I find myself in Hong Kong. It has been a long and circuitous route. A year ago I was a proud owner of a business visa. Now I am a humble tourist once again. The new government has ripped the rug from under my feet.
I went to book a train ticket, but three days before my expected travel date all the hard sleepers were sold out. I could have chosen to sit up for 24 hours and pay a mere 222 rmb (less than $50 US). But my bakery team decided that would not be taking good care of my health.
So let my bank account health suffer instead.
We went to the local official train booking/travel office, and booked me a flight for two days later, one way to Hong Kong.
Before I bought this ticket I took one last visit to my friendly PSB (public-or police-security bureau) officer and verified with him that I had no other option. He confirmed it, so I bought the ticket. His friendly, helpful parting remark was, 'Be prepared for not being allowed back into China.'
My young German friend Silvio, who lives and works in Changzhou as a chef, told me what he was told the last time he enquired. He was told that on his next run to Hong Kong he would have to wait a week for his next tourist visa.
In order for the PSB to renew my business visa, I would first have to get an Alien Registration Certificate, with either an Expert Certificate or a Work Permission. None of this could happen without a Criminal History Report from my home country, the U.S. This proves very difficult to do if time is of the essence. Courier services in China would not allow me to include a prepaid label for return to China of this document. In the end, I used FedEx and enclosed a blank check. But of course, FedEx drivers are probably not allowed to accept personal checks. I am still waiting for that letter. I think it will never come.
The other requirement that is flashed in my face by the government office, no matter what other question I ask them about this application process, is that no one over 65 may apply. I have passed that milestone some years ago.
I spoke with my acquaintances in the Foreign Affairs Office. They were philosophical. The political climate is hot right now, 'a new broom sweeps clean,' the rules have changed and the higher echelons are breathing down the necks of the government workers to make sure that the rules are followed to a T. Wait a while, and the political climate will cool. It will be back to business as usual. Exceptions can be made, at the discretion of the local officer.
So it is off to Hong Kong, for the ritual visa run.
Gratefully, Changzhou now has an airport, with direct flights to Shenzhen. None of my foreign friends could tell me how to get the shuttle to the airport, but Rachel, one smart Chinese gal, heated up her keyboard and brought the answer back quickly. It only cost 15 rmb. She was afraid if I took a later shuttle, 4:30 for a 6:50 p.m. departure, I wouldn't make it. I got the airport at 2 p.m., with lots of time to cool my heels and no computer to play with.
Although the flight arrived after 9 p.m., it was no trouble at all to find the shuttle into Hong Kong. There is a desk right at the airport building exit that sells the tickets to we bewildered travelers, sending us quickly on our way.
The bus costs 120 rmb. It stops at the border and returns to the airport. We walk across the border, lickety split and are ushered into waiting coaches, which leave only half full in my case.
It was probably about 11 p.m. when I reached Nathan Street, the Jordan exit from the shuttle bus. But I was on the wrong end. A passerby gave my query a quick reply, that my destination was one stop further. But being unfamiliar with the transportation system, I just walked. It was good to see the scenery, anyway. I found myself walking up hill, and remembered reading Lonely Planet descriptions of Nathan Street from 15 years back.
I think not much has changed since then.
The Chungking Mansion is a very large block of a building. One of many on that strip. The ground floor was a warren of walkways and shops. One could buy food (Indian food dominates), soft drinks and water, internet service, passport photos, and whatever else the weary traveler needs. Tucked in along the walls at various junctures are elevators. On the wall there is a directory. The big building is divided into 'blocks', A B C D E F and such. I slept the first night at the Angel hostel on the fifth floor of E block. The Ashoka, for the next two nights, was in A block on the thirteenth floor.
Rachel had booked me two nights in a hostel dorm, but then texted me that she inadvertently had me checking in on the 25th, not the 24th. Well, by the time I checked in it was indeed the 25th, but that's a mere technicality. The Ashoka Hotel was full that night, so I needed another place for one night. No problem. Lots of people on the sidewalk offering beds. I took one, for the same price I'd be paying at the Ashoka. It was tiny, compact but clean. Just long enough for a bed. Next to the foot of the bed was a folding door leading to a compact toilet. Cold water sink, shower head over the toilet. The mattress was firm foam, quite comfortable. Of course, with no windows, one could feel a tad claustrophobic, but there is a fan, an air conditioner, and an exhaust fan in the ceiling.
Easy to estimate that there are a hundred different hostels in that one building, with tens of hundreds of beds.
I went to the consulate by subway. I got on at the Tsim Sha Tsui station, which is the name of that neighborhood. It was just one stop on the number 2 line to Admiralty, where I transferred to another train for one more stop, to Wan Chai.
