A sleepless night and a tense dawn
“You have your credit cards with you, right? Convert some RMB to USD at the airport. Those might come in handy later.”, my boss said when I texted him to inform him that I made it to the airport.
“Yes, sir, I will do it tonight”, I texted back. I could see a money exchange counter open in front of me.
But I could not find my credit cards in my bag. I had a small card holder, in which I kept all my cards, both Indian and Chinese. Payment through mobile for daily needs helped me break this habit of carrying a money purse or cards with me. I could visualise the card holder sitting in the closet in my dark apartment.
I gave some time to the situation to settle down. As is the capacity of the human mind, I started downplaying the significance and impact of the situation – “What will I do with the USD?”, I asked myself. The next day made me realise the mistake of leaving the cards at home, as I stood at the check-in counter. It was 9 in the morning. Cathay Pacific’s CX983 was checked in from counter N.
“Where’s your Thailand visa?” said the officer at the check-in counter. He was about to give me the boarding passes.
I was surprised, “I’m not going to Thailand. I’m going to Kolkata from Bangkok.”
“Yes, that’s fine. But you’re going from here on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, from Hong Kong to Bangkok, and from Bangkok to Kolkata on an Indigo – isn’t that correct?”
I said, “Yes.”
“Now, Indigo doesn’t have a tie-up with Cathay Pacific. So, you need to get off at Bangkok, complete immigration and collect your baggage. Then you will have to check in, or emigrate, again. And since you are emigrating to Thailand, you need a Thailand visa. We can’t issue a boarding pass for the Bangkok – Kolkata route.”
I had to admit, “I didn’t know that. I don’t have a Thailand visa. What should I do?”
The officer looked at the computer for a while and said, “You are an Indian. Indians can apply for a visa-on-arrival at the Bangkok airport.”
“Yes, I know that”.
“The visa will cost you about 2000 Baht, the Thai currency. Do you have cash? RMB or USD?”
I lied, “Yes, I have the required amount.”
“Okay, then. You can convert your RMB or USD to Baht. You can do it from here or from Hong Kong airport. After you reach Bangkok, pay the required amount, get your on-arrival visa, collect your luggage from the airport, check out and then check in again. I’m giving you two boarding passes – one from here to Hong Kong, and one from Hong Kong to Bangkok. Wish you a pleasant journey, Sir.”
How could it be a pleasant one? I had spent the whole night sitting upright on a hard chair, sometimes putting the suitcase in front of me and stretching my legs on it. Hunger kept me awake, and my Kindle accompanied me throughout the night. I was carrying some dry fruits in my bag, but could not eat them properly. The patrolling guards constantly reminded me not to unmask. How could one eat with a mask on?
And now a new problem – I had to exchange some RMB to USD or THB. I did not have the cards. I should have checked with them last night, when they were open, whether they would accept mobile payment. I was not sure if I would get to any money-exchange counter past the emigration checkpoint.
Left Mainland China
My health QR code remained green throughout the emigration process. While I found the boarding gate 8, it was 9:30 in the morning. I could not see any money exchange counter around me, nor did I notice any from the emigration checkpoint to the boarding gate.
In the next one and a half hours, before boarding the aircraft, I had to deal with the problem. First, I tried to get the Visa-on-Arrival by filling up the form online. It worked till I reached the payment page and then failed, as the system did not accept payment in currencies other than Baht. Second, I tried to pacify myself by saying that on arrival in Bangkok, I would exchange RMB for USD and then USD for Baht. I soon abandoned the idea, as I had left my credit cards in my apartment. Third, I could do the money exchange at the Hong Kong airport. But there was no guarantee that they would accept payment through WeChat, Alipay, or Apple Wallet. What if there were no option to pay with the mobile?
Finally, I came to the conclusion that I had to complete all formalities from here before flying out of mainland China. The clock had moved to 10:30 – one hour had passed as I was checking my options. The flight was scheduled at 11; boarding would start soon, and within the next 30 minutes, I had to find the money exchange counter, do the transactions, complete the formalities, and board the aircraft.
I found one after searching for 5 minutes. But it was closed. In front of the counter, there was something written in Chinese with an arrow pointing right. I found myself running in that direction. The counter came into view, eventually.
There was no time for any greetings, which was sometimes considered rude in China. I simply asked, “I want to convert from RMB to USD, and I will pay with WeChat or Alipay. Is that OK?”
