In
one point Lonely Planet guides are definitely right, visas are the
biggest headache when traveling through central Asia. Unfortunately
we need them for each and every country on our way. However we were
not very worried yet, since visa for Kazakhstan was supposed to be
the easiest one to obtain. We have read countless posts about how
everyone got it the same day and how it was no problem at all. That
was the only reason we decided to stop in Omsk and try to get it now.
We were still optimistic when we went to the consulate, as the guy
there also told us that in most cases visa is ready in one day. So we
filled all the papers, copied everything they wanted, sacrificed 2
pass photos and were told to come back in the afternoon. Punctuality
was obviously not highly valued since although the office was
supposed to be open at 4 pm no one appeared till 5:15. We recognized
a few people who were applying for the visa the same morning and saw
them getting all the papers, so we were still in good moods, even
though we were told to come back the next day.
Unfortunately
Omsk doesn't really have much to offer. Just another big city without
much charm or attractions, but with temperatures reaching 35 degrees.
They have a river though, so we were sharing our time between beach
and sushi bar with Wi-Fi, simply killing the time until the consulate
opens again, hoping we will be able to continue our journey as soon
as possible, since we still had quite a few kilometers to drive. When
we came back again the visas were still not ready. For some reason
everybody else seemed to get one, just ours were getting late. So we
were told to come in a couple of hours, since there was still a
possibility the confirmation will come at the end of a day. We were
getting a bit inpatient since it was Friday and we knew we can not
wait till Monday to pick up the papers since we won't make it on time
to Irkutsk, where we still have to apply for Mongolian visa. And
honestly we didn’t really want to spend more time in Omsk. We got
used to the city but we were still quite far from liking it.
We
have to say the consulate workers were extremely nice and friendly,
but they told us there is nothing they can do to speed up the whole
process. No express visa or extra fees that could help us win a day
or two. They can issue a visa directly when they get a confirmation
in a system, but they can't do nothing without it. And they were also
surprised it was not there yet. It was actually very funny, cause the
visa officer didn't speak much English, so everyday he was picking up
a new translator to help us understand the procedure and inform us
about the progress or actually the lack of it. We met some really
nice people that way, like two American missionaries who were staying
in Russia for two years. They were living and working in Novosibirsk,
telling us how hard the Russian winters are. We really started
appreciating the high temperatures in Omsk. Those guys really helped
us a lot, as my Russian is definitely not good enough to discuss visa
procedures, but it all didn't change the fact that our visas were not
in the system yet. Although the consulate was officially closed on
Saturday we were told to come anyway, since the confirmation are also
done on weekends. It was late and we didn't feel like driving
anywhere so we decided to give it a last try on a next day.
When
we entered the consulate on Saturday we could already see from the
faces of the workers that our visas are still not there. They told us
once again how sorry they were and that they are sure it will all
come on Monday, but we simply couldn't spend another 2 days in Omsk.
We knew we still had a long way to go and we had to organize visas
for Mongolia too, so we decided to drop it and try again when we're
in Ulaanbaatar. They also told us they checked and the consulate
should be open when we get there, as we already heard enough stories
that it was closed for 6 weeks due to vacation break... So everybody
please keep your fingers crossed as it has to work next time!
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