30 Day Tourist Visa/To Work Visa/ Marooned in Hong Kong!!

One of the interesting things about a big school like Suzhou Singapore International School is that it has a budget for dealing with all aspects of teacher's visa needs.  Because I had arrived so late and because the principal rushed me to the school they used the quick route, a tourist visa, to get me into the country.  But, what that meant was that I would need to leave after 30 days, leave the country, and then reenter after obtaining a work visa with documentation which I had received through the human resources department of SSIS.

I was actually excited with this prospect because I do love to travel by plane, no matter where the destination might be.  For me the destination out was the same for entry, Hong Kong.  So, the school had booked a flight and a stay at the same hotel in Hong Kong.  Once there I would again go to the Chinese visa building and this time give all the documents needed and within a few days return and have the Z work visa necessary for the rest of the year.

So, I was driven to Shanghai's Pudong Airport by the school's hired chauffeur and got on the flight for Hong Kong leaving a day prior to the end of my tourist visa.  I arrived in Hong Kong and again took the train, and then the taxi to the same hotel that I'd used one month earlier.  This was like a little vacation for me.  I was even getting paid for this trip as well as all the expenses, so why complain?

The next day I went to the Chinese visa bureau and again went through the long line, as I had in October, early in the morning preparing for giving the documents to them and returning the next day to receive my work visa.  Everything went well as it had one month before and I returned to my hotel to wait for my visa the following day.

Shenzhen train station

                                                                                                        
I took the extra time to search out a special purchase for a friend of mine who told me a particular skin cream was much cheaper when purchased in Hong Kong.  I was only happy to get this item since I was in the district of Hong Kong where it could be obtained easily. Duty for certain products are very excessive when purchased inside China.  Also, that evening I made plans to visit a friend of mine who had just moved to Shenzhen, right over the border from Hong Kong.  It was merely a short train trip away.

That next day I went to the bureau and was very happy to pick up my work visa and I was on my way.  No one explained anything about the visa to me, but I figured I was secure in using it for visiting my friend that evening, in Shenzhen.  I was now the holder of a Chinese Z visa.

That evening I took a train to the border of Hong Kong and China at Shenzhen.  At this station were lots of shops and restaurants and my friend and I had made plans to have a little bit to eat and a cup of coffee.  At the border all the trains passengers had to go through customs in the normal way you would as if  you were entering China for the first time.  Of course I had my visa now and I was confident as I passed the guards and officials en route to where my friend had told me to meet him.  Actually, it was a little more complicated than that.  I had to call him when I arrived and he came to me.  We spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking and sharing since we hadn't seen each other since our time on Guam together.  Then, as it was getting very late I left and reentered Hong Kong and took the train back, followed by a taxi ride to my hotel.

The next morning I checked out and made my way to the Hong Kong airport once again.  This time happy that I now had my work visa and would now spend the next good part of a year without that to worry about anymore.  I strode up to the China Airline counter and took out my passport and ticket information.  Then came the shock of my life!

                                                                                                     
The China Eastern airline counter woman said, "I'm sorry sir, but you cannot fly today. You do not have a valid entry visa!"  I stood there absolutely stunned.  What was she talking about?  I had just gotten my work visa yesterday.  I remember another man being asked to assist me as I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or something.

What was she talking about?  I showed her my visa once again.  She said, "you used this 'once only' visa last night at the border going to Shenzhen, sir."  OMG.  It was a one use only visa and I had used it to see my friend for coffee and small talk.  Now what?

The airline assigned a young clerk to me to help get myself organized.  I really think that I was about to have a heart attack.  First, they said they would honor my ticket for days to come, so that was OK.  But, now what?  The clerk took me to a travel agent on the floor of the airport beneath the level where we were currently.  I went to the desk and they said they could get me a tourist visa into the country within 24 hours.  So, I paid the fee and gave them my documents and set out to spend one more night in Hong Kong.  This was Thursday and I would return on Friday to this counter, get my visa and get back to Suzhou.

Meanwhile I got back on the train and headed back to the hotel that I'd stayed in.  When I arrived I asked for a room only to find that they were full up and now I would need to find another hotel.  So, I sat down and thought a while for my next move.  The hotel was actually very good at finding me another hotel that would be reasonable for my extra day.  I decided on a Ramada Inn and so the hotel doorman flagged down a taxi and I was on my way.

The evening was quite uneventful accept for my contacting the school in Suzhou to tell them of my dilemma.  The school's human resources woman changed the flight to the next day for me and I was relieved to think that I would soon be on my way "back home."  I did economize on dinner by buying a few inexpensive fruits and Chinese foods (like a bao) which were quite tasty.

