The Journey Begins
On Saturday, I began what I knew would be a long journey from Qingdao to Zhuhai. Just how long it would be I had not yet realized. I had awaken at the usual time and had gone down to eat breakfast. I had spent the last two weeks studying Chinese at a hotel in Qingdao but this would be my last day there, as I had a flight departing at 330 for Shanghai. I was set to catch a flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong later on that day. My morning passed quickly as I completed my final preparations. I left the hotel at 10 having decided to take the bus to the airport instead of a taxi. I still hoped that I might be able to arrive in Hong Kong early enough to catch a ferry to Zhuhai but this would only be possible if I was able to change to an earlier flight. Although I was unfamiliar with the Qingdao bus system I was able to
arrive at the airport without too much difficulty. I didn't even need to ask for an earlier flight for the man at the desk told me that, as my flight had been delayed, he would put me on the next available flight set to depart at 130. I was quite happy about this as this meant I only needed to catch an earlier flight in Hong Kong and I should be fine. The flight was nice enough, though it was the hottest flight I have ever been on. Aparently the airline was under a tight budget that prohibited the use of air conditioning. This being what it was I arrived in one piece back in Shanghai, the city I had left just two weeks before. My stay in Shanghai would include a rather lengthy subway ride that took me from Shanghai's domestic terminal to the international one. The trip though long was relatively stress free as I had no need to transfer.
The first setback would be experienced in Shanghai though at first it seemed my good luck was to continue. I once again was able to have my flight time bumped up, and I was set to depart Shanghai at 600. The woman who checked my bags advised me to hurry as I rushed off to security. Her words would prove to be meaningless as I was greeted not by a plane about to depart but rather a crowd of restless travelers who had already seen their own flight delayed by 6 hours. It seemed too that my own flight was destined to be delayed as 600 passed without any indication as to when they would begin boarding. Restless travelers began to shout for a refund while others murmured in frustration. I meanwhile could only sit back and watch as I had not really expected to leave Shanghai before 9pm anyway. As the hours passed I began to wonder if I would arrive in Hong Kong even later than expected it turned out that this was indeed the case though not by much. The flight did eventually depart a little before 10pm and I arrived in Hong Kong just past midnight. No ferry for me at least for a few more hours. I and many of my fellow travelers wandered through the nearly empty airport before I stopped and decided to catch a few hours sleep on an inviting out of the way bench. i did not sleep long or overly comfortably however as at 4 am I decided to grab the night train to the subway station near the ferry.
The ferry was not set to depart until 740 but I arrived at the subway station before the sun had risen and caught the morning's first sunlight standing near Hong Kong's Boulevard of Stars. It seemed quite
nice, and I attempted to take a picture though it did not turn out as well as I had hoped. WIth the sun up I began a more earnest search for the ferry station and after inquiring of a few locals I found it. I waited for the ticket stand to open and once it had I purchased my tickets. After a quick journey through customs I sat awaiting to board the ferry. It was a nice moment. In a few hours I would be in Zhuhai where a car would be waiting to take me to my new apartment. My wait was not too long as the small group of people who were to come with me quickly boarded the ferry with little difficulty. The journey went well enough and I slept through most of it, as I was still weary from the night before. I awoke a few minutes before we landed however and stepped off the ferry feeling a little weary but refreshed nonetheless. I was not prepared for what greeted me. For the first time in my life, my identification was not enough to grant me access inside a country. The woman behind the counter looked at passport with a look of confusion. "Where is your visa?" she asked. I pointed to the single entry visa that had gotten me into Shanghai two months earlier, but she shook her head and called her supervisor. From that moment I knew that things were not going to go as simply as I had planned. Still tired and hungry though I was I began to try and think of a way to convince the official to let me into their country even if just for a few days, but there was nothing to be done. I was placed on the very next ferry leaving Zhuhai which ended up being the ferry just about to leave. My time on Zhuhai soil could not have been more than 10 minutes. I was back on a ferry, going back to Hong Kong, and even my request to be sent to Macau instead fell on deaf ears. The boat to Hong Kong was packed and I was sent to the "VIP" area, which unfortunately meant I had to pay more money for a trip I did not want to be on. I felt on the verge of tears as I dreaded the trip back, but though the future was not as bleak as I then feared it was also not as bright as I might have hoped.
