just one little fishy

Well, I am still here in Korla, still anxiously awaiting the return of my passport with 15 day visa to enable me to get outta here. The official reason is that there is some new and special kind of paper on which all visas must now be printed, and that the Korla Police Bureau is awaiting supplies of said paper from Urumqi. Its roughly a 10-hour train trip from Urumqi to Korla, but this paper seems to be taking the scenic route, five days and counting. Well, I suppose it is good policy, if you have to lie, to stick with the original lie. Or perhaps I am just more cynical in sub-zero temperatures. In any event, I am told that my passport will be returned to me this afternoon, which means I'll catch the midday train to Dunhuang tomorrow - the itinerary will likely undergo some finetuning along the way as I hope to make it to Beijing by the morning of 22 December at the latest.