I got up early, paid my room fee, and again took my things to the airport via taxi, and train.  When I arrived I went directly to the counter where my visa was being processed.  The woman who had helped me the day before wouldn't look me in the eye.  She looked everywhere but at me and said, "sorry sir, but we cannot get you a visa."  I was furious!  I had waited 24 hours and given them this job to do and now what?  Was I not going to be able to return to China at all?  Again my mind returned to the evening with my friend and thought, "was that worth it?"  It was still morning at this time, so if I hurried I could make it to the visa bureau before the end of the working day.

I again took the train into Hong Kong and went directly to the visa bureau.  I got in line and waited and waited.  Time seemed to move very slowly.  There was a  special line for problems and I met what seemed to be the main visa bureau officer.  I pleaded with this man to give me another 30 day tourist visa, after I told him my story about using the one use visa to go to Shenzhen.  He laughed at me which did not endear him to me.  But, I hid my anger the best I could and waited his next best deal.  He told me that he would give me a seven day tourist visa and that was the best he could do.  What could I do?  I knew that wouldn't do the job, but I had to bet back to Suzhou.  I took my chances and said, "yes, give me the seven day visa."

Ramada Inn Hong Kong

                                                                                                                  
This was now the end of the day and I couldn't come back to pick up the visa until Monday morning, so I left once again to return to the same Ramada Inn for the weekend.  I felt truly marooned in Hong Kong.  I took long walks around the hotel district where the Ramada Inn was located.  I got to know that area of Hong Kong quite well.  There were lots of shops for all kinds of food, clothes, and Chinese herbal medicines.  I liked walking through the side streets and seeing the daily life of these people.  From my hotel window I had a great view of the Hong Kong harbor which has constant movement from sampans to large ocean going vessels.

Finally Monday arrived and I made my way once more to the visa bureau to pick up my visa and catch the plane.  YES!  The seven day visa was ready and again I made my way to the airport by way of taxi and train.  I was finally on my way back to Suzhou. I caught the plane and Hong Kong was in the past.

Hong Kong: Tourist Visa

In years past I had landed in Hong Kong a few times.  In the early 1980s I had performed with "The Diamonds" in southeast Asia and had been at the old Hong Kong airport on the way, both going and coming from Singapore.  But, I had never really seen Hong Kong at the street level.  From the old airport all I had seen during my flights in the 80s were tall apartment buildings with black, or grey mold which looked very depressing.  I think that is the result of the wet tropical air and pollution which looked rather peculiar to a man who had only seen temperate zone weathering, mostly in Oregon and California.

But, now I was going to arrive at the new airport and follow the plan put forward by the SSIS human resource department.  Because I was coming "as soon as possible" to take on this job I would do it under the rules set forward by their elementary principal.

The school had paid for my flight to Hong Kong and a three day stay in a nice hotel while I went through the process of obtaining my Chinese visitor visa.  Of course this bothered me in that I was going to come into this foreign country and work for a month under a tourist visa which I knew was not kosher.  But, who was I to counter their orders.  I was this American with no background in working long term in China.  I assumed that this must be par for the course.

I landed at Hong Kong International Airport and retrieved my two pieces of luggage.  I had taken my guitar on the plane as a carry on, so I now had these two luggage pieces plus my guitar.  This was more tricky than I had thought it might be and I was all alone.  When you land in Hong Kong the first thing you must do, after going through customs is to exchange money.  So, off I went to the exchange counter to get a reasonable amount of Hong Kong dollars for getting around in the next few days.

My stay at the hotel was paid for, but I had to get there first.  The new Hong Kong International airport is built on an island and is quite a ways from the main part of the city.  So, the way to get there easiest is by way of the train, a part of the subway system.  Again, I had to maneuver my suitcases and guitar after I took them from the pushcart.  The nice thing about my luggage is that hey have great rollers on the bottom.  If that were not true I would be in having big problems with their bulk.  I set one right next to the other and propelled them forward with my guitar in my other hand.  I lucky that the speed train had not been crowded and that it had a luggage area on each car to stow my suitcases.  Airport Express

When I arrived at Admiralty Station  Hong Kong Transit Map  it was time to get off the train rails and trade them for taxi wheels. There was a queue for taxis and I had my hotel information on my itinerary which had the street address for my hotel.   That was where the awkwardness of my luggage and guitar got a bit too much.  I had to pull and push these items along avoiding bumps that might overturn them.  Let it be said that it took a little while to make it to my taxi for the trip to the hotel.

Old Hong Kong is built on hills and my hotel was in this district.  The roads twisted and turned until I made it to nearly the top.  I paid the taxi, and was assisted into the hotel, checked in, and went to my room.  The room I had was rather small which is quite normal for Hong Kong.  I wasn't there for a vacation, but rather for obtaining that all important visa.  Immediately upon arrival I had asked for information as to how to get to the Chinese visa building.  Because all, or most all of the taxi drivers speak Mandarin I had to have directions written down to get me to my destination the next day.

