Finally! I’m going to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam! TOMORROW. I can’t believe this. I’ve been saving for a while and started doing my bookings in July. So it’s like a miracle that the material day is here! *happy dance*

I thought I’d share my visa application experiences. If you read this post, you know that I said not all passports are made equal. South Africans do not require visas to the countries I will be visiting, but being Kenyan, I needed to apply for a visa for all 3!

VIETNAM

I did this one first because I’d heard that they can be fussy. They actually’ weren’t.

Single entry tourist visa fee: R1000
Processing: 3-7 working days
Documents: The usual. Proof of employment/ student, bank statements, visa form, yellow fever vaccination card (if you’re from a yellow fever hotspot e.g. Kenya) etc. You can visit the embassy website and/or phone them for details.

 

THAILAND

Single entry tourist visa fee: R 450
Processing: 7 working days
Documents: The usual. Proof of employment/ student, bank statements, visa form, yellow fever vaccination card (if you’re from a yellow fever hotspot e.g. Kenya) etc. You can visit the embassy website and/or phone them for details.

Caveat: You can only apply for the visa a maximum of 3 months before the intended duration of use of the visa.
This meant that while I had my documents ready in August, I could only apply for my visa in September for travel in November.

 

CAMBODIA

Let’s all pack our bags and go to Cambodia for holiday! The Cambodian government makes life super easy by allowing you to apply for an e-visa online.
Visa fee: $40
Documents: a few basic documents that you need to upload, including passport photographs.
Processing:They process it pretty fast. I think I got mine in 3 days.

NOTE: Be sure to check on the official website what ports the e-visa is valid for!

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Most/all consulates/embassies are in Pretoria. This means one has to figure out a way to safely, securely and quickly deliver his/her documents to the various embassies. I contacted the Vietnamese embassy about their recommended method of courier and they gave me the contact of Gary from Trinity Document Services. You pay Gary R350 for him to organise a courier to and fro, as well as submit your documents directly to the embassy for you (and collect). I found this really helpful! In fact, I used him for both my Thai and Vietnamese applications. If you need Gary’s contact, please comment below and I will get back to you.

That’s all for now! I need to get a good night’s rest before my flight tomorrow. I may be off the blog for a while but you can bet I will be back with tonnes of content.

Lots of love friends!