A Bite to Eat
I arrived at a different terminal in Hong Kong and had to wander around the place for a few minutes before I got my bearings. I stopped at a McDonald's and used what little battery I had left to email Vanessa about the unfortunate series of events. I also looked into what might be done to get a new visa that might allow me to return back to Zhuhai this time for a little bit longer than ten minutes. Interestingly the wifi I was able to access through some quirk in technology only allowed me to send and receive emails and I was otherwise unable to access the world wide web. For this reason the
information I was able to gather on my own was limited. However over the next few hours through emails I received from Vanessa and from some information I attained from a travel agency I was able to gather that I would need to wait until Monday to submit a request for a visa in either Hong Kong or Macau. As online information seemed to point to Hong Kong being the quicker and more lenient of the two I opted to stay in Hong Kong. I headed to a Starbucks where I was able to get 20 minutes of
internet. As I gathered information on my options I was disappointed to see there were no hostels in the immediate area. I had staid at a hostel several months earlier in a place only a few stops away but I
didnt want to have to go back and forth between Wan Chai and the hostile. At this point the effects of sleep deprivation, dehydration, and general confusion had begun to take their tole on my abilities to
think clearly. As my 20 minutes expired I still had not found a reasonable place to stay and had not located the exact location of where the hostile I had once staid at even was though I did have a
general idea.
By this time I was getting rather tired of wandering around the mall that connected to the ferries, and I decided I should probably try and find the office where I would need to get my Visa at. So with some information I had gathered and a general knowledge of Hong Kong I headed towards Wan Chai subway station. It was a long walk and a hot day. The wheel to my luggage broke as it tried to traverse the rough terrain of Hong Kong's sidewalk. The heat began to take a toll on me as well, as I was already tired from having had only had a few hours sleep the night before. I wandered around the surrounding Wan Chai station for at least an hour probably a good deal longer than that. The exact location of the office was hard to find, as there were two streets with similar names and the numbering system seemed to defy any sense of logic. I finally found it however hid nicely behind one of the on ramps. I felt encouraged with my discovery, but now new questions faced me. I realized that luggage was not allowed into the building, and I tried to think of what I would do with my luggage. I had planned originally to stay at a hostile for the night and then bring my luggage tot the visa office where I would apply for a same day visa and then wait till the afternoon to pick it up. As I realized that this might not be possible to do with my luggage I began to reconsider my plans. I wandered back to the subway station and saw a friendly Mcdonald's and camped out there sending emails out to vanessa and eating.
As the battery on my tablet slowly faded out, I was still left no closer towards any resolution as to what to do. I had however realized I would need a photo for my visa, and that then became the next mission. I searched for a photo shop but when i was unable to find one, I began to ask locals for help. One shop assistant was kind enough to inform me there was a photo booth in the subway station. I went there and after some looking discovered it hidden away in plain site. With pictures in hand I was still left with the larger question of what to do with the night. It was already 8pm, and my options seemed bleak. I went to the subway station map and stared at it for a few minutes. I knew the last shuttle departed Hong Kong for Zhuhai at 830 and I erroneously assumed the schedule was the same for Macau, so I felt that at this point I was stuck in Hong Kong for the time being. I stared at the other stops trying to remember which one might be the one to the hostile I had stayed at, but by this time I couldn't even be certain they would even have a room available.
It was then that i made a very stupid decision. i decided i would just sit tight and wait out the night and get to the office very early making sure i was first in line to secure a same day visa. I still wasn't sure what to do with my luggage however as I wouldn't be allowed to bring it in. i considered consolidating my most valuable items into my smaller backpack and seeing if i could at least carry that in, but I figured i could wait to do that till the morning. Having walked around most of the surrounding area and already having a fair grasp of it I decided to go to a park I had seen earlier and sit around for a while. Time passed very slowly for the next few hours. I occasionally nodded off for a few minutes to wake up with a start. I didn't want to stay in one place too long as I thought that would look suspicious (not that a random white buy with a huge backpack and a piece of luggage didn't already).I eventually left the park altogether and sat in front of a hotel where there were a few benches. A major road was quite close so the occasional car or truck racing by kept me from nodding off for too long.
By now I had been joined by a city worker who apparently was supposed to clean the streets at night. He had decided to take a break by lying down on one of the benches and I assumed he was asleep. He would stay there for a while, but eventually he left. Concluding that his now vacant bench was ideally located to avoid detection I took his place and slept rather restlessly for an hour or so. I awoke and sat back up in time to see a security guard from the hotel checking the public bathrooms and looking around for anything unusual. Apparently I didn't quite that profile, or else he just hadn't seen me, as he didn't ask me anything as he walked by. By this point I had I assumed that I had survived the worst of it. It was 4 in the morning and I felt that it was early enough to validate a trip to McDonald's. I arrived and ordered something from their breakfast menu which I scarfed down before heading to their bathroom. As I searched for the men's room by eyes gazed over what must have been 10 people all sleeping. I was sure nothing like this happened in America. It seemed really quite bizzare, and I felt sure that some of them had spent the whole night there. It was hard to fit all of my belongings into the small bathroom but I managed. I then went about trying to make myself appear presentable. I didn't want to look like I had spent the night out on the streets when I applied for my 6 month visa. I shaved and washed my face and even changed my shirt. I looked a new man, but felt about the same. I returned to my seat with my belongings and rearranged my belongings. I placed my computer, tablet, cell phone, official passport and journal in a smaller blue bag that I would surely be able to carry into the visa office. The rest of my belongings were split between my large black backpack and my blue piece of luggage. It was 5 am and I assumed I had at least an hour maybe 2 before I should depart to the visa office. I looked around and still saw the same ten people sleeping. Only two people seemed actively awake, and they were sitting in a corner talking amongst themselves.
