Woman with backpack carrying plane ticket and passport in airport
The author (not pictured) made a travel mistake that almost derailed her travel plans.
  • I travel often but my recent trip to Vietnam was the first time I had issues entering a country.
  • I was denied entry because my visa didn't have my middle name on it, but my passport did.
  • Luckily, I was able to buy an emergency visa because I had cash on hand.

After nearly a day-and-a-half of flights that took me from Phoenix to Dallas to Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City, I was exhausted but thrilled to finally reach my destination.