No Love From China

Well no pictures to go with this posting... yet. We're back in Hanoi and trying desperately to get out! China is next on the list and we're already running late. We wanted to be there at the beginning of May, but Vietnam is a vortex that just sucks you in. Unless you have to be out, it is easy to loose track of time.

Problem we have now, getting our China visas. Tomorrow our Vietnam visa expires and we have yet to even get in the door of the China embassy. They just opened the doors after a 2 week hiatus and the numbers that need visas don't match their very limited and sad ability to accommodate such demand. They open their doors for 2.5hrs only per day, and for the last 2 days we have waited in line without even getting near the gate. Unfortunately it has taken us the 2 days to realize that they are only processing about 20 people per day.

Our plan: Derrick gets to sleep on the sidewalk tonight on the streets of Hanoi! The only way we're going to make it in is if we're first in line, and that is what we intend to be. I'll be on the front lines while Jillene runs supplies like beer and kebabs. We should be able to get our visas in one day, but it'll cost us the outrageous fee of $120 US to do so. We'll deal with the Vietnamese authorities regarding the 'over stay' on our Vietnam visa when we get to the border. We just hope that few else have the same idea. 20 people isn't very many with the crowds we're seeing.

If that doesn't work we'll have to do something drastic like fly to Bangkok and arrange a visa there, and then another flight into China. Lets hope it doesn't come to that, and that our next entry on the blog will be from China. Fingers crossed... we'll let you know how it turns out. Hope all is well for everybody back home.

With Love,
Derrick and Jillene