June 27, 2008
by Suzanne Keay
Recently, my husband and I traveled to Mongolia to visit our daughter, Morgan, who has an NGO (The Itgel Foudation) there. After seven years, we were finally going to see first hand what she’s been doing to help the Tsaatan Reindeer nomadic herders. It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime with memories and adventures I could never have imagined. But this piece isn’t about that wonderful experience. I’ll leave that to another time when we get our 300 plus photos downloaded and sorted (aren’t you looking forward to that!?). This is about the last leg of our journey, and unfortunately, the story isn’t a pretty one.
As we all know, Beijing is poised to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. China has been assuring the world that their Games will be spectacular and the country has been teaching its citizens how to behave when outside visitors descend on them. This is a tale of how NOT to behave to outside visitors. And hopefully it will be a warning to those who expect to travel to China in the near future without any complications. Good luck with that!
I tend to be quite buttoned up when it comes to details such as obtaining visas, booking hotels, etc. So, not surprisingly, I went to the Chinese consulate in New York well in advance of the trip, knowing from past experience that things don’t always go too smoothly there. So, I was pleased when I was granted a double-entry visa with no complications. I had all my documents and my itinerary, including my airline tickets. So far, so good.
On our way to Mongolia, because of the flight schedule, we were required to spend the night in Beijing. The next morning we returned to the airport and continued on our journey. Two weeks later, we left Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and flew to Beijing where we had made arrangements for a tour guide and hotel for a 2-day whirlwind tour of the city and the Great Wall. This is where the tale of woe begins.
Upon our arrival at the immigration station, the officer on duty questioned our visa and told us to go to his superior’s desk. We were informed that our visa was not valid for a double entry for the dates on our itinerary. We laboriously explained that we had followed the rules for application of such a visa and that the Chinese Consulate in New York had okayed our documents. At this point, the “Leader” of the security police was called to the scene. She was not about to allow these two foreigners into her country. We were told that the visa had expired for our second entry and that we had to leave the country on the next plane to the U.S. It didn’t matter that it was to Los Angeles. We promised not to leave the airport, if only she would allow us to fly out the next day to New York. Not only was that unacceptable, we were then ushered to a windowless room in the belly of the airport with guards by our side at all times, even to use the restroom. There we sat until the LA flight left at 9PM. During the 8 hour “jail term,” we were lectured to by “the Leader” about our unwillingness to follow their rules. We weren’t given any food and they kept our passports and ticket for the flight until they accompanied us onto the plane. We were allowed one local phone call. We used that opportunity to contact our tour guide who was awaiting our arrival down in the baggage area. On reflection, I should have called the US Embassy, but I have since been informed by friends that it would probably have been to no avail, as it was a Saturday and most likely we wouldn’t have gotten a live person on the line. I am in the process of contacting both of our US Senators and our Ambassadore’s office in China. I think it would be fruitless to attempt to call the Chinese authorities, for obvious reasons.
If this all sounds like a scene from some B movie, you’re not far off the mark. I have never had the “pleasure” of experiencing Communism up close and personal. So, be warned. If you’re planning on attending the Olympics this summer, I sincerely hope you have your papers in order. But then again, we did have our papers in order. Let the “Games” begin!
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