Citizens first class
Hanoi
Travelling in Asia is bad for your passport. One Visa per country and two stamps. So you need two pages per country. These guys at the border
are not used to save space in your passport.
A short projection and you know that one passport will not suffice for the whole trip. What now? The next bigger city on our
intineary is Hanoi and the German embassy should be able to help us. So, let's go!
It's not so easy to cross all the streets in Hanoi without beeing killed. But one tip: Just walk!
The first suprise at the embassy: Lots of security checks. And the second surprise: The vietnamese security staff speaks german.
How can they help us: 'Some more empty pages in our passport.'
We are led to the waiting room. 'Oh my god, almost 15 Vietnamese, that will take hours.' It doesn't. The vietnamese 'manager' in the
waiting room asks us again: 'How can we help you?' - 'More empty pages!' He takes the phone, dials a number and talks to someone
within the depths of the embassy. I get the phone (ok, the guy is german) and I tell him our problem: 'Please proceed to Counter 1.'
We don't have to wait and now we are on our way up. I looks like Counter 1 is reserved for Germans and the nice guy on the phone receives
us in person. 'More pages ist not possible, but you can get a temporary passport, which is valid for one year and has lots of new and
empty pages.'
Ok, the necessary forms are completed and we have to deliver some ID pics. 'Bad luck', we forgot, that we have to pay for the new
passports. That is only
possible in US Dollars but we don't have enough with us. No problem ... there are lots of money exchanges nearby.
'We will soon be back!', and make our way down to the security guys. We discuss our problem, they organise a mototaxi and after an instant
Marion sits on the back and drives away. I have to go back to the waiting room.
Ten minutes later Marion is back again. Again a short call: 'Please proceed to Counter 1.'
We pay and get a receipt (meanwhile it's a bit rumpled).
It takes three days to get the new passport, because there has to be a request to Germany. 'Ok, we will come back.' We are seen off and
leave with a smile on our face to get a breakfast in the coffeeshop next to the embassy. 'We feel like citizens first class and
enjoy the rest of the day with a stroll around the city and a visit of the famous Hanoi Water Puppet Theatre.'
We used the waiting time for a trip to Cat Ba island. 4 days later we are back in Hanoi and on our way to the embassy. We are recognized
at the entrance, security checked and led into the waiting room. Again a phone call: 'Please proceed to - yes - Counter 1.' A signature
and the new, empty and slightly different passport is ours.
We say good bye and leave to have breakfast, we citizens first class!
Thanks a lot to the German Embassy Hanoi for the perfect job!
