rejected by vietnam

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: rejected by vietnam 😬 

so, i wasn’t allowed into vietnam. 💀 

because of visa/e-visa complications and all that jazz, i wasn’t able to start the vietnam chunk of my trip. i surprised myself with my level-headedness in the situation.

the problems i had to deal with now that i couldn’t get to hanoi until monday:

• the biggest one was my stress of $$$ being lost for no reason at all. i already had a hotel (not hostel, i wanted to treat myself for 2 nights … so this was already way more expensive) booked, a 4-day 3-night ha giang biking experience booked, a food market tour at the end of my trip, cost of booking a new flight to hanoi, cost of booking a new hostel last minute to stay 2 more nights in bangkok. 🇹🇭 

• the need for rapid communication about cancelling tours, booking new accommodation and trying to get as much of my money back.

• i already wasn’t feeling well since the night before. i had a stomachache and a pretty bad headache. not to mention, i hadn’t eaten anything since i woke up and it was 3pm by then.

• my bank kept declining my taxi transactions to leave the airport after it saw all the admittedly suspicious activity going on with all of those bookings and cancellations. 🚕 

it felt like my situation kept getting worse and worse, but i kept it together. i sat down on some random chair and locked in: i worked out the tour + hotel cancellations while simultaneously booking a new bangkok hostel and calling the ha giang loop guy on whatsapp asking if he could move the start. i had to make sure all of these things would be possible together for anything to work. if the tour couldn’t be moved, my sole reason for going to vietnam would be gone. if i couldn’t find another flight to hanoi with perfect timing, i wouldn’t be able to go in the first place. if i couldn’t book another hostel in bangkok, i’d be screwed entirely.

as my transaction for a taxi to my newly booked hostel in bangkok finally went through after 30 minutes of struggle, i breathed a huge sigh of relief that i didn’t even know i was holding. it was all over, and everything was completely fine. 🧘‍♀️ 

it ended up working out so well:

• 2 more nights in bangkok will let me rest up before taking on the physically taxing ha giang loop, which i wanted to enjoy with a full tank of energy anyways.

• i was able to get a refund on everything i cancelled and was able to move my ha giang start date with no extra cost. i actually ended up profiting LOL. 💰️ 

• my new hostel in bangkok is such a vibe and right by chatuchak weekend market which i was regretting not visiting during my time in bangkok. i’m glad for an extra 2 nights and the opportunity to explore more. (:

i could have let this setback ruin the tone for all of my travels. i could have succumbed to disappointment or just thinking this is the worst thing ever. instead, the mindset that helped me most was, “things happen, seek joyful opportunity.” it’s the same mindset that got me up mount kilimanjaro with a huge smile on my face. i must admit that i also got extremely lucky with the refunds, but even if i didn’t get my money back, i don’t think i would have been too put off.

positivity trumps everything, and a little setback isn’t the end of the world. 💗 

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