Sick of Going behind…

I thought I was lucky(if not smart) to be able to ‘flimflam’ a Chinese transit visa at Chinese Embassy here in Bishkek simply because I speak Mandarin(pŭtōnghuà). (Rumor have it that you need a Letter of Invitation(LOI) from one of the travel agents based in Xinjiang as part of the visa support documents or otherwise you pay more($80-$100) to a travel agent in Bishkek or someone named Ms. Liu to sort it out for you). Well…I don’t think it’s because I speak Mandarin but because I’m a Chinese. I always feel that the Chinese outside mainland China always have something deep in their mind or try to do something to connect back to their root in China and the Chinese in mainland China will never hesitate to give a hand to the Chinese outside mainland China whenever they needs help. You know, favor among the same kind. I can feel that the Chinese consul officers there were trying to help me out when I shook my head when they asked for LOI, flight ticket and onward visa. Ermmm…maybe I have been on the road for a while and desperately thirst for cares from someone at home alike.

So, it costs me $40 for a 5-day transit visa. (I still have to wait for a week!). I never expect I’d be able to get a Chinese transit visa in Bishkek and I never expect I had to pay $40 for it! Damn it!

According to other travelers’ account, Tashkent remains the easiest and most hassle-free place in Central Asia to apply for a Chinese visa. You either pay $60 or $80(sorry, getting older day by day…can’t remember anymore) for the regular tourist visa processing or pay $100 straight to get it at the same day. The reason I didn’t organize it in Tashkent is because there isn’t any cheap place to stay in Tashkent and I know waiting for the visa by staying in a relatively expensive accommodation will kill me.

See…there is no reason I should feel lucky or smart about the Chinese visa. In fact, I think ’m quite stupid.

                                        Silk Road   (Photo extracted from Internet)

It wasn’t until I dazed myself in front of the map of Asia(this is my usual pastime)on my bed in the student-dorm alike guesthouse in Bishkek after coming back from the embassy that I started to regret for not applying a Chinese tourist visa. I already paid $40 for the transit visa and why not top another $40 or so for the tourist visa? Traveling around Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Province especially continuing my Silk Road along the southern shore of the infamous Taklimakan Desert to Urumuqi and then getting back to Kashgar via the TianShan Range before getting in Pakistan is totally possible and journey-wise. The reason that holds me back is that I thought Chinese tourist visa is expensive(it is! But comparing the difference…) and I shouldn’t try it as it is going to be canceled once I make my way to Tibet from Nepal. It’s not worth. But I never thought that a mere transit visa also costs me so much. Another reason is actually the closure time of the Karakoram Highway. Technically it open from May, 1 to November, 15 but snow might close it earlier. Under no circumstances would I miss Pakistan considering all the overland hardship from Iran to China via Central Asia. But hey, I don’t think I will need more than a month to make a loop back and I don’t think snow will come a month earlier…but hey, who knows? Arghhh….so sick of going behind and bearing the outcome of a decision!