How I got stuck in infected China

A tent, google translator and cheap noodles. The reader of Samizdat tells how, together with the girl, he went on a hitchhiking and accidentally stuck in the heart of a coronavirus epidemic without money, housing, documents and the opportunity to get out.

“Select the maximum smooth surface, clean it from sharp stones and branches, use natural protection from the wind if possible, such as large stone boulders or a thick shrub,” it seems that everything converges. Unless I need boulders or shrubs. I sat on the steps, installed a tent in the middle of the staircase of the black course of a business center closed at the quarantine. It seems that the security below, on the passing, already suspected something. We already lived here for several nights and thought about changing the shelter. Life in China is difficult, especially if you have absolutely no money, your documents are expired, you have nothing to eat and there is absolutely nowhere to go.

But these are all small household problems compared to the main thing: we can’t get out of here for a week. We were not allowed into Hong Kong, the border with Vietnam is closed, and the exit is prohibited. Before our eyes, a huge country closed to quarantine, and we did not have time to realize that we were in the very center of the epidemic.

Holds nothing

My name is Dmitry, I am 28 years old, and China is the 25th country in which I have been over the past couple of years. In my homeland, in Belarus, nothing kept me: I grew up in an orphanage and, as soon as I was eighteen, I immediately went to work in Russia. Then there were still many travels, I drove hundreds of kilometers with hitchhiking, crossed the borders, illegally making my way to trains, and quickly realized that in Europe you could earn good money. I constantly stopped in different places for a month or two in order to earn extra money and set off again. I gathered blueberries for buyers in Finland, built a shopping center in Latvia and taught passers -by to show tricks in Poland. The monthly part -time job in Europe was enough for about six months of life in the country, for example in Asian. It also happened this time.

On April 25, 2019, my girlfriend Olya and I put the money earned at the next construction, divided them from the calculation of 5 euros per person per day and realized that nine months of adventure were waiting for us. Our route passed through Altai, Mongolia, Laos and Thailand and continued in Cambodia and Vietnam. We traveled for almost a year and managed to visit China, but in January we decided to return to look at the celebration of the local New Year. However, everything went not according to plan.

How I went to the Hong Kong protests and bought a frog Sergey Yakovlev , Konstantin Valyakin , Arina Kokorev reader Samizdat went to protests to Hong Kong to look for police violence, riot and adventure, but the same story happened to everyone except him

"Made in China"

On January 8, Olya and I drove to China from Vietnam. During the inspection, the border guards confiscated our only knife, I had to go to the nearest store and buy a new one. What is the point of selecting cutting objects?

The next few days we traveled around cities and provinces, met with friends, stormed supermarkets with discounts and spent a great time, walking along the roofs of the gunser of Guangzhou. Then friends scattered into different countries - some in Bali, some in Vietnam, and some to the north of China. We stayed in the city of Foshan to wait for the national holiday. A couple of days before the New Year, friends suddenly attacked us, friends and Olina relatives: “How are you?”, “Alive?”, “How well?”, “Didn’t get sick?”, “They heard some virus in China”. I chuckled in response: a runaway search in Google said that the country was already experiencing such infections 15 years ago, which means that there is a methodology and practice of struggle and should not worry. What the fuck is the virus when I need to figure out where to get cheap noodles and where we will sleep the next night.

We were engaged in our usual things: we caught cars and passed many kilometers on foot, but life around began to change sharply. In just a couple of days, the streets were empty, external advertising replaced videos and posters on how to wash their hands correctly, and all the cheap goods suddenly began to disappear from store shelves. At first-budget and tasty noodles with vegetables, then cheap cigarettes disappeared: the Chinese purchased goods and locked themselves in their homes, and the New Year celebration somehow did not work. Realizing that we were wasting time (and quite a lot of money) in vain, Olya and I decided to move to Hong Kong immediately after the holidays.

