Tourist Visa to China

Few times have I felt more inept than trying to attain a tourist visa for our planned trip to China - we leave April 6 (maybe). It is almost like there is a book with rules and instructions that are being followed, but there isn't a copy of it for the public. Or, more likely, I'm just looking in the wrong place for the instructions!... Monday: Had the wrong hours for the visa office - only open 8:30 - 11:00 Mon.-Fri. Tuesday: sent away - the photos were wrong. Took new photos and... Wed: 1st question - is this your family? Where are they? They seemed to be willing to let that one go 2nd question: You need to go make copies of all of these documents (copy shop only two blocks away - so far so good) 3rd: your husbands passport is out of blank visa pages - you need to go to the US embassy to get new blank pages. Okay. No one knows where the US embassy is - they think it is near the Sofitel Hotel. Call Hal - who is in a meeting, and tell him to meet me there. Lucky for me the taxi knows where the embassy is. Get to the embassy and find I cannot wait outside - I have to go across the street. It isn't safe to wait on the sidewalk directly in front of the embassy. I move but don't ask why because I'm here for 6 more weeks (5 in country if we manage to get the tourist visas), feeling pretty safe, and don't actually want to know. Hal makes it to the Sofitel and calls to ask me where the embassy is. I didn't find the Sofitel so I don't have an answer - he has to ask someone at the Sofitel. Turns out it is a block down so it is nearby! We make it into the embassy and after a short wait Hal gets his new passport pages. Phew. We're going to Hue this weekend and need our passports to fly so we can't return to the consulate tomorrow - the plan is for all of us to show up Tuesday morning and expedite using express service. Having only spent every morning of the week there, I can't wait to go back next week! I know, I know I can feel the love - you are all thinking "oh, poor Sharon, what a hassle" LOL.