How I truly thought I had arrived to my end

Three days left. I had two possibilities then; this is to say; two Chinese consulates where to get visa; in Moscow or in a new one set up in Khabarovsk. Even if my wife was in Moscow; Khabarosk was closer to Irkutsk and to China and I would depart immediately. So I bought a ticket for the next plane to Khabarosk. The flight was kind of leaving Irkutsk at 11 pm and arriving in Khabarosk at 3 am. The seat I was in would let the back fall down behind, so I had to keep upright without back support and my neighbor in the row was with a big dog which was also lying down in my side. I just could not believe it, but I was alone, I could not tell, nor complain.

Well, the plane landed in the middle Siberia, in a field of snow (most of the time was snowing), we got out of the plain and walked a long way until we reached a kind of house with just a deck but kind of without wall, doors or window, there our luggage arrived. 3 o´clock am, everybody left, I left too, where? I did not know (nobody was there to be asked), I was again in the field of snow with nothing to see just all dark around. Then a young guy turned up and offered me to lead me to a hotel for $20, I said $10 would do, I do not really remember how much I paid in the end. He led me for about two minutes and a hotel for crew people was there to be seen.

I lodged there and some hours later I went to the Chinese consulate. I duly arrived there at 9 o´clock. All the visas for the day were already given. East Russian were very busy doing business with China and it was very difficult to get a visa there; people would queue there during the night and get the visas just within the first 30 minutes after the consulate opened.

By chance, next day was holidays, so I lost one more day. Then I did not sleep in the hotel and in the late evening I went to queue at the Consulate door.

Khabarovsk is a city pending on the Amur river and the Chinese consulate is right at a park at the Amur side, right in the deepest. It started to freeze. I did not have suitable clothes, It was getting colder and colder, it was all dark, nothing was there to be seen miles away, it was really too cold, I had arrived to my end, I thought.