On January 12, 41 cases of infection with new, not yet investigated, virus were recorded in China. On the same day the first death occurred

We did not have time to realize that we were in the very center of the epidemic

We passed the Chinese border quite quickly: we filled the pieces of paper, received exit stamps and stood in line for a border transition to Hong Kong. Here it happened inexplicable: they calmly missed me, but Olya was taken to the office to ask a few questions. We both stopped in Hong Kong for the first time, we both had the same amount of money, but they wrapped it up, and I was allowed to move on.

Of course, I did not go anywhere. Border guards advised tomorrow to try again: the personnel will be changed, and the officers make decisions individually. It is still difficult for me to understand the course of thoughts of employees of the border service. We are together, both Belarusians. Here or two pass, or wrap both. Nevertheless, we returned to China, withdrew the last money and began to plan a repeated assault on the border.

On the way back, we were faced with a huge oncoming stream of the Chinese. It turned out that not a single patient was recorded in Hong Kong, and the number of infected people in China itself grew every day - and the local population decided to temporarily emigrate.

At the entrance, all visitors were given profiles:
Name
Surname
No. document
Have you visited Ujan in the last 14 days?
Feel a manifestation of the disease?
Temperature, cough, chills, diarrhea, headache (the necessary - emphasize)

I don’t know what was the plan of the form of the questionnaire, but at the exit the employee check the passport number indicated in the questionnaire - and the checks ended on this. Naturally, everyone who tried to get to Hong Kong wrote that he was nowhere and healthy like a bull.

When we tried to go through the border and get to Hong Kong a second time, they did not let us both. I suspect that the border guards were upset by our common $ 215 with Olya, and the presence of credit cards did not seem convincing. Leaving customs, we saw three Chinese in white costumes, masks and with cylinders of disinfectant substance behind our shoulders - well, everything, we arrived.

How I went to Paris and became the adult Svetlana Chalova , Konstantin Valyakin , Julia Prokopova for decades in a “comfortable” bus, walks by the handle with her mother and the Parisian decl, which will save. The same story about a burning ticket to Europe

Neither earlier nor later

We had a backup plan-to leave for Vietnam for a 15-day visa-free term. That's just bad luck: we arrived in China just after traveling through Vietnam, which means that we cannot get to the country's territory - since the last visa -free race should take 30 days. Later it is also impossible: officially in China you can stay the same 30 days, for every extra day in the country you will have to pay a fine when leaving. Thus, we will be able to get to Vietnam only on the last day of our stay in China, to which we have ten more days left according to the documents.

We reached the border with Vietnam, a hitchhiking, and without special adventures. In the morning on the day of X, we woke up in a tent in the middle of Service Area - this is such an oasis for a person on the highway. There was almost everything that people needed on the road: the dressing on the road, on which it is easy to catch a car, a store with adequate prices, several cafes, a free public toilet, and there is also enough space for a tent. There is a small sports ground - the bars and the crossbar are best for me: the day will be more vigorous if in the morning to grieve in these pieces of iron. Well, the latter is hot water: access to boiling water is unlimited and round -the -clock.

Previously, traveling around China was quite comfortable, and on any Service Area it was possible to hang for a long time, especially since there is a free and non -parietal wifi. But the virus deprived us of all these benefits. This time only refueling worked; The cafe and the store were closed, and the tent was put with great difficulty. Usually we easily agreed to decompose under a canopy from the rain, this took five minutes and a couple of phrases in the translator. Now the Chinese, seeing the tent, were horrified. We tried to persuade the local staff for 40 minutes: they rested for a long time and repeated that there were “hidden dangers” in this place.

I did not give up and repeated that such “dangers” are now in the territory of all China and there is no difference where we are. Finally, we were allowed to stay strictly for one night, but no longer needed.

On February 6, in the Chinese city of Ujan, massive inspections of residents began. Throughout the country, the number of diagnosed infections was 28,018. 563 people had already died from the virus

The virus was already walking at this moment, so in public places they were disinfected: one of the workers put a voluminous tank with a solution on his back and picked up a spray hose. He walked around the territory and watered everything around with this solution - sidewalks, asphalt, me, our things.

