April 30th: Pick up visa
Day 199
Somehow we went to bed late last night and didn’t even pack. Waking up late, we also found out that Chopper was supposed to pick up his visa at 2pm. So much for our quick escape plan.
Something old, something new
I accompanied Chopper to the visa office. According to the ticket machine, we got the ticket for “visa pickup” and waited patiently. One hour later, we realized that people had been called to the counters by names, rather than by the ticket numbers. For visa pickup, you can go straight to the counter and hand in the receipt, then wait for your name to be called. When the officers handed over the visas, they made sure that everyone gave them a positive rating on the feedback machine in front of the counter. I wouldn’t say the entire experience with the visa office was completely negative, but forcing a positive rating out of every tourist was probably the reason why the service hasn’t improved a bit after the many complaints we saw on the travel forums.