Mother's travel nightmare goes viral
A mom is now using her unplanned free time to warn travelers about the simple mistake she made that cost her thousands and a trip of a lifetime.
Known for her silly, fun and relatable content "the hustling mama" otherwise known as Rosie Nguyen has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, but her latest viral post was anything but upbeat.
Nguyen had been asking her parents for years to go back to their homeland, Vietnam. When they agreed, she volunteered to plan the whole thing for 9 members of her immediate and extended family.
"I don't know why I did it. I think as a mom we think sure I can do it, because if it's not us, who else?, said Rosie Nguyen, digital creator.
But, when Nguyen and her family arrived at LAX to board their plane, she was told to step to the side as others were allowed to board.
"I don't know if you have ever had that feeling, but the feeling of the gate closing for a plane. I was like what is going on and they said sorry your middle name does not match," said Nguyen.
Nguyen's middle name was on her passport, but it wasn't listed on her visa. The gate agent told Nguyen she was denied boarding since they didn't match.
"This is all over a middle name, and I get it. I get that names are important, but I had all these other documents showing it was me and the visa thing was the only thing that stood in the way," said Nguyen.
Nguyen documented the moment she made the difficult decision to send her two children onto the plane with her sister, assuring them that she would meet them in Vietnam in a few days. But, that didn't happen.
Nguyen learned Vietnam wasn't doing visas upon arrival or same-day visas in this post pandemic world.
Travel advisor Melissa Wu says travelers, especially those going overseas, must make sure their personal information on all their travel documents match.
"The lesson is that when you get your visa and airline tickets, within 24 hours of receiving them you want to review those documents to make sure they match your official documents you are using to travel," said Melissa Wu, travel advisor with Woodlyn Travel.
That's why Nguyen posted about her travel nightmare on Instagram and her video has now has over 2 million views.
"If I could take my epic fail and help mothers, anybody actually, but particularly moms who are juggling so much to avoid this fiasco that's the only good that could come out of this situation," said Nguyen.
Nguyen did find a silver lining to spending two weeks at home without kids. She saw a movie in the theater after 8 p.m. and she and her husband, who had stayed home to work, took a long drive in his two-seater convertible.