I don’t know what this fighter with the virus thought, but I pulled a hose from his hands and doused the disinfector in response. The hose returned to him already broken at the base of the tank. While Nedothepa went after the new, we finished the morning tea and went to catch the car. There were 170 kilometers to the border with Vietnam.

We voted for almost an hour and a half. Typically, such a task in China takes about twenty minutes, but during the virus, each driver certainly wanted to know if we had a temperature, whether we were in Juan and whether we have a supply of masks with us. In the end, we got into the car to good people. In addition to us, two women and a driver were traveling in it. One of the women continuously repeated Vietnam Close - perhaps this is the only thing she could say in English. We tensed a little, but decided to get away and make sure ourselves.

Call Ze Polyss

On the 120th kilometer, the driver dropped us in the police post and, as the Chinese like to do, left for his business. We checked the temperature, recorded passport data and asked where we are going. I showed the last border Chinese city on the map and added that we are going to cross the border with Vietnam. There were no cars around at all, we stood in the middle of a desert route surrounded by people in robes and forms. The policeman politely suggested a little to wait for all questions, but we did not want to wait. It was now difficult to catch a car because of such an escort: rare drivers did not even slow down when they saw medical robes. After half an hour, we decided to spit and walk. Judging by the map, the city closest to us was only four and a half kilomatra, and from there, in theory, some buses were supposed to go to the border. With such thoughts we walked on foot, but behind us at a distance of 50 meters with the speed of the pedestrian a patrol car moved. After a few kilometers, other police officers met us. I briefly explained to them that we are trying to go from China to Vietnam and now we need a bus station with a bus that follows the border city.

One of the police officers resolutely objected that there would be no buses and had to tell him that we needed to leave the territory of China today, by any means. For every extra day - a fine of 500 yuan ($ 70). And of course, we do not have that kind of money, and in general, for several days we want to leave the territory of China without fines and problems. The police did not come up with anything better than giving me the phone number of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Beijing. I called the first, second, third, fifth, eighth time - and all unanswered, through the speakerphone, so that the policeman understood and saw that the calls are ignored.

Then something happened that I did not expect: the policeman said something in Chinese, and in the window of the Google translator application appeared: "Okay, I will take you to the border with Vietnam." So the border is still open? Why then had to lie? After 20 kilometers, the police stopped in the middle of the road - on the right is the field, on the left of the forest, and in the translator’s window the new text: “Next is not our territory, here we have no authority, go on foot, the border is straight.”

I understood everything. Unable to solve the problem, the cop simply decided to transfer it from a sore head to a healthy one. We are not on its territory, which means that these are not his difficulties. Seven kilometers remained to the main route, which was connected with our secondary. This is more than we planned to go initially, but the same border with Vietnam became 20 kilometers closer. The last thirty remained - not so many for hitchhikers.

How we killed in order to pay off the debts by the postal service , Konstantin Valyakin , Ulya Gromova is the same story of the reader of samizdat, who, together with his wife, killed a familiar because of money, and then took all the blame on himself and sat down in the colony for 18 years We stood in the middle of a desert route surrounded by people in robes and shape

After two kilometers, we stumbled upon the next post of police. Seeing us, they already stood up from their places with surprise, putting their hands on his forehead with a visor, as if they had seen a mirage.

I prepared for endless issues and a long explanation.

- Take you to the consulate of your country? - almost immediately asked a smart policeman.
- Yes. It would be great, ”I answered, not particularly rejoicing, because the nearest consulate was 800 kilometers. Now we knew the nature of the work of the Chinese police. Most likely, they will simply throw us into the territory of other police officers, where there will be endless questions, temperature checks and long explanations.
- Do you have money for a train? - specified the policeman

I answered - no. It was necessary to go to the migration office, to the nearest large city of Nannin, in which we were a couple of days ago.

