Travel Diaries #1 Moving to Vietnam

I thought I’d start a new segment on Passportamore that isn’t simply travel tips, or budget travel hacks. I wanted a place here to just share experiences and stories and maybe readers could take something away from this or even relate to it. So here goes my first Travel Diaries post of my move to Vietnam.

I’ve been going through another transitional period in my life. I made the move from Toronto, Canada all the way to Central Vietnam. Now, this move to Vietnam included a lot of laughs and a LOT of tears. And while I still feel like I’m trying to get settled down here in Vietnam, I’m glad I finally made it back to Southeast Asia.

After living in London for 2.5 years after moving there for graduate school. My time came to do something new with my life. Not to mention covid restrictions lifted and everyone who had left London during the pandemic began moving back in droves. Some would say by luck, I got a call out of the blue from my good friends. They asked if I wanted to move in with them in Toronto before the 2022 New Year.

After making a few phone calls I just said, “Yes!” I finished out my solo travels in Europe and once I returned to London I booked myself a flight.

Moving to Toronto

Moving back to North America after living no less than a 6 hour flight away from family and friends was like a breath of fresh air. Just the thought of being closer to home felt nice. I always felt so lucky because how many people can say that they had the opportunity to move in and live with their best friends as adults (and it didn’t ruin their friendship)?

My time in Toronto was a whirlwind. I spend many days in the local cafes with my iced matcha latte. Spent evenings at the Canadian Opera. And I ate my way through Toronto’s multicultural communities. 

But once my 9 months were up I found myself scrambling to do the things on my to-do list. Also having to downsize all the clothes and things I had collected over the past few months. The final month before my move to Vietnam was a bit stressful to say the very least. I had my mother in one ear telling me all the things I needed to do once I arrived in Vietnam. And I had my friends in my other ear planning farewell dinners and activities before I leave.

But the most daunting part was that I still had 3 flights and a train ride between me getting to my new home in Vietnam. After leaving Canada I boarded my flight headed to London, England. I had a few errands to run and some friends I wanted to see before I moved. So, I booked a flight to London a week before my flight to Vietnam.

One Week in London

But two days prior to my flight to London, breaking headlines and trending news was interrupting my daily social media scrolling. The Queen has DIED!!! Not to be selfish but I can’t believe she passed right when I was about to visit. All that meant was a country in mourning and LOTS of traffic in London. But I landed in Gatwick airport and make my way to my hostel to drop off my bags and take a nap before I take on my old stomping grounds. 

In a sentimental move, I ended up booking a bed in the same hostel that I stayed in when I first moved to London back in 2019. Walking the same streets and going to the same Waitrose and Pret brought back so many sweet memories.

I was first hand witnessing my own growth and confidence being back there. My time in London was packed from beginning to end. Making last minute purchases on Oxford Street, meeting up with friends in Soho, and even an impromptu invite to a travel content creator event.

I was busy! But as soon as the week came, the week ended. And I was on my way to Paris by train from St. Pancras in London. 

Smooth Sailing in Paris

After 3 hours on the train I found myself struggling to pull my suitcase through Gare du Nord to get to the metro. By luck (again) I ran into two German girls that had come on the same train from London. They just happened to be staying at the same hostel that I was. They graciously helped me carry my bags up and down the metro stairs until we got to the St. Christopher’s Inn Canal Hostel. 

I spent two lovely days in Paris. I sat along the canals, saw Paris from up above at the Sacré Coeur panoramic dome.

And I even went out in the night to see the Eiffel tower light up and sparkle (twice). On the day I was flying out of Paris I opted to take an uber to Gare du Nord. I couldn’t bring myself to drag my luggage down another set of concrete stairs. But otherwise everything was going smoothly. I got on the RER B to Charles de Galle Airport. I arrived with a little over 2 hours to spare before my flight.

[Please note that when I mentioned here that everything was going smoothly, it’s foreshadowing that things are very quickly about to go wrong.]

