Urumqi story. I was prepared to spend 17 hours in the Urumqi airport. I have spent months trying to ascertain the situation after China Southern changed my flight from Tehran to Taipei. Urumqi has a two hour transit visa-maybe. Hence the problem. China Southern airline, Chinese Embassy, Chinese friends, blogs, none could give me information, nor, prepare me for the following.
Tehran: refused me boarding as I had no visa. I argued that is was the airlines mistake and I should board, I'll stay in the airport. One policeman called his boss who called Urumqi airport. I got on.
Urumqi: Refused me entry as I had no visa. Seems I can't stay in the airport because I have to go thru customs and check back in. Oops. Never did I get that info. I stood my ground, calmly. I said I didn't care how it was fixed, I'll wait. More police. More bosses. Passport out of my hands. More airline bosses. 👏🏻they will let me in! Airline boss says you could go to a hotel to rest, at my expense. Calmly, I say no, at your expense. (I know this is a rule) OK. Where is my bag now? It's found and I'm put in a special place to wait for the bus for hotel. I get a ride to downtown for the hotel, not next to airport. Bonus. Nice room. I fall into bed, sleep, wake, eat the stash I have for the 17 hour lay over, sleep, called to the bus. Now, it's a night ride back and the city is full of lights.
Next hurdles: check in goes well. Sent to a 'open bag inspection' I really don't understand this and English is scant. I go to a counter where I see people opening their bag and removing items. No que at all, a free for all. My time in Greece helped me to elbow in to see my bag pass onto a conveyor-gone. Show my bag claim and am waved on.
Now it's dodgy. There are five check points and it's chock a block with Uygurs. No queuing! I get thru 4 and then stopped. I'm told I must go back and do the open bag check. And then do the check points again. There are many hundreds in there lines. I emphatically said: I have done it and was cleared. I'm refused at the checkpoint, told if I don't do this, I will not get my bag in Taipei. A police woman takes my passport and has no sense of humor no wants to communicate. I find an airline person. I say to him, clearly and with conviction, my bag passed, I'm not going back, I'll miss the plane, please fix this. Time passes. He returned, gives me my passport and I ask him to take me past the line to be free. Done. I never envisioned it would be harder getting out than in.
Did I have visions of Tom Hanks trapped? Yes, but I kept the Serenity Prayer going and was mostly calm.
