On 28 September 2019, I was due to take a Vietnam Airlines flight back from Da Nang to Paris via Hanoi. But what happened at Da Nang airport set up a series of events that have quite literally changed my life.
The back story to this is that I had flown into Vietnam with my Apple MacBook Pro laptop. A laptop that, at the time and unbeknownst to me, was the subject of a battery recall.
With security bearing down on me at Da Nang airport, I had absolutely no choice but to stay in Vietnam and get the battery replaced on my laptop.
You can imagine the ensuing phone call back home about how I got stuck in Vietnam. Many questions were raised and asked but I could do nothing apart from get my laptop to an authorized repair centre and visit the local visa centre.
Official guidelines from the aviation authority are very contradictory. On the one hand, they say it’s prohibited, and on the other, they say just turn it off. The latter is what I had been told at first, but then they put the blockers up and steadfastly said no!
How do I know what the aviation authority guidelines were? When I did finally get my laptop back with a replacement battery I asked the bursar on the flight from Hanoi to Paris if I could see them. It absolutely confirmed that I could have flown back. It was a case of security being overzealous.
Having already spent a little time in Hoi An, I decided that, for my sanity, it would probably be better for me to spend my time there rather than in Da Nang.
Hoi An is a small city in central Vietnam. A city that has stolen my heart and where I have made many friends. Some of those friends are shown here, but I couldn’t include everyone.
To the people of Hoi An. Thank you. Thank you for welcoming me to your city and for stopping me from going absolutely crazy!!!
I keep being asked when I am coming back. The answer is as soon as I can. Hopefully, a lot sooner than you might expect.
So sit back and listen to the story of How I Got Stuck in Vietnam.