The policeman was very understandable, in a couple of hours he found us a passing car to the right city and even treated with soy milk, dried meat and sweet buns. I chewed and thought about how to avoid a fine. We decided that now we need to notify China’s migration service as soon as possible: they say, look - we lawly tried to leave the PRC on time, but the borders were closed, and we still hang out in the country not of our own free will.

In the car that brought us to Nannin, there were police officers returning from duty. They were dressed in civilian and accelerated to 180 kilometers per hour, like ordinary Chinese. In less than an hour and a half, we were already in the city where we were again transferred from hand to hand. For the fifth time I repeated the same thing, trying to explain our situation.

In Nannin, we were again thrown around the relay - now the new policeman. These turned out to be the most inconsistent: the explanation took me long five hours.

Most of all the Chinese were embarrassed by two stamps in the passport, which appeared after we were not allowed into Hong Kong. That is, we were released from China and put outlet marks, and after 20 minutes they took back to the Chinese border guards - and they annulled our exit. This was very confused by the police.

After five hours of explanation and witchcraft with Google translite, they proposed their option to solve the problem. It turned out that the migration service began its work only on February 10; We were told to wait four days and not go anywhere. The journey can be continued after the tenth, when the migration extensively extends our stay. Careful cops also advised to find a round -the -clock McDonald's and live in it for the next few days. We found the nearest entrance and broke a tent there so as not to freeze in the rain on the street.

The next morning we returned to the police again and asked to at least allow a shower in the department. The attitude towards us has changed dramatically: at first the police stupid and could not understand what was required of them, and then they began to scream at us, as if we were breaking the infection in their country. After a couple of hours of intense communication, a very important uncle appeared in the room. According to him, it turned out that in Nannin we have nothing to do and we must go to Guangzhou as soon as possible - to renew the term in that department, otherwise - a month prison and deportation at the expense of China.

We had no desire to check his words at all, and we went to Guangzhou, to visit the consul. I sincerely believed that this defender and a friend of compatriots could help us.

And thank you

We arrived on Friday and waited three nights while the working week began. On Monday, it turned out that the Republic of Belarus, of course, could not evacuate us - there is no money.

At that time, all the borders with China were already closed. But there was a transition to Russia, through which Belarusians and Russians were passed. Everyone then left quarantine for two weeks. We were completely ready for such measures, but we could not leave the country until we will legalize our presence in China. And the migration service still has a weekend. She worked only for those who have a plane ticket, and there was no information about when she starts to work for the rest.

The situation was stupid: we could not go on the ground without new documents, there was no money for an airplane, while already the fourth extra day in a foreign country was drawing to an end, and the next 70 dollars of a fine were dripping in our souls. I found out that when the amount of the fine exceeds $ 1,500, the court is expected, after which each of us must pay this amount, and if not, then the month of prison and deportation with the ban on entry.

How I was hidden from surveillance postal service , Konstantin Valyakin , Marina Alef a sealed lens, wire bugs and secret agents around. Читатель самиздата страдал от бреда преследования и привык жить в постоянном страхе Круг замкнулся, и мы внутри, в самом его центре

Консул рассказал нам, что Китай, понимая проблему, вроде как закрывает глаза на лишние дни во время эпидемии. Но делает он эти послабления при своевременном обращении в миграционную службу. А она... Правильно: толком не работает. Круг замкнулся, и мы внутри, в самом его центре.

Мы попросили консула написать официальное письмо о том, что обращались за помощью, как полагается, с печатью и подписью, и получили бумагу где было сказано, что миграционная служба не работает. Это могло в будущем послужить доказательством того, что мы пытались что-то сделать. На прощание консул честно признался, что его бумага не даёт никаких гарантий. Лучше, чем ничего, подумали мы, пока не желая сдаваться, но нам оставалось только ждать.

