Visa at the Vietnam consulate. 10 am I pick up my passport with the visa for Vietnam. 10:30 I visit a travel agent and book the RT flight, US$300. Done! All this 3 days before my trip.

Now I will fill in the details:

The Vietnamese embassy is in the Great Smart Tower, 15th Floor, 230 Wanchai Road. It is a pretty easy walk from the Wanchai Ferry dock. A visa is HK$350 with a 4 day turn around, or HK$500 for a 30 minute turn around. Money talks in Hong Kong. (My ADD-gifted brain divides HK$ amounts by 8 to get a rough US$ equivalent) You need your passport, a passport photo, cash, and info as to where you'll be in Vietnam when you visit.

For my 30 minute wait I left the building took a left down Wanchai Road and there is a central market about two blocks on. You'll never see food so fresh in USA. The Chinese love their pork, so it was a surprise to see a halal section in this market. 10 am and the day is winding up for most of these people, who supplied countless restaurants etc started in the wee hours. You'll note how bloody the fish on display are... must be a local thing.

When I was in Hong Kong I priced tickets again (search engines take your location, known by the routing to and from your computer, into account when serving up info...) and there were many sites with good prices. Here is a trick to know: Only a physical Hong Kong business can get a url.com.hk address. if it is physically in Hong Kong, one can physically address any concerns. I like that. Any biz that ends in .hk can be anywhere in the world. So I ignored any online biz that did not end in .com.hk. Next, there seemed to be a couple sites that claimed expertise in Vietnam travel. I picked one that was close to the Vietnam embassy, because I decided I would walk in and just buy the ticket once I had my visa.

My choice was Tiglion Travel, Room 902 Yue Xiu Building; 160-174 Lockhart Road... this is about 6 blocks away from the Vietnam consulate, in Wanchai too. Ms. Crystal Lo gave me a quick summary of prices and options, and I chose Air Vietnam. United Airlines is cheapest, but they fly in late at night and leave too early.

Ms. Lo advised walk-ins may pay cash for the best price, and I was happy to do so.

Her staff is very detailed and thorough. Then I walked down to Man Wa lane to have some cards printed... but that is another story...

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