Jiajia and I were in ChongQing yesterday, applying for her UK visa. We had a scare to start with when, at Kunming airport, and purely by luck, we spotted that our two return flights had been switched. I was due to return to Kunming, but was assigned to a ticket to Shenzhen (to buy clothes for Ava’s store?) while Ava was due to fly on to Shenzhen, but was assigned to a ticket back to Kunming (to teach my English class?). It was the ticket agency’s fault, but they were reluctant to admit it and Jiajia had to insist they got us new correct tickets immediately. We have therefore lost £100 in re-ticketing costs but hope to be reimbursed later.
The visa process has taken Jiajia and I many hours to complete: finding, creating, copying and collating 50-odd pieces of paper required to support her application form. Britain doesn't make it easy for visitors from outside Europe! The actual "handing in" part took just half an hour though, so we had some free time in the city before our onward flights.
The visa process has taken Jiajia and I many hours to complete: finding, creating, copying and collating 50-odd pieces of paper required to support her application form. Britain doesn't make it easy for visitors from outside Europe! The actual "handing in" part took just half an hour though, so we had some free time in the city before our onward flights.
ChongQing is a dirty, untidy, noisy city [see the wiring in the photo above!] with typical weather conditions being smog, humidity and drizzle. Ava was very keen to try the famed ChongQing hotpot – the spiciest in China - and we found a nice place (complete with Christmas decorations!) that could do a half-and-half pot, so that I could eat in relative non-spiciness [see photo left]. It was a good meal, and much cheaper than the equivalent in Kunming.
We should find out the result of the visa application in 2-3 weeks.
We should find out the result of the visa application in 2-3 weeks.
