3. Not just a fly in the ointment, more like a whale...

Or a rat, a giant rat in the ointment

This one might be boring so feel free to skip it. I'm general these will be wordy so my suggestion is to just read the captions of the pictures and if someone interests you, you can follow up reading.

As I sat on the plane at SFO getting ready to take off, I think about how my vet and I thought Vietnam would be the easy country since we had the certificate and seemed all set. It then dawns on me that there is no way I'll be allowed to even board my flight from Laos to Korea since I won't have the proper paperwork for Cosmo. And I can't even board a flight back to Vietnam since clearly they are really difficult. We'll see when I land. Maybe if I promise more coffee money I can fly from Laos back to Ho Chi Minh and then can get a flight home from there. Another possibility is calling United. Even though they didn't have a route on the website from Laos I thought I saw a flight using Vietnam airlines going from Hanoi. It would cost more miles but be worth it. If not, maybe I could find a land option to drive 14 hours to Hanoi via bus or van and just pay coffee money tips at the Vietnam border. Then I could fly United home from there. I'm glad I'm realizing this now and not at the Laos airport on my way home!

Fast forward a few days and now I'm working on several options. The first and easiest would be to find a vet in Laos that can help me get export papers to Korea. I've been trying to reach SK veterinary in Luang Prabang but they have not responded to my WhatsApp. I may still try calling them but in the meantime I've also emailed and Whatsapp-ed a place in Vientiane so I'm hopeful that one of those vets could help me with export and import paperwork.

The second option is to somehow get from Luang Prabang back to Hanoi but the options aren't great. The first one involves a 24-hour bus ride of which about half is driving and half is stops and customs. Cosmo would likely have to go underneath the bus and I'm hoping I could let him out during breaks to walk him around. Additionally the land customs would require paperwork and an e Visa as there is no Visa upon arrival and unfortunately the Visa I got ends on the 22nd when I leave. I did not foresee needing more time and making it multiple-entry and longer, which is my other mistake. The visa would be for me, there would still be paperwork for Cosmo as well. The same will be needed if we flew in to Hanoi though I could get an evisa for myself but I'd have to be certain that they would let me on the plane with Cosmo with questionable paperwork so my plan is to maybe get a flight back the day early so that I could have the bus as a backup. I think the border crossing is less picky about paperwork and also doesn't require "coffee money" donations like the one I paid at the airport when I arrived.

Yesterday when I tried to book Cosmo on the flight tomorrow (must be done in person at a Vietnam airlines ticketing office) the nice lady said that I should have a domestic travel permit. Since I just arrived the day before then my current papers might be sufficient but I didn't know I was supposed to bring them with me so I'm going back today at 8:30 a.m. if they aren't sufficient she can let me know what office to go to here in town and the fees are not very much though I might need help sorting out the paperwork. She also seemed to think that I might need an export permit from Vietnam to Laos in order to fly there as my USA papers might not be enough.

Last night I did also think of a possible third option if I can get to Laos which is to get to Vientiane which is only 6 and 1/2 hours by car from Luang Prabang and then fly home from there.

Hopefully today I will find out what permits I can get from Laos (I emailed a vet in Vientiane last night) and Vietnam (when I go to the government building to see about papers for Cosmo). I wish I had been able to do it yesterday but I booked an afternoon Chu Chi tunnel tour.

Update: wow what a stroke of luck! The nice lady at Vietnamese airlines checked with folks yesterday and took copies of all of Cosmo's documentation today. She added him to my reservation for tomorrow and is very confident that she can add him to the reservation for Luang Prabang as well so I should be all set getting to Laos. Additionally she said that he should be fine coming back into Vietnam. Since she smiled/grimaced when I said I may need to pay some coffee money, I think I am correct about that. So now my worst case scenario is I fly back to Hanoi one day early and then fly to SFO from there!

Me and my Savior at the Vietnam airlines ticketing office in Ho Chi Minh City