Like I said, for me it was a matter of principle. In my case it didn't matter because I was working in Singapore at the time anyway. Still, the process is pretty straightforward there. I think there was even a same-day service available, but this one required serious cash - not worth it.

6 months was what my wife was trying to get and the official wouldn't consider. Note that it was *NOT* a language problem--we were in her hometown.

Check out this page on the Delta airlines website. I find it fantastic to help me with visa planning etc.

http://www.delta.com/travel/plan/int...info/index.jsp

link appears dead

Regarding Chinese visas, I really don't know what to say. For most of the last decade until about a year and a half ago I normally got 1 year visas for China. Because of the spat between China and the US, last October or so, I was informed that I could only get 6 months max, which I have gotten about every six months or so since then. I just recently got another 6 month one, so I know definately 100% that this is the case. Judging from your original comments however, do I take it that your wife may be of Chinese origin and this may have played some part in the shortened timespan they offered?

Hmm, I was at Jakarta's airport five days ago and the line for the visa on arrival seemed significantly longer than any I've seen at a consulate/embassy. Guess one just has to time it right...

The only upside is that by the time you clear the VOA line, your checked luggage should be sitting in some corner of the baggage claim hall gathering dust, assuming some friendly porter or official airport worker hasn't already gone through your stuff and helped himself to your emergency stash of M&Ms in the front pocket.

If you plan to go to Vietnam and then Cambodia and back to Vietnam, which I did this summer, you must get a multi-entry visa or you will have to pay for another visa like I did. This cost me an extra $195.00 for my wife, daughter, and me. You might ask why would you renenter Vietnam. If you are in Ho Chi Mihn City in the south, you will want to visit Siem Reap, Cambodia before going to Hanoi in the north. On arrival in Cambodia we had to pay $20.00 each for the visa and around $25.00 each for the exit tax when we left.
Have a great trip.

You could have saved $100 by going to the Vietnam Airlines office in Siem Reap. They would have processed single-entry visas for you in three days for ~$20 each, or for $50 per head you could have gotten same/next day service.

The $25 tax is only applicable when leaving the country by air. You don't pay this on ground transportation, which is why I suggested flying into Cambodia (to avoid border touts and visa bribes, big problem along the Thai border, not to mention the diabolical road from Poipet to Siem Reap) and then continuing on by land.

BTW, since no one has mentioned them yet, check out www.talesofasia.com - an invaluable source of information for trips to Cambodia and its neighbors.

The wait for a visa at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore is a MINIMUM of 6 hours, you mean to tell me that VOA has taken you longer than this?

sounds like you should stop going to Singapore for your Indonesian visa

Going into Denpasar airport (Bali) a couple of weeks ago, there was also a huge line for VOAs, but it was moving along at a pretty good clip. I would say maybe a 10-15 minute wait with three fully loaded widebodies (a 777, a 767 and an A330) arriving simultaneously. I think that's reasonable, considering I've had a longer wait than that at JFK off a single 747 (though also fully loaded).

As long as you're not entering Indonesia at some obscure place, VOA is definitely the way to go.

Were you perhaps getting business visas? We weren't.

Yes, she is of Chinese origin. All they would offer us is the standard tourist visa. Elsewhere I have read that the longer visas are available only to those with ties like owning property there--but we do own property there (the condo her parents live in.)

P.S. Her immigrating to America had everything to do with love and nothing to do with politics.

I wasn't implying that it was! The visa I just got was nominally a business one, however the last two I got (since the changes) were more general ones. I think it has to do with her lineage. As for the IND visa in SIN, it was not for me, but for my wife for whom VOA is not applicable (mine was VOA that trip which took less than 30 seconds on that trip, even hitting CGK in the past at the same time as two other heavies, I have never had a wait of more than 20 mins).