The idea in very hot countries is to take advantage of the coolness of mornings + evenings, + sleep, siesta, xu-xie or plain afternoon nap during the middle of the day. The nap we’re quite good at, tho’ I still haven’t mastered the technique of actually sleeping thro’ it, but getting up is definitely our weak suit. Mine in particular really, since I tend to listen to the radio at night for as long as the signal lasts, generally around 1 o’clock. This morning was no exception, + it was about 10 when, having finished breakfast, we set off to walk to town. Nature was kind, however, + for the first time during our stay in Kashgar, the weather was overcast + relatively cool. Once again we took a different route, which made for a pleasant stroll.
Our aim was the Public Security Office, but on reaching the outskirts of town, we headed thro’ the backstreets – Kashgar’s main roads are very boring. We were slightly apprehensive about disappearing into the back streets, having got lost a couple of days ago. But it worked out well. The streets were interesting, + Val even bought a hat, a decorate cap like a Juliet cap, which did indeed make her look Elizabethan. It cost next to nothing too. We had vague directions to the Public Security Office, which we supplemented with asking every intelligent-looking Chinese we met – it had to be Chinese + not Uighur, because we only had the question written in Chinese characters – but eventually we found it, + were asked to wait for a few mins while the appropriate man was located, + then delivered our story.
The problem we had to overcome was that we were too early. Visa extensions are only supposed to be granted when there are 7 days or less to run on the old one, + we had something like 12. This the man pointed out to us, as we had known he would, but Val had worked out a plausible-sounding story, connected with arriving at towns at weekends + already having tickets booked out, + luckily he spoke good English, + was sympathetic to our plight. A fictitious plight, of course, but he wasn’t to know that. Anyway, after a few moments’ thought, he agreed, + asked for our travel permit. Ah! This we didn’t have, it was back at the hotel, standing surety for our payment of the bill. And yes, it was absolutely required, meaning we would have to come back with it, this afternoon or tomorrow. Very annoying. Not only did it mean an extra trip into town, but having got the official to the point of having said yes, it was upsetting to let him off the hook without coming up with the goods. By this afternoon, he might have thought of an excuse. But there was nothing we could do about it, so off we trotted.
We took a pony-cart back to the hotel, collected our card, sat out xu-xie, + then tried to hire bikes to ride back to town. This delayed us for ages, for we had to wait until the office opened, then the person in charge wasn’t to be found, + eventually we were told there were no bikes available. Luckily tho’, for once there was a pony-cart waiting outside, so we didn’t have to walk both times. When we arrived back at the Public Security Office, our fears were confirmed when the Foreign Affairs Office was locked, but a woman at the gatehouse motioned to us to wait, + the man himself appeared after about 20 mins + apologised – they’d had a meeting, they said. But from then on it was all plain-sailing, + he got straight to work with his various rubber stamps. The only worrying time was when either a colleague or superior wandered in, + out of boredom or curiosity, picked up our passports + asked matey why he was breaking the rules, so our story had to bear telling twice. But soon enough the deed was done, + we were duly authorised to stay till Sept 5th… tho’ I sincerely hoped we’re well out of China by that time.
We’d already decided, that if our visas were sorted out properly we would leave tomorrow, so next we went to the bus stn to buy our tickets. There we ran into Lisa, who looked rather lost. She didn’t seem to know what day she wanted to go, + soon enough wandered off. Val bought the ticket, assisted by preferential treatment – she was invited into the office, so didn’t have to compete with the people out front, readying themselves for shoving their arms thro’ the grille. No trouble with the tickets, nos 1 + 2 in fact, + the man was either indicating there would be plenty of room to lie down + sleep, or Val was being seriously propositioned.
So, a successful afternoon, only marred when we couldn’t persuade a pony-cart driver to take us back for a reasonable amount, + had to walk. Just before dinner, Lisa came to us for assistance. She was very worried about Dan, who was hot + vomiting, + came to us both for reassurance + practical help. We did our best to provide both, tho’ I couldn’t say how successfully. Dinner was a pretty indifferent affair, turned into almost an encounter group by a young American who introduced everyone to everyone else on the table, saying things like, “Chris has been here for 4 days, Jo.” Appalling person. For once we didn’t play Frisbee – I was slightly drunk, Val packed – + we chatted with Andrew a laid-back Kiwi. He gets on our nerves rather. But we’ll see him tomorrow, for he too is bussing out in the morning.
More concerns about Dan and Lisa; they only left school a month or so ago, and are now having to cope with any number of difficulties. Other than that, it was chiefly about bureaucracy, and persuading an official to break the rules. But since the end result was successful, so was the day.