Разобьём лагерь прямо тут

Следующие шесть ночей мы прожили в подъезде бизнес-центра. Его закрыли на время эпидемии, но на цокольном этаже работал «Макдональдс». Охрана на входе проверяла температуру, мы делали вид, что идём в мак, а сами запрыгивали в лифт и поднимались на второй этаж. Оттуда — на пожарную лестницу, которой не пользуется никто, кроме не работающих в карантин уборщиков. Дальше мы поднимались на четвёртый этаж и ставили палатку на большой площадке между лестничными проходами. Лестницы, как и сама площадка, содержались в чистоте, и мы старались максимально сохранить этот порядок. Туалет внизу, вайфай прямо в палатке, так что всё с относительным комфортом и максимальной экономией.

Вскоре мы поняли, что долго так продолжаться не может. Мы каждый вечер заходили в здание и подставляли свой лоб для проверки температуры, а выходили на улицу только утром. Вход один, выход тоже. Затеряться в толпе не получится: мы белые мистер и миссис, к тому же практически единственные посетители. Мы уже примелькались, и охранник при встрече выдавал «здравствуйте». Рано или поздно охрана должна была заметить наше место, и тогда мы уже не смогли бы избежать проблем. Решили съехать.

Большая часть отелей и мини-гостиниц в Китае закрылись из-за коронавируса. На букинге всё ещё можно было найти подходящие объявления и даже оплатить их, вот только потом нам писали грустные хозяева, заведения которых были закрыты по распоряжению властей. И это в лучшем случае: иногда о том, что место всё же не работает, можно было узнать только у порога, если никто не открывал двери. Был и другой вариант: вручную писать на почту каждому хостелу, но ждать ответов у нас не было времени, и мы решили нарушить предписание консула не выбираться из города и поехали к знакомому хозяину гостиницы в Фошань.

Как я прижилась в борделе Почтовая служба , Константин Валякин , Ольга Ульянцева Читательница самиздата за деньги стояла на майдане, снимала свадьбы и разводила мужчин на донаты, чтобы в конце концов оказаться в борделе

Фошань и Гуанчжоу — как Москва и Зеленоград: от одного до другого можно добраться на метро. Здесь, в небольшом хостеле недалеко от центра, мы ещё пару недель назад праздновали китайский Новый год и подружились с хозяином. Когда мы выезжали в Гонконг, он сказал нам, чтобы мы знали, к кому ехать, если у нас будут проблемы. So we did.

Нашу историю он слушал открыв рот, но окончательно обалдел, когда мы объяснили ему свою идею бюджетного проживания: у нас была палатка и 126 юаней, которые мы могли потратить на четыре ночи.

Ночевать на улице теперь было сложно: полиция очень внимательно относилась ко всему необычному и всех белых туристов отправляла в отели с тремя звёздами, которые нам были не по карману. Мы предложили поставить палатку в холле хостела: так койко-место в номере останется свободным, а душ всё равно общий. Хозяин наше предложение понял, но принять не смог: каждый день в хостел приходила медицинская проверка и вместе с отрядом полиции изучала, всё ли в порядке с вирусом и безопасностью.

Хозяин взял деньги и поселил нас в отдельный номер с туалетом и душем. На букинге такой за сутки продаётся за 82 юаня. Мы заплатили 126 за четверо суток.

Святой Олег

Пока мы ждали, когда начнут работать нерасторопные китайцы, я успел написать несколько постов в группе про свои путешествия и поговорить с белорусскими журналистами. После публикации мне в личку посыпались вопросы и предложения. У нас было время, я старался ответить в личку каждому: ситуация под контролем, ждём начала работы миграционной службы, продлим время пребывания в Китае и уедем на поезде в Россию. Близкие друзья и знакомые просили номер карты для перевода денег — оказалось, что многие готовы помочь мне в тяжёлой ситуации. Люди присылали на еду и жильё, суммы были не очень большие, но любая помощь в Китае, за месяц подорожавшем почти вдвое, была очень кстати.

Хуже стало после второй ночи в хостеле. Хозяин сообщил, что медкомиссия и полиция собираются закрыть его бизнес на время эпидемии.

