The countdown is on; I leave Kunming in exactly 2 weeks.
Status of my Russian Visa? ha. good question.
Here’s the update. First I had planned on mailing in my application; then after emailing probably a dozen different email addresses for Russian consulates in China, I finally received a response back; sorry you cannot apply by mail.
New plan. Find an agent to do it for me; after talking to travel agency after travel agency in Kunming; after hearing idea that if they can book you a flight to Russia they must be able to help you get a visa; nothing. None of them could help.
So. I began my google search for visa agents in Shanghai, after wasting a day searching in English, only to be bombarded by offers to help me get a Chinese visa, I gave up that idea and spent the next day searching in Chinese. After hours and hours and hours and hours..I stumbled upon a company that could help. I gave them all the details; I’m a Canadian in China, I have a residency permit, I have all the necessary documents, all I need is for you to walk in my papers to the Russian Consulate and score me a visa..Well, it turned out I didn’t have all the necessary documents; so I emailed Russia, I emailed Canada, and after a few days. BAM. had all the documents; but didn’t have a price tag for the service; so I contacted them again, in Chinese and the next day they told me it would cost ￥3000; so now I needed a new plan, because really I could go to Shanghai and back for cheaper than that.
So I enlisted the help of Maria; my Israeli friend who grew up in Russia and whose mother tongue is Russian. Yesterday she called the Shanghai Consulate for me. They said there is definitely no way that I can courier in my application, I cannot get an agent to do it for me, it must be done in person. Oh. And I can’t do it in Shanghai, I should go to Guangzhou.
Okay. To Guangzhou; so we called Guangzhou, they told us to call back at 4; we did. No one was there; so this morning I called and spoke in Chinese and found out that I can get my visa in one day, for a price, but that they have a holiday coming up, so I need to do it before the 31st. Then I asked Maria to call in and double check; maybe I would take a 24 hour train that would put me in Guangzhou on the 23rd at 11:50; then Maria found out that they are only open from 9-12.
Okay, so now I have to decide when to go and how to go. As time ticks down, more and more expenses are coming up and I think I may have to find some sort of work when I get back to ensure I have enough money to fly home to Canada at the end of my year in China; and do I miss Christmas to make sure I get a visa before I pay for my non-refundable flight to Finland, or do I trust that I will get a visa and take a train to Guangzhou Saturday night; that arrives Sunday night, stay a night in a hotel and then fly back (because I’m sure that after spending 24 hours on a Chinese train, I will not want to repeat the experience any time soon, although it costs about a third of a plane ticket…and only takes 24 times as long :)….) Monday night in time for school on Tuesday morning? Maybe. This idea sounds good. Or. I take a train tonight, get my visa the morning of Christmas Eve and fly back as soon as it is in my nerve wracked hands…or take two trains to save money..oh gosh.
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