I finally make it to the Thai Airways check-in counter. And I place my bags on the conveyor belt scale and the teller asks, “How many bags would you like to check?” “Two, please.” I answer with a smile. The tell then prompts me to put my other bag, a medium sized duffle, on the scale and proceeds to tell me, “ That will be $700 USD.” My jaw dropped. But I asked for clarification, “Do you mean $70 USD?”. He lets me know that any checked baggage over the 20kg limit going from Paris to Asia is $70 per kg. So my 10kg second bag was now going to cost me SEVEN HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS.

Lessons I learned from this situation:

1. Don’t assume you can just purchase an extra bag for a flight. 
2. Make sure to read all the details for your ticket and baggage, even the fine print.
3. If you have to leave luggage behind, if you have a friend/family member in your departure city you’re in, try to send your items back to them either by mail or even try Ubering a bag to their place. (either of these options are bound to be less than $700.
4. Layer up! Put on as many jackets and shirts as you can onto your person just make sure you get on that flight!
5. Crying helps (…only sometimes) I think the check-in people felt bad for me and let me check an extra 5kg over the 20kg limit (what a treat)
6. Pick your favorite items to keep and leave everything else behind. Understand that if it’s just clothes, that material goods will always come and go throughout our lives and that sometimes it’s okay to just let things go.
7. Run to your gate and do not miss that flight!

Moving on, Moving Forward

After crying, sweating, and running through the always hectic CDG airport I boarded my flight to Suvarnbhumi Airport in Bangkok. After landing I was met with even more issues at the boarding gate. 

Most passengers flying to Vietnam either had prior permissions to enter the country (citizens, residents, work visas, etc.). Others that were visitors had the 30 visa print out. For myself, I had neither of these. I was required to get an on-site 6 month visa once I arrived in Vietnam.

The only documentation I had was the approval letter (written in Vietnamese) from the Dept. of Immigration in Vietnam. The people working at the boarding gate were not easily accepting this document.

After I was made to stand on the side and had all the other passengers staring at me. The gate workers made calls to whoever, and I finally was able to board my flight to Vietnam. While all of that was pretty chaotic and probably would’ve sent a less experienced traveler spiraling, I prevailed. 

Good Morning Vietnam

After arriving in Vietnam everything honestly went smoothly (no foreshadowing intended). I went to the immigration counter in the Saigon airport. I showed them my approval letter and they handed me a form to fill out. This from was very similar to the one I was given alongside my approval letter that I had filled out. But I guess they wanted their own. I gave them my 2×2 visa pictures, paid the money and they handed me my visa to stay in Vietnam. 

Afterwards, I went through border control, checked my bags with no issue. I got my boarding pass for my final flight to the city I’m living in here in Central Vietnam.

Once I landed, I got all of my luggage and went outside. A driver was meant to be waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. Only problem was I couldn’t find anyone standing outside with a sign and my name. Thankfully these two Vietnamese women saw I was looking for someone and called me over. I showed them the confirmation email for the driver, which was written in Vietnamese. 

They quickly pulled out a phone and yelled a few things. And within seconds my driver was running up to me with a sign in one hand and reaching to grab my bags with the other. I guess he decided to take a smoke break.

An Otherwise successful Move to Vietnam

But in the end I made the move to my city in Vietnam. I have my health and none of my baggage got lost! Although they were made significantly lighter after my Paris flight. I’m glad to be back on solid ground again and I’m ready to get my new life started here. Getting to avoid another cold winter is one of the perks of living on the tropical side of the world. Although, I landed right in the middle of the rainy season. 

If you take anything away from my first travel diaries, it’s to always double and triple check your ticket.  Make sure you know your baggage limits. Try and have a plan B in case things don’t work out the way you planned.

A major part of travel is to roll with the punches. There will always be hiccups along the way, both big and small. But it’s up to you how you handle them and to not let them affect your entire trip. And mostly I wish nothing but safe and easy travels for all of your future trips! For more on my journey getting to Vietnam, check out my Getting to Vietnam Youtube vlog!