March 26, 2010 Crisis in a cash economy
When you travel anything can happen! I’ve guarded my passport, travellors checks and cards with my life yet I have managed to fall into my spacey habits of home by losing my debit card in an ATM in Canakkale, Turkey. Definitely a low point. High point? Sitting on the porch of the Pamukkale bus station with a empathizing Jodi and an old Turkish man who hummed in the twilight haze while I devoured an entire chocolate pistaccio bar as a hysterical numbness set in.
I am trying to envision myself in China without my debit card and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It’s a thin line that seperates tragedy from farce.
I am in China now, Beijing to be exact. I will double back to illustrate my adventures getting to, arriving in and around Beijing shortly. Right now let’s talk about my fiasco número dos (getting stuck in Morocco being the first).
I arrived in Beijing on the 25th. I have been here three days and haven’t seen anything. One of these days was spent in the American Embassy, another was spent emailing every one I could in a panic to reach my mother and my bank without access to a phone or skype.
From the embassy, things were starting to come together. I was able to get a power of attorney notarized for my mother to sort this out on my behalf. Then I was able to reach my friend in Hawaii at 5am her time to call my mother and tell her to check her email.
I cashed all of my travellors checks in Istanbul, bought USD and then exchanged that to RMB to pay for my hostel and food in Beijing for three days. So I had three days only to sort out my accounts. Things went so well with the embassy on the 26th that I was optimistic about this whole affair.
(I would like to note that the American Embassy in Beijing is not where Google Maps indicates. It is in fact in the new city about 6 miles or a 20rmb ride away. I only went to 7 embassies before I found the UK one who was then able to explain this to me).
With my mothers attention then on my emails we were able to email message each other back and forth. From the States she was able to call my bank – local, national and credit subcompany and describe the experience to me. While she did her best and found out a lot, she couldn’t resolve this situation. What information she could gather was hypothtical (“if your daughter is in china with this issue…”). The main reason why she couldn’t do much was because the bank would now not accept a power of attorney issued by the Beijing Embassy. The bank also concluded from my mother that I am a financial risk so they would not release my account to me in China. This meant I could not transfer money in or out of my account. I also could not withdraw unless I wanted to withdraw from my credit card which would compound crippling interest daily. The credit card subcompany was less helpful and refused to waive the interest fees in this emergency. This was great to hear considering the bank proper refused to waive the foreign withdrawl fee too. My only option was max out my credit card or return to the States two months early to go in person to my bank.
Today is the 27th and I had the equivalent of 4 USD in my possesion and one more nights accomedation paid for. As china is strictly a cash economy, I was in deep shiznit. Today I gritted my teeth and took my credit card to the bank.
The bank wouldn’t take it. I was then referred to the national Bank of China who I was told would. This bank is the only one I have seen that operates the ATM machines attached to their offices (others don’t which makes the installation of such machines completely ridiculous). So I used the AtM at the Bank of China. It wouldn’t accept my card. In badly translated English it informed me that my access codes were wrong. The bank proper was closed.
At this point this morning I wanted to lay in the middle of congested Beijing traffic and die. Dramatic I know but I was desperate and distraught by the constant wave of incoming obstacles.
On my way back to the hostel I tried every pay phone that I could find and only one would make the international collect call to the credit card company. This one gave me a busy signal. I was infuriated. Needless to say when I got to the hostel and was told again that they wouldn’t let me use their phone or download iTunes onto their computer so I can use that to download skype onto my iPod, I yelled. I yelled and nearly cried to the shocked hostel staff. But I got the phone. And then I called the number and yelled at the operator until she got her manager. I later apologized but it was necessary – being nice only gets you so far and in china and in business, it gets you nowhere.
To conclude this message that makes me angry all over again to type out, I was able to sort out the access on my credit card to withdraw the value of all of my money at the bank of china. I am now the relieved owner of thousands of Chinese yuan strapped around my stomach which will not leave me even to sleep. I am also the delighted patron of the US credit companies compounding daily interest policies. Sense my dark sarcasm because this message and my mood is dripping with it.
So here’s to my first afternoon in Beijing. I am finally off to see the Forbidden Palace that’s 3 or 4 hutungs away from me.
Special note to my real life facebook friends: Facebook is tagged in the Chinese firewall. This means that I cannot access my facebook until May when I get to Japan. Please stop sending me messages.
Traveling! Sent from my iPod
- Leave a comment
- Posted under China
