Chengdu - update
Before I can go to Tibet I have to get my visa extended because you can't do it in Tibet and my current visa expires on 10 October. Visa extensions usually take 5 business days so you are pretty much stuck in a town while you do this. I heard from a Swedish guy that he got his visa extended in just a couple hours in this small town called Leshan a 2-hour bus ride from Chengdu. Small towns can typically do extensions quicker for some unknow reason. I could get my visa extended in Chengdu, but it would take the full/standard 5 days. To add to this, you can only get 30-day extensions and the extension starts on the day you apply, so you really only get a 25-day extension by the time you get your passport back. This Swedish guy had actually gotten a 45-day extension in Leshan (in 2 hours) so I was willing to try out this quicker option.
On Monday (25 September) morning, Julia (from CA and in a similar situation to me) and I took the bus to Leshan. When we got to the visa office there we were immediately denied and told it was impossible -- which obviously its not. It was a total shock and major let down to us. I'm convinced its because we had US passports (and I later found out another guy - not American - also got his visa extended in a couple hours in Leshan). We were flat out lied to and told we could not apply for a visa extension until we had less than a week on our current visa. So we spent about an hour wondering around Leshan -- walked through a cool market -- before catching the bus back to Chengdu. Once back in Chengdu we headed straight to the visa office in hopes of getting there before they closed, which would mean 8 more days in Chengdu! Julia and I went to two different clerks. Julia was helped first but her clerk again said she could not get an extension. I was bummed but then my clerk said I could! We asked for the exact same thing and were told two completely different things by two different clerks at the same time! Such as China; no rules, its just up to the mood of the person helping you. Its very, very frustrating. So I jumped through all the hoops and filled out all the paper work. But I can't pick up my passport until Friday afternoon, which means I can't fly out to Lhasa, Tibet until Saturday morning. I was really not looking forward to spending 5 more days in Chengdu as there really isn't anything to do. To make matters worse I will only have 25 days in Tibet, down from my planned 2 months... Bummer!!!!! I didn't do anything else that afternoon other than hang around the very cool hostel.
Tuesday (26 September) was one of the low days of my trip. I did absolutely nothing. It was raining and I just didn't feel like doing anything. I managed to get out of the 'compound' for a few minutes to go to the grocery store but that was the extent of my activity that day. A lot of the people I had met at the hostel had left that morning so the hostel had a different feel. I spent the day hanging out, reading, watching movies, playing cards and just feeling like I really wanted out of this town. I planned to do something, anything, the next day to get me out of the hostel.
Wednesday (27 September) morning I went to Wenshu Temple near my hostel. It was a nice small monastery but it was foggy again. It had been foggy and/or raining since I arrived in Chengdu. After the temple, I went for a walk around the city. It doesn't feel like a city of 4.5 million people (the size of Houston!). strange. I got back to the hostel in the early afternoon and decided that there isn't a shit load to do in this city and spent the rest of the day in the compound. Sometimes laz-ing around for several days feels good, but I'm being forced to do it here and I don't like it. I officially booked my flight to Lhasa, Tibet that afternoon. Although I was set on traveling strictly by train, or at the very least, over-land, it this case I had to put my morals ahead of my desires. The new train to Lhasa is going to be devasting to Tibet and Tibetians for reasons that I won't go into and the Dalai Lama has been verbally against it from the beginning. So I decided flying, will all the pollution planes give off, was the right thing to do, even though its significantly more expensive. I keep hearing about everyone taking the train and how beautiful it is and it irrates me.
Thursday (28 September) morning I took the bus (fare: $.12) across town and walked through a couple of parks. It was the first day that the sun actually tried to come out. There was still a slight haze or fog lower down but it was definitely the best weather so far in Chengdu. And it felt warm too.