I was looking for the China Resources Building. Now, how did I figure that out? It took some cogitating. Finally I walked in to the Holiday Inn, which stands among all the cheap rate 'Mansions' on Nathan Street. There the concierge took excellent care of me. One person changed my rmb to Hong Kong dollars. The other gave me detailed instructions on how to find the Visa Office, a map, and a complimentary Holiday Inn pen. I asked for the toilet. I was directed to the Mezzanine Level, where I found one locked, waiting for a room key.
Hey, Nathan Street reminds one of Skid Row, with all these international dark characters very active on the streets at midnight. (Not that Skid Row evokes necessarily an 'international' flavor, but of dark, scruffy characters.) No doubt, use of public toilets is an issue. Maybe a NY Times Square analogy would be more appropriate here.
I set my alarm for 6 a.m. I washed up and packed up, before leaving. It took me a while to figure out where I was going, before I wandered into the HI, so it was 8:18 when finally I found myself on the snaked line outside the China Resources Building. A government worker occasionally came by handing out visa application forms, which I filled out while waiting in line. Lots of lively conversations flew about our heads, as we all shared our limited knowledge; we all had so many questions.
I had brought with me my apartment lease, and my bank account statement showing my monthly retirement pension deposits. The clerk was happy to see my lease, had me make a copy of it, included it with my app. I also had to make a photocopy of the front page of my passport. I guess that is just an ordinary requirement, so if you are planning this run, come prepared. A passport photo of yourself, and a copy of your passport. The receipt I was given said it will cost 1400. Is that rmb or HK$s? I forgot to ask.
By 9:40 it was done. My fate was sealed, no more wondering and worrying about being locked out of China, or stuck in Hong Kong for a week. I can pick my passport up the next day, with a 30-day tourist visa. I incredulously asked the young lady who was serving at that counter if that meant I had to come back every month.
She said, "Or renew it locally."
"You mean at my local police station?"
"Yes," that is what she meant.
Now there is only to book the return flight to Changzhou. Or if I am lucky, I might find a hard sleeper ticket for the train.
Now, as I wait overnight, I have to struggle with the temptation to buy an iPad and an iPhone. They are much cheaper here. It is true, I need both. I lost my smart phone, just one year old, a month ago. I am lost without it. My netbook is so old, it barely connects to the newer technology of the current TP-Link type routers. However, my funds are precariously low. I would have to buy them on credit. If my business picks up, as we all expect it will, any day now, no sweat. But if sales remain lack luster, I'm in deep trouble. Decisions, decisions. Yeah, maybe I'm 71, but I'm not so different from my college students. I need my electronic toys. Life is so much easier when you are connected; that's just the age we live in.
I went to book a train ticket, but three days before my expected travel date all the hard sleepers were sold out. I could have chosen to sit up for 24 hours and pay a mere 222 rmb (less than $50 US). But my bakery team decided that would not be taking good care of my health.
So let my bank account health suffer instead.
We went to the local official train booking/travel office, and booked me a flight for two days later, one way to Hong Kong.
Before I bought this ticket I took one last visit to my friendly PSB (public-or police-security bureau) officer and verified with him that I had no other option. He confirmed it, so I bought the ticket. His friendly, helpful parting remark was, 'Be prepared for not being allowed back into China.'
My young German friend Silvio, who lives and works in Changzhou as a chef, told me what he was told the last time he enquired. He was told that on his next run to Hong Kong he would have to wait a week for his next tourist visa.
In order for the PSB to renew my business visa, I would first have to get an Alien Registration Certificate, with either an Expert Certificate or a Work Permission. None of this could happen without a Criminal History Report from my home country, the U.S. This proves very difficult to do if time is of the essence. Courier services in China would not allow me to include a prepaid label for return to China of this document. In the end, I used FedEx and enclosed a blank check. But of course, FedEx drivers are probably not allowed to accept personal checks. I am still waiting for that letter. I think it will never come.
The other requirement that is flashed in my face by the government office, no matter what other question I ask them about this application process, is that no one over 65 may apply. I have passed that milestone some years ago.
I spoke with my acquaintances in the Foreign Affairs Office. They were philosophical. The political climate is hot right now, 'a new broom sweeps clean,' the rules have changed and the higher echelons are breathing down the necks of the government workers to make sure that the rules are followed to a T. Wait a while, and the political climate will cool. It will be back to business as usual. Exceptions can be made, at the discretion of the local officer.
So it is off to Hong Kong, for the ritual visa run.
Gratefully, Changzhou now has an airport, with direct flights to Shenzhen. None of my foreign friends could tell me how to get the shuttle to the airport, but Rachel, one smart Chinese gal, heated up her keyboard and brought the answer back quickly. It only cost 15 rmb. She was afraid if I took a later shuttle, 4:30 for a 6:50 p.m. departure, I wouldn't make it. I got the airport at 2 p.m., with lots of time to cool my heels and no computer to play with.
