Extending my visa (Guilin, Guangxi Province, China)

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(Day 105 on the road)I am back in Guilin (I was here briefly before setting off to the Rice Terraces to apply for my visa extension) to collect my passport from the Public Security Bureau (PSB). It takes a week to process, which gives me ample time to explore the city and relax a bit after almost two weeks of hiking and being on the move constantly. This visa thing is actually quite funny: When I applied for my Chinese visa in Mongolia, they asked for all kinds of documents, including an exit ticket out of China and bank statements showing that I have enough money to support myself for the duration of my stay. So, thinking logically, one would imagine that they would also ask for these things when you extend your visa for another thirty days (as presumably they still want you to leave the country and to pay for your own bills). But, surprise surprise: Nope! Just fill out the form, pay 160 yuan, and come back in a week to pick up the new visa. Really seems that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Also, there were official reports that no foreigner would be granted a 30-day visa extension anymore after July 1st. I applied for my extension on July 10th, and got a 30-day extensions without any problems. So it seems they are either not aware of their own policy, or they just don't care. You have to laugh at it really. In any case. I have to extend my visa again, as my tickets for the Olympic Games are for the end of August. But I was assured that I am in possession of tickets, this should be no problem at all. Let's hope for the best.

I have also been busy doing some shopping and getting organised these past few days. I have bought a new mobile phone (mine was stolen during the Yangtze cruise as I found out in Zhangjiajie, great) and a new SD card for my camera as my old one broke down. I also had major trouble with my IPOD again, it completely stopped working. In a desperate attempt I decided to open it up and checked all the connections inside. Miraculously, it started working again afterwards, even though after I had closed it again I was left with a little plastic thingy that was inside the device. The joy however lasted only one day, when it broke down again. So I guess I need to have it repaired; I will try that once I get to Kunming.

I also managed to upload my latest pictures to my Flickr-page and update my blog here in Guilin (on which I was quite behind). The city is pleasant enough to spend a few days in with the Li River running right through the city, which is especially picturesque at night. I also very much enjoyed all the fresh fruit juices that are being sold all over the city, the first place in China I have come across this on this trip. From former visits to China I know that fruit juices are very popular in Southern China, but apparently not so much in the north (where I didn't spot them), so I am happy to be here in the south now. I think at the shop that I liked best I easily qualified for "Customer of the Month", judging by the enthusiasm I was greeted by the staff on each visit. Further, I took a cool swim in the Li river (there were some locals swimming so I joined them, much to their delight), which actually looked pretty clean in comparison to some of the other rivers I have seen here in China.

One other thing I learnt in Guilin is that China is cutting down 25 million trees every year (!) to produce 45 billions of disposable chopsticks. This a horrific number in my opinion. I always thought that chopsticks are inferior to forks, spoons and knives (which are more versatile) but they are of course deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. But now seeing this number, maybe it's time to think again?

What I liked about Guilin is that there is much less spitting going on than in the north of China. If you have ever been to, let's say, Beijing, you know how disgusting this is: People spit simply everywhere: Outdoors and indoors, i.e. on the street, in the bank, on the train, in the Internet cafe etc etc. The worst I have seen was in a bus in Chongqing, where the guy just spat leisurely right in the aisle of the bus. So seeing that very few people are spitting in Guilin was very nice, I hope it remains that way in Southern China!

Also, Karen and I have parted ways here in Guilin as she is heading to Chengdu to try and organise a permit to enter Tibet, which is quite difficult at the moment in the run up to the Olympic Games in China. So I am on my own again, which is a shame really: Karen and I were great travel-companions, sharing the same spirit for adventure and freedom, being on a similar budget and generally having similar interest. Ah well, as we are both heading south at one point (me with short detour to Japan in September), we might meet up again later this year there (or even in Japan, we will see).

Next stop: Kunming (Yunnan Province, China).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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Comments

[dnice]

help on visa extension
where exactly in guilin did you extend your visa?? please provide the address and steps for extension. thanks..