«Я вам обещал четыре ночи, а прошло только две, — сказал он за завтраком. — Если вы и дальше хотите жить в моём хостеле, вам запрещено выходить из номера. Закройтесь и не шумите, на любой стук в дверь не реагируйте. Если вам что-то нужно — сообщите мне по телефону, я схожу в магазин и куплю для вас продукты». Конечно, мы согласились: в номере было всё необходимое — туалет, душ, чайник и постель, а теперь ещё и доставка продуктов. Корона-сервис. Так следующие два дня мы провели в закрытом номере. А потом мне написал Олег.

It is interesting to read

До недавнего времени наш земляк из Беларуси, как и мы, путешествовал автостопом, объездил полмира, всю Европу, Южную и Центральную Америку, но в какой-то момент устал, захотел стабильности и остановился в США, где сейчас живёт и работает.

— Ребята, я готов вам купить билеты на самолёт из Китая в Москву, по 300 долларов каждый. Столько они стоят?

Stupor. Pause. Silence.
- What? Я, видно, что-то неправильно понял — повтори, пожалуйста.
— Деньги достаются мне тяжёлым трудом, но в вашей ситуации я готов помочь.

В ответ Олег просил лишь проставиться пивом когда-нибудь, при встрече в Минске. Я не мог поверить тому, как нам повезло. Для меня это было что-то из книг про волшебников и добрых фей.

Freedom

На тот момент было неизвестно, что скажет миграционная служба. Пообщавшись с консулом, мы выяснили, что продлевать документы придётся, несмотря ни на что, но теперь у нас хотя бы была возможность лететь самолётом, а значит, нас были обязаны принять.

В 8:50 следующего дня мы решительно переступили порог миграционной службы и подставили лбы для проверки температуры. Выходили обратно в 16:40 вечера с эмоциональным истощением.

Девять часов подряд мы давили на консула, консул давил на миграционную службу, последняя давила на нас — и так по кругу. Доходило до криков, закатывания глаз и просьб выйти вон. К слову, ни консул, ни его заместитель не нашли времени приехать и присутствовать при нашей борьбе: все девять часов мы общались по телефону через громкую связь.

В результате мы были всё же избавлены от штрафа, а наше допустимое время пребывания продлили ещё на неделю. Но паспорта с продлением штампа обещали отдать на руки только через пару дней. Тем не менее у нас были фотографии разворотов и первых страниц, и Олег купил мне и Оле билеты в Москву. Через пару дней мы вылетели из совершенно пустынного и безлюдного аэропорта и приземлились в России. Где нас ждали анализы, проверки, контроль документов, но главное — долгожданная свобода.

***

Сериалы, фильмы, книги, алкоголь — я бездельничаю уже пятую неделю. Со свободой не получилось: по возвращении меня на пару дней закрыли в больнице, а теперь я сижу дома, не имея возможности куда-либо уехать. Такого со мной никогда не случалось: я редко задерживался дома больше чем на пару недель, а сейчас немного сбит с толку. Работа в Латвии сорвалась: европейские и азиатские страны закрыли границы, я не могу поехать даже в Россию. И главное — не знаю, когда всё вернется на круги своя.

Несмотря на весь этот хаос, который всегда присутствует в путешествиях автостопом, по дороге у тебя всегда есть план. Ты знаешь ключевые точки, примерные даты въездов и выездов и день, когда вернёшься домой и снова отправишься в путь. Сидя дома и перематывая серии очередного скучного сериала, я боюсь, что изоляция и карантины разрушают это чувство. Через несколько дней я выхожу на новую работу. Мне пришлось устроиться в Беларуси, а я с восемнадцати лет ни разу не работал дома. Да, наверное, это тоже новый опыт, но иногда хочется, чтобы никакой Олег не написал и не помог мне тогда, люди не прислали денег, а наше приключение не закончилось бы так бесславно и за чужой счёт.

Как я был паразитом Тарас Шира , Константин Валякин , Ксения Рыкова Конопляная ферма, разборки с бандитами и друзья-паразиты, которые с тобой только из-за денег. История падения папенькиного мажора из Челябинска