My view from the 9th floor of the hotel overlooked what?  The street and hillside of this part of Hong Kong was like a beehive of interconnected lives, businesses, and activity.  To the left from my window you could see the winding road from which I had arrived.  Above that was a steep hillside which was held back by a high concrete wall.  Slightly to the right of that were apartment buildings reaching 20 floors upward.  From my window I could see the goings on of some of these apartments with residents going about their daily lives.  There was a rooftop swimming pool on one shorter building and a tennis court on another.  Straight across from me was the beginning of small businesses which winded serpentine up  and to the right.  These included boutiques, barbers, small grocery stores, etc.  Some of these "stores" were not much larger than a door with their kitchen or working place spreading back into the interior.  

I set out to explore the area nearby the hotel.  I went to the front desk and asked where I might find some cafes where I could eat.  Walking the streets of Hong Kong was to be my exercise for the days to come.  This area of Hong Kong has features which are very curious.  About a hundred yards to the right of my hotel was a covered stairway/escalator which went down the side of the hill first one block down, then another, then another.  The hillside was nearly a 45 degree angle incline, so normal walking of this could quickly tire certain people.  The escalator was created to go down at one time of day when the foot traffic was going to work and upward when the foot traffic was returning home in the PM of the day.  Clever!  

The next day was my visa run day.  I got up early and, using my Mandarin directions on the back of the hotel's business card and took a taxi to the Chinese visa building.  When I arrived I was greeted by a long double line that almost went the whole block.  There were a host of different types of people who were in the line, but the first thing I needed to do was go to the front of the line and get a form from one of the Chinese attendants standing there.  I then returned to the rear of the line and proceeded to fill out the form with the help of my passport, etc.  The line moved very slowly which I didn't understand until I got into the active processing room.  Meanwhile I stood next to a Chinese man who had great American quality English.  He was from southern California and he had moved there years ago seeking work and now visiting his family in Shenzhen.  But, he was just one of many different stories that I overheard.  There were many British, Australian, Indian, and other nationalities who were visiting China for a host of reasons.  Chinese Visa Office in Hong Kong

I finally made it to the front of the line where all belongings were put through the security X-ray machine.  I picked up my change, watch, and other metal objects and went into the elevator to take me to floor five.  When I got there it looked a bit like a modern horse racing betting room.  There were 10 windows with professional looking Chinese women seated taking the customers as their numbers came up on the electric sign above there stations.  "Now serving # 104, etc, etc, etc" I had been told before arriving that I needed 8 passport sized photos of myself and would now give those, my passport, the filed document to one of these women when my number came up.

I've never been good for waiting, but this was an essential that had to be dealt with for my entry into China, so it was not my place to complain.  In the back of my mind was still the factor of my being a tourist but working full time.  Could this have negative repercussions?  But, now I left the Chinese visa office without my passport, to return 48 hours later prior to my flight to Shanghai and ultimately Suzhou, China.  As trusting as I am it was a little scary to have my all important passport taken from me, but that is part of the process.

I went back to the hotel and looked for ways to pass the time.  One thing that did creep into my mind was the fact that only a month later I was going to have to return to Hong Kong and do this whole procedure over again in order to secure a working visa.

I was lucky that good friends of mine from Guam had recently moved to Hong Kong from the same school that I had left.  They had found teaching jobs in an international school in Kowloon, a district to the north of Hong Kong.  So, the next day I set out to meet them at the school and get a guided tour of the facilities.  It was wonderful seeing them.  They are both musicians and we had worked many years together on many different dramatic and musical projects.  I was given a full tour of their beautiful school.  It was different from a US school in that the school was stacked upward with the rooftop space used for athletic courts and playgrounds.

We finished the evening with dinner and photos of ourselves reunited.  Then, it was back to the hotel in preparation for the next day of visa pickup and off to the airport.

I got up early and made my way to the hotel cafe where I made use of the free breakfast offered with the hotel stay.  The room was filled with mostly British people although I saw a tall elderly couple which was German.  After breakfast I prepared for the day, packed, and took my luggage down to the concierge to keep until I finished at the visa bureau.  I caught my taxi once again and this time got into the line for "pickup".  This line was much shorter than the long queue I had dealt with two days before.  I again went through security, up the elevator, and into the visa room.  I had been given a specific time to arrive and I now checked in with the Chinese visa official who gave me a number to be projected on the LED sign.  This whole process went much faster than the first day and I was happy to get my tourist visa prior to my flight in the afternoon.

With the visa in hand I now took a taxi back to the hotel, picked up my luggage, and using the same taxi went off to the train station for transporting to the airport.   Everything was in reverse of my arrival.  I was a bit nervous now knowing that I was truly on my way to China, by myself.