Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter Ten
“You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far.”
—Uncle Remus
“A
re you sure?” I stood in the front office of the orphanage on the phone with Lina. Only
the day before, I had been denied a visa for Burma. Before leaving LA, I had attempted to
get every possible visa I would need. The only problem was, I ran out of time to get one
for Burma. But when I called the Burmese consulate in Washington, DC, they had said not
to worry, that I could get the visa while in India. Apparently, they were wrong, or rather,
wrong-
ish.
You see,
some
people in India could get them. It just depended where you were and what
border you were attempting to cross. It also depended on what time of day it was and who
was working that shift. In a country with 1.2 billion people, several hundred languages, and
a distorted view of modern management, Indian logistics were famous for their entire lack
of logic. And I was slap-bang in the middle of all the chaos.
Which is what led to me calling Lina in the middle of her night, hoping that she could
secure something through the Burmese consulate in Washington. Unfortunately, her phone
call hadn't gone so well.
“They said you would have to be here, in person,” she paused before continuing. “Maybe
if we were married, it would be different, but since we're not even related, they said there
wasn't much they could do.”
Ouch (good one, Lina). But as much as it hurt, I knew she was speaking the truth. As I
neared the end of my journey, that fateful return home edging closer, I could also feel her
beginning to wonder what she was waiting for. I mean, I understood her wanting to get mar-
ried, and in this instance, it might have even allowed her to secure a Burmese visa (although
doubtful) for me, but I also knew, well, quite simply, that I was afraid.
