Trying to get a visa for Russia, while in Mongolia. It took a week and 4 trips to the embassy. The staff spoke very little English and were surly. They kept asking for more documents. In the end the only visa we could get was a Transit Visa, which gave us 7 days in Russia - long enough to ride the trans-siberian train for 5 days and then fly out of Moscow.

The second worst was getting the visa for Mongolia, in Beijing. But that’s another story.

I once got stuck between Cambodia and Vietnam, because my Visa said landing in Ho Chi Minh City not the certain land crossing I was at. The combodian border guards were very hesitant to let me leave the country, but I managed to convince them. I was told by the Vietnamese Consultant in America it would be fine, my travel agent said it would be fine, everyone in combodia told me it would be fine.

When I got the Vietnamese side they refused to let me cross, I told them I had an email from their consult in united States but he didn’t seem to care. Other folks tried to help me convince the guard but he kept telling me to go back to Cambodia, and take a flight into Vietnam even though I was standing in Vietnam already.

After about an hour of trying I gave up and walked back to the Cambodian side. They gave me a lot of shit but eventually re-instated my previous visa with a big o cancel stamp on the exit stamp.

Then I had to keep asking Vietnamese bus drivers that were coming through if they had space, eventually this guy gave me a bus ride after I gave him 3 packs of Marlboro cigarettes and a 10$ bill, he pulled out a lawn chair and put it in the middle of the aisle of the bus and I rode it 3-4 hours back to the capital of Cambodia. I stayed at a bar until my flight around 5am and then flew into Vietnam in about 45 mins. Landed went immigration, dude didn’t look at my Visa stamped it and told me to go.

Vietnam also denied me exit a few weeks later but that’s another story