jueves, 29 de mayo de 2008

Vietnamese passport

Up to this point, the only time that i've felt thankful to my vietnamese passport was when i went to Algeria. French nationals have to pay 30 euros; i got it for free (plus a handshake from the guy). Never before had i felt so welcome, but they didn't cut me any slack either.

Other than that, it always make me want to cry...
Except for ASEAN countries, no matter where i go, i have to scramble around, going through all the hassle, and paying a not so insignificant amount of money. Perhaps partly because tourists from other countries (a.k.a. U.S. and Europe) don't have it that easy with Viet Nam either. It's not like Latin America or North Africa where they can just lug their suicases/backpacks up to the border (or airport) gate, get a stamp, and they can good morning Vietnam.

I've always been against the whole visa thing for ideological reasons but i've never been more frustrated than recently.
For a tourist visa to Israel, the consulate requires that i have a carte de séjour valid for at least 6 months after the date of return. I'm simply here for a semester and my visa lasts until the middle of june. I'll peace out and I'm not coming back. I tried to explain that i'm done with France but apparently, that was not good enough for them. I "terrorize" them almost every day with phone calls. They must find me really fucking annoying. I can't get hold of them anymore and they don't even care to return my messages. Don't know if i should be sad or angry.

In necessity, invent! Well, "invent," (i'm not much of a creative person). I thought about going to one of Israel's neighboring countries (there are 3 of them: Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan) and once I was there, I'd try to apply for a visa saying I was traveling in the Middle East, hoping that it'd look more legit. Un petit problème: Vietnam is among 20 countries (out of 200?) whose citizens need a visa prior to their arrival. And the guy i talked with at the Israeli consulate said that even if i got to the border, no guarantee that it'd be easier. How pathethic is this?!

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