Change of plans

I waited until I got to Mongolia to apply for a Chinese visa. I didn't do it in advance because I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to enter Russia, and I wasn't sure how long I'd be in Mongolia. I heard many, many horror stories about the Chinese visa process before I got here. I should have listened!

Visas for Americans cost $130. (No one else pays more than $43.) One of the requirements is proof of onward travel, such as an airline ticket out of the country. I was planning on traveling overland through Tibet into Nepal. Now, when you apply for a visa, you don't tell them you're going to Tibet. If you do you don't get a visa. It's all part of the silly game.

So I bought a ticket to Hanoi that I had no intention of using just to get the visa. I booked it for what would be my 30th day in China.

They only gave me a visa for 15 days. So I was required to buy an airline ticket but they won't let me stay long enough to actually use it! I was able to refund it (minus a penalty fee, of course) before I left Mongolia.

I was told I would have to apply for a visa extension in Beijing. How hard could that be, right? I found out today what is required from two Brazilian guys who finally got their extensions after five trips to the office. Once again, I need proof of onward travel. So I'd have to buy another ticket and pay the refund penalty. But I would also need to open an account in a Chinese bank and transfer enough money into it to pay for the trip, $100 per day.

Fuck that. (Pardon my Chinese.)

I know from Russia and Mongolia how stressful and what a waste of time this sort of nonsense can be. So I'm only going to stay here for 15 days and I'm not going to waste any of it waiting in line in a government office. My plan of traveling through Tibet into Nepal probably won't happen. I probably won't be able to go to Tibet at all.

So I'm working on Plan B. I may fly to Kathmandu, or I might skip Nepal entirely. It would be a lot cheaper to travel by train to Vietnam. We'll see.

I've already got my next stop planned. I'm going to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army. I saw a traveling exhibition at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore many years ago and am really excited to see it.