Although the flight arrived after 9 p.m., it was no trouble at all to find the shuttle into Hong Kong. There is a desk right at the airport building exit that sells the tickets to we bewildered travelers, sending us quickly on our way.
The bus costs 120 rmb. It stops at the border and returns to the airport. We walk across the border, lickety split and are ushered into waiting coaches, which leave only half full in my case.
It was probably about 11 p.m. when I reached Nathan Street, the Jordan exit from the shuttle bus. But I was on the wrong end. A passerby gave my query a quick reply, that my destination was one stop further. But being unfamiliar with the transportation system, I just walked. It was good to see the scenery, anyway. I found myself walking up hill, and remembered reading Lonely Planet descriptions of Nathan Street from 15 years back.
I think not much has changed since then.
The Chungking Mansion is a very large block of a building. One of many on that strip. The ground floor was a warren of walkways and shops. One could buy food (Indian food dominates), soft drinks and water, internet service, passport photos, and whatever else the weary traveler needs. Tucked in along the walls at various junctures are elevators. On the wall there is a directory. The big building is divided into 'blocks', A B C D E F and such. I slept the first night at the Angel hostel on the fifth floor of E block. The Ashoka, for the next two nights, was in A block on the thirteenth floor.
Rachel had booked me two nights in a hostel dorm, but then texted me that she inadvertently had me checking in on the 25th, not the 24th. Well, by the time I checked in it was indeed the 25th, but that's a mere technicality. The Ashoka Hotel was full that night, so I needed another place for one night. No problem. Lots of people on the sidewalk offering beds. I took one, for the same price I'd be paying at the Ashoka. It was tiny, compact but clean. Just long enough for a bed. Next to the foot of the bed was a folding door leading to a compact toilet. Cold water sink, shower head over the toilet. The mattress was firm foam, quite comfortable. Of course, with no windows, one could feel a tad claustrophobic, but there is a fan, an air conditioner, and an exhaust fan in the ceiling.
Easy to estimate that there are a hundred different hostels in that one building, with tens of hundreds of beds.
I went to the consulate by subway. I got on at the Tsim Sha Tsui station, which is the name of that neighborhood. It was just one stop on the number 2 line to Admiralty, where I transferred to another train for one more stop, to Wan Chai.
I was looking for the China Resources Building. Now, how did I figure that out? It took some cogitating. Finally I walked in to the Holiday Inn, which stands among all the cheap rate 'Mansions' on Nathan Street. There the concierge took excellent care of me. One person changed my rmb to Hong Kong dollars. The other gave me detailed instructions on how to find the Visa Office, a map, and a complimentary Holiday Inn pen. I asked for the toilet. I was directed to the Mezzanine Level, where I found one locked, waiting for a room key.
Hey, Nathan Street reminds one of Skid Row, with all these international dark characters very active on the streets at midnight. (Not that Skid Row evokes necessarily an 'international' flavor, but of dark, scruffy characters.) No doubt, use of public toilets is an issue. Maybe a NY Times Square analogy would be more appropriate here.
I set my alarm for 6 a.m. I washed up and packed up, before leaving. It took me a while to figure out where I was going, before I wandered into the HI, so it was 8:18 when finally I found myself on the snaked line outside the China Resources Building. A government worker occasionally came by handing out visa application forms, which I filled out while waiting in line. Lots of lively conversations flew about our heads, as we all shared our limited knowledge; we all had so many questions.
I had brought with me my apartment lease, and my bank account statement showing my monthly retirement pension deposits. The clerk was happy to see my lease, had me make a copy of it, included it with my app. I also had to make a photocopy of the front page of my passport. I guess that is just an ordinary requirement, so if you are planning this run, come prepared. A passport photo of yourself, and a copy of your passport. The receipt I was given said it will cost 1400. Is that rmb or HK$s? I forgot to ask.
By 9:40 it was done. My fate was sealed, no more wondering and worrying about being locked out of China, or stuck in Hong Kong for a week. I can pick my passport up the next day, with a 30-day tourist visa. I incredulously asked the young lady who was serving at that counter if that meant I had to come back every month.
She said, "Or renew it locally."
"You mean at my local police station?"
"Yes," that is what she meant.
Now there is only to book the return flight to Changzhou. Or if I am lucky, I might find a hard sleeper ticket for the train.
Now, as I wait overnight, I have to struggle with the temptation to buy an iPad and an iPhone. They are much cheaper here. It is true, I need both. I lost my smart phone, just one year old, a month ago. I am lost without it. My netbook is so old, it barely connects to the newer technology of the current TP-Link type routers. However, my funds are precariously low. I would have to buy them on credit. If my business picks up, as we all expect it will, any day now, no sweat. But if sales remain lack luster, I'm in deep trouble. Decisions, decisions. Yeah, maybe I'm 71, but I'm not so different from my college students. I need my electronic toys. Life is so much easier when you are connected; that's just the age we live in.
