July 10, 2006
There are months worth of sites to see in Beijing and we missed most of them. This is somewhat handy, since we're heading back on Wednesday. Unfortunately, not because we actually want to, but because we need our visas extended. We were told we could get it done in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, but we went today and it's essentially impossible. We'd been on a scouting mission to the PSB (Public Security Bureau) in Beijing and thought we knew what we needed for the extension, but either they forgot to mention a key piece of information, or the officer in Taiyuan isn't up to date on her regulations. She needed each of us to show her $100 for each day we wanted an extension, so essentially $6000 for the full 30 days. We're not even going to spend that much money on the trip as a whole, so being able to produce it in cash, and dollars at that, seemed a bit of a stretch. David pointed out that since we're not stupid we don't carry that much cash and instead use travelers cheques and credit cards, which she agreed was much more secure, but she couldn't seem to make the logical connection that went with that statement.
So, we have another day in Pingyao, a well-preserved Ming era city, before heading back to see if the PSB headquarters has the same demands, or not. We will, of course, keep you posted.
-Leah