I laid my head down figuring I would try and rest for a few moments. The position was uncomfortable and I was unable to fall asleep. I lifted my head and saw what appeared to be a more convenient location on a nearby bench. I moved myself there and soon fell asleep. I was out for about 30 minutes and woke up feeling a bit refreshed but a bit confused as the blue bag was not beside me as I remembered it to have been. I got up and looked frantically wondering if I had perhaps left it somewhere else. But no, it was no where to be seen. I asked a man who seemed to be somewhat awake if he had seen anyone take it. He replied he had not, but informed me there should be cameras in the place that could be reviewed. I agreed and asked the manager if he could check the video for me. He did so, and then called me back after a few minutes. I watched as he rewinded to a time shortly after I had fallen asleep. One of the two men who I had noticed earlier had snuck up to where I had relocated myself and had looked at my bag before returning awkwardly to his friend. They had spoken briefly and then the man had crept towards me yet again, and this time he snatched my bag and then headed out the door, followed soon after by his friend. I watched in horror, wishing that I could have awoken just a few moments earlier. The manager told me he would call the police so that I could file a report. I had little hope that this would do much good, but there was little else for me to do. The police arrived not too long after and they reviewed the video and spoke with me as best they could before they took me down to the station. I gave a statement to a detective there and then walked to the visa office. It was still another hour before they opened and I was the second in line.
Alls Well That Ends Well
Time passed slowly but eventually I was in front of a window behind which a young receptionist took my application and passport. I was handed my receipt which I noticed with disappointment showed I could return tomorrow morning. "Can I get it done today?" I asked hopefully. The receptionist replied I could not and signaled for the next person in line. I walked away and having grabbed my luggage downstairs where I had left it headed towards the subway. I looked at the map once again trying to remember where the hostile I had stayed at might be. I couldn't be certain but I went with a hunch and purchased my subway ticket. I arrived at the hostile less than an hour later and was told they still had a room available. I reserved it and having paid went over to use their computer. I informed my employer that I would be in Zhuhai on Tuesday probably in the afternoon. The rest of that day is rather insignificant. I took a shower and a nap, and bought a 4 Liter bottle of water, much of which I drank. I was just killing time now, and luckily it did not put up much of a fight. I awoke early the next morning and returned to the visa office. I was the first one in line this time, but was soon joined by a Philipino who was hoping to get a work visa. We chatted for a few minutes, he was single but had been working in China for nearly a decade. He told me he was almost done though, and that soon he would be able to return to the Philippines. I did not ask him what he did in China, but I assumed it was hard work for which he was surely underpaid. "Have you been to the Great Wall?" he asked. "Yes, I have," I admitted. "It was really amazing. Have you ever been?" "No," he said sadly. "It is the goal of every Philipino to see the Great Wall." I was silent. I thought a moment about what he had said and what I had experienced over the last 48 hours. Surely the last 48 hours though quite horrible for me were quite pale in comparison to the hardships this poor man had lived through. Indeed his greatest goal was one I
had already achieved a year earlier. A goal which I had moved beyond since.
I suddenly felt very thankful for the things I had that couldn't be carried in backpacks or stolen whilst I slept. It was true that I would miss the things that were no longer mine, but they could be replaced if I so decided that is what I really wanted to do. I arrived in Zhuhai later that day and would teach there for 6 weeks as I had planned. I had been able to see Vanessa several times a week during this period. There is however something that can and possibly should be learned from this experience. All of this could have been avoided if I had planned ahead. I had of course not gotten onto the ferry in Zhuhai completely ignorant. I had done some research online and had talked with some of my fellow students before I departed Qingdao. I had known that my visa may not be expected in Zhuhai and I should have prepared accordingly. I was in many ways fortunate that things did not go worse. I was able to get a 6 month multi entrance visa in Hong Kong, but what if I had not?
