"The man who travels alone can start today, but he who travels with another must
wait until the other is ready." - Henry David Thoreau ...
Fortunately for Thoreau, he never had to deal with the Chinese Police Security Bureau ... I am still in Korla, and plan now to get the train tomorrow at midday for Dunhuang. I imagine my itinerary will be steadily pared down the further east I get, but I will hopefully still see the Terracotta Army at Xi'an, and spend a few days in Beijing.
My passport was returned to me yesterday around 4.30pm. The visa was valid for 10 days, expiring 22 December. My flight leaves Beijing on 23 December. The PSB offered to call the airline to have the flight changed, but were otherwise unmoved. They asked us to wait (that's me and David, my boss), which we did for about an hour and half, with various policemen returning at intervals to say nothing could be done, then something could be done, then something could be done within 20 minutes, which stretched into 45 minutes, and finally something could definitely be done in the morning. We returned this morning, and a kind Uighur policeman asked if I'd like a 3 month extension on the visa! At last, I have my passport back and am in possession of a visa until Christmas day, by which time I should be well out of China (... well, unless I am still in Korla waiting on a train).
There are no train tickets to be had out of Korla today - apparently all the workers are on the move today, bound for where I don't know. I have also braved the bus station, in the hope of a ticket as far as Hami (and from there, another bus or a train to Dunhuang), but couldn't get any further than Turpan today by bus or taxi, so I have decided to stay put for one more night and avoid the hassles of more bus stations and taxi drivers with my limited Chinese.
So thats it ... tomorrow I am off ...