Tomorrow (Friday, 29 September) afternoon I can finally pick up my passport so I have just one more day to waste in Chengdu. Saturday morning I will fly out to Lhasa and I'm really looking forward to it. I am regretting not spending more time in China and only seeing 3 big cities while I was here but that is just the way it worked out. Its so crowded here that I really couldn't bring myself to go to any national parks or 'climb' any mountains (all of which have stairs from bottom to top along with gondolas!). Its such a change from the emptiness of Mongolia and I really miss that.
On Monday (25 September) morning, Julia (from CA and in a similar situation to me) and I took the bus to Leshan. When we got to the visa office there we were immediately denied and told it was impossible -- which obviously its not. It was a total shock and major let down to us. I'm convinced its because we had US passports (and I later found out another guy - not American - also got his visa extended in a couple hours in Leshan). We were flat out lied to and told we could not apply for a visa extension until we had less than a week on our current visa. So we spent about an hour wondering around Leshan -- walked through a cool market -- before catching the bus back to Chengdu. Once back in Chengdu we headed straight to the visa office in hopes of getting there before they closed, which would mean 8 more days in Chengdu! Julia and I went to two different clerks. Julia was helped first but her clerk again said she could not get an extension. I was bummed but then my clerk said I could! We asked for the exact same thing and were told two completely different things by two different clerks at the same time! Such as China; no rules, its just up to the mood of the person helping you. Its very, very frustrating. So I jumped through all the hoops and filled out all the paper work. But I can't pick up my passport until Friday afternoon, which means I can't fly out to Lhasa, Tibet until Saturday morning. I was really not looking forward to spending 5 more days in Chengdu as there really isn't anything to do. To make matters worse I will only have 25 days in Tibet, down from my planned 2 months... Bummer!!!!! I didn't do anything else that afternoon other than hang around the very cool hostel.
Tuesday (26 September) was one of the low days of my trip. I did absolutely nothing. It was raining and I just didn't feel like doing anything. I managed to get out of the 'compound' for a few minutes to go to the grocery store but that was the extent of my activity that day. A lot of the people I had met at the hostel had left that morning so the hostel had a different feel. I spent the day hanging out, reading, watching movies, playing cards and just feeling like I really wanted out of this town. I planned to do something, anything, the next day to get me out of the hostel.
Wednesday (27 September) morning I went to Wenshu Temple near my hostel. It was a nice small monastery but it was foggy again. It had been foggy and/or raining since I arrived in Chengdu. After the temple, I went for a walk around the city. It doesn't feel like a city of 4.5 million people (the size of Houston!). strange. I got back to the hostel in the early afternoon and decided that there isn't a shit load to do in this city and spent the rest of the day in the compound. Sometimes laz-ing around for several days feels good, but I'm being forced to do it here and I don't like it. I officially booked my flight to Lhasa, Tibet that afternoon. Although I was set on traveling strictly by train, or at the very least, over-land, it this case I had to put my morals ahead of my desires. The new train to Lhasa is going to be devasting to Tibet and Tibetians for reasons that I won't go into and the Dalai Lama has been verbally against it from the beginning. So I decided flying, will all the pollution planes give off, was the right thing to do, even though its significantly more expensive. I keep hearing about everyone taking the train and how beautiful it is and it irrates me.
Thursday (28 September) morning I took the bus (fare: $.12) across town and walked through a couple of parks. It was the first day that the sun actually tried to come out. There was still a slight haze or fog lower down but it was definitely the best weather so far in Chengdu. And it felt warm too.
Tomorrow (Friday, 29 September) afternoon I can finally pick up my passport so I have just one more day to waste in Chengdu. Saturday morning I will fly out to Lhasa and I'm really looking forward to it. I am regretting not spending more time in China and only seeing 3 big cities while I was here but that is just the way it worked out. Its so crowded here that I really couldn't bring myself to go to any national parks or 'climb' any mountains (all of which have stairs from bottom to top along with gondolas!). Its such a change from the emptiness of Mongolia and I really miss that.
posted by Dustin at 11:12 PM
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