Typical Chinese efficiency

I always thought that my last few weeks in Xiamen would be a little more idyllic — today we spent the morning running around Xiamen, first to the tax-free zone in Huli where a broker (the only company allowed to deal with shipping foreigners’ personal effects, we were told) had already seen our inventory list and paperwork and said we were fine to ship some of our things.

Naturally, he wasn’t at work today.

The obvious conclusion was that his colleague had major problems with our paperwork and inventory list (apparently, he is the authority on how much stuff someone ought to have in their possession when they leave China, he kept muttering that it was impossible to have so much stuff — all five boxes and two bicycles), and just couldn’t accept I wasn’t a Chinese national, even though I’d told him more than once I was not. Then when we went to the marine customs office next door, we were turned back there and told to go to the other marine customs office on the other side of the island because that was where we were really supposed to go in order to get the export permit.

Mr Broker (Mr Broken, more like) refused to take us to the other office, even though that’s his job, so we (we went through an agent who went through the broker, this country is all about getting your percentage, I swear) traipsed halfway across Xiamen to a ferry terminal with the other marine customs office.

So you know what happened there. They looked at our paperwork and turned us back and said we had to go to the other marine customs office at the tax-free zone (yup) because that was where we were really supposed to go in order to get the export permit.

We’ve sold my bike.

China Post is really doing good business through us.

• 13 Jul 2006

• Thinking