A quick dip into Xinjiang

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A hot and monotonous bus journey got us to Hami, and the initial response we got at the PSB seemed to indicate we weren't going to get a flat-out rejection. After waiting around in one building for half an hour, we were given a lift to another one (conveniently closer to our hotel) by an unsmiling man whose shake of the head and glance at the clock when he looked through my passport started to create doubts in my mind as to whether we were going to have some success. He led us to a seating area and then presented me with a melon - unfortunately not one of the variety for which Hami is famed, but a kind gesture nonetheless.

The end result of our visa extension application could have been worse. The woman apologetically explained that because Hami was not a "travelling" town, she'd only be able to give us a 10 day extension rather than the month we'd hoped for. She actually suggested we get it done at Dunhuang instead, and seemed mystified when we said we'd already asked there unsuccessfully. The 10 days cost us the same as our first (one month) extension had, and we even had the remaining days on our current extension cancelled.

Since 3rd extensions are very difficult to obtain, this meant the clock was ticking down fast on our remaining time in China. Plans for a jaunt through Guangxi and Guizhou would have to go on the backburner and we instead plotted a route to Hong Kong going via Dunhuang, Lanzhou, Xi'an, and Shenzhen.

Dull but possibly useful info
Getting there: Take a bus from Dunhuang to Hami (several through the day - we took the 8:30AM), costing 70 yuan and taking about 6 hours.
Stayed at: Electricity (Dianli) Hotel. Cost 140 yuan for a double. Would stay here again.
Notes: i. The PSB can only give 10 day visa extensions (160 yuan).

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Photos

Traveller must know ...
i) Mandarin, in order to read the interesting parts of this sign ii) Two shots don't carry