The girl at the counter, visibly offended due to a lack of a formal greeting, dryly said, “Yes, no problem.”
“And RMB to Bhat – can you do that?”
“Yes, that can also be done.”
I said, “Ok, I need 2000 baht and 50 USD. How much should I pay you?”
The girl calculated and said, “790 RMB, sir.”
“Please hurry up. My plane leaves shortly.”
She looked at me, searched and found the signs of my urgency- my inflated breath, sweat on my forehead. She tried, but we could not complete the whole process, a lengthy one indeed, with so many formalities, before 10:55 am. I could only sayXièxiè to her before I started running towards the boarding gate. The currencies, a bunch of papers (the money exchange documents), and my passport fluttered in my hand, while my mind played relentlessly, “The gate must have been closed- what if I was denied boarding?” My flight was about to depart in 5 minutes.
As I could see from a distance, boarding was going on. The gate was not closed – I could still make it. But the gate was supposed to close 15 minutes before the departure time. This rule is strictly followed by big airlines like Cathay Pacific. So, what happened today?
I got my answer when I reached the gate. An announcement was repeating itself. The incoming flight (CX982 from Hong Kong to Guangzhou) was delayed due to bad weather, which delayed its departure from Guangzhou by 15 minutes.
I was the last person walking alone through the jet bridge. As soon as I entered the aircraft, the huge metallic door of CX983 closed behind me. I left mainland China, finally.
Visa on arrival
Finally, food. After 17 hours of a water diet, I had some snacks in front of me. But today I can’t remember how I felt having those foods. In fact, I have very little memory left of the whole journey, from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and from Hong Kong to Bangkok, except some flashes, like fireflies glowing in the dark. I could only recall my window-side seat, the tarmac of the Guangzhou airport, and the runway becoming a fading ribbon beneath the rising wing of the aircraft.
My eyes opened as the CX982 touched ground. I heard about the grandeur of the Hong Kong airport, but my transit through there remained as unremarkable as it could be. The CX701 left for Bangkok at the right time.
It was not my first time in the Bangkok airport. Multiple times I had travelled through this airport from Guangzhou to Kolkata. I knew that I had to walk toward the immigration counter following the display boards at regular intervals. I found the Visa on Arrival office on my left just after crossing the money exchange counter of Siam Commercial Bank.
The forms were lying there on a desk in front of the office. I picked up one and duly filled it up with my personal and travel details (I had a ticket from here to Kolkata). I attached a passport-size photo of mine on top of the form, and I was done. I kept some fields blank, like local address and the amount of money I was carrying. Then I proceeded toward the office. There should be three lines, as mentioned in the display board outside the office – one for people coming as a large group, one for small groups of people like single people or families, and a fast track line for those who are in a hurry. For the first two lines, the charge for the visa is 2000 Baht, and for the fast track line, the charge is 2400 Baht. But I found one single line – all fast-track applicants. I lined up, and it took me less than 5 minutes to reach in front of the counter. I deposited all the documents at the counter. The officer checked the documents and asked to deposit 2400 Baht. I had only 2000 Baht, and the rest of the amount was in USD.
A local gentleman standing outside the counter, right next to the counter, said, “Exchange the USD to THB from the money exchange counter outside.” I looked behind and found a long queue behind me. He understood my hesitation, “When you are done, come straight to the counter. No need to stand behind the line again. I will manage.”
Assured, I came out of the line and went to the money exchange counter. I exchanged a 20 USD note and got like 700 Baht. Reaching at the front of the line was not a problem; the person kept his word. I deposited the remaining 400 Baht and collected my passport with the Thailand visa stamped in it, which allowed me to stay in the country for the next 14 days. I completed the immigration formalities. My bag was waiting for me on conveyor belt 4. I came out of the airport – for the first time, I was standing on the Thailand soil.
For once, I thought to explore the city in a tuk-tuk. It was barely 7:30 pm, and my flight to Kolkata was at 3:45 am. But I was tired. I just wanted to go home. I found the departure gate and entered the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The display board was full of flights departing to several locations all around the world. I waited till I found the Indigo flight for Kolkata. The check-in would commence from the counter W. I found a place to wait for the next seven hours. Then I cancelled my first Thai Airways ticket – one that I booked for 3rd December. I did not have to wait till then; I would reach home before that. I did not expect, but received a 70% refund of the total ticket price.
