Tour of Vietnam 2023 | Day 23 | Ho Chi Minh – Hanoi – Mumbai – Pune

I wake up around 7:30 AM and start packing in the midst of a chaotic room filled with my belongings. Knowing my luggage would exceed the flight’s limit, I bought an extra 23 kg bag for $110. Now, I have two checked bags and a handbag for my items. I carefully packed, placing fragile items in my handbag and clothes along with unnecessary items in the checked bags. It took nearly an hour to pack everything.

Nihal and I went out to buy the green tea I had enjoyed during dinner two days ago. We visited two shopping marts on our scooter but couldn’t find the same brand.

I bought coffee biscuits and the green tea preferred by Nihal for a giveaway. We hurried home so I could get ready, then I said goodbye to Nihal and his family before heading to the airport around 11 am. Since it was my last day, we decided to indulge by renting a luxury VinFast VF8 SUV. We lost some time as the driver had trouble finding us. I thanked Nihal for his hospitality and got into the taxi, which felt luxurious inside with a large 15″ screen. We reached the airport in 30 minutes due to light traffic. I checked in comfortably and received my boarding pass for the 1 pm flight to Hanoi. The lunch on the flight was good, and we landed around 3:15 pm. Afterward, I took a free shuttle bus to the international terminal.

I had my boarding pass for my journey to Mumbai, but I needed to reprint it because the barcode had faded and wasn’t scanning at security. After a smooth security check, I proceeded to immigration, where I found four booths with long lines of people waiting to exit the country. It took nearly half an hour for my turn. When I approached the booth, the lady scrutinized my passport closely, taking longer than expected to stamp me out. She murmured something I couldn’t understand and called over a male officer. In his broken English, he explained that my visa had expired yesterday and I had overstayed by one day.

I try to reason with him, but he ignores me and insists I pay a fine of 1.2 million dong. During the scuffle, Mitali, a new friend from Pune whom I met in Vietnam, rushed over to see what was happening. I shared my story with her.

I realized the visa issue was my fault. My return flight was on January 6th, but I mistakenly entered January 5th while applying online. I didn’t know I could set a maximum validity of 30 days. Since I was handling the application myself, I only included the dates for my trip. When I received my visa, I recognized the error, and after consulting Nihal in India, he explained that the dates on the visa indicated the ‘entry’ period and that I would automatically receive 30 days from my arrival date.

Explaining the situation was challenging. The officer asked for $25 or 1.2 million Dong, and fortunately, Mitali had sufficient dollars. He instructed us to place the money in the passport and proceed to the booth. After some drama and an audience of numerous foreign nationals, I was finally allowed through.

Boarding had started as I lost a lot of time in immigration. I made one last purchase of coffee cookies, a Vietnam T-shirt, and a chocolate bar, which I gave to Mitali as a token of appreciation for her help. I settled into my seat on the plane and landed in Mumbai around 10:30 PM. My friends from Pune had already booked an Innova car and kindly let me join them. The car rent was 5000 Rs, and I contributed half. We reached Pune around 3 PM after taking a quick coffee break on the expressway.

Mom was already awake when I knocked on the door. She was glad to see I returned safely. We planned to talk later in the morning while I crashed onto my comfy bed after a long day.

Tour of Vietnam 2023 came to a good end.