Before we could even contemplate the long journey to our next desired destination (JingXi) we needed a covid test. Now, after months of daily testing in Shanghai we hoped it would be straight forward but unfortunately in a different province, it was not.

As with many things, if you have local ID and a name less than 4 characters long, you are fine but as a group of foreign passport holders, with an average name length of about 17 characters, I should have know it was never gonna be straight forward.

Reminiscent of the first wave of testing in Shanghai, the test registration app in GuangXi simply failed. Although Shanghai systems do now work for everyone, here it did not.

But of course you have to go through the rigmarole proving it to the person in front of you that it doesn’t work. Translating each step of the multiple page form, one by one, all whilst knowing it’s gonna fail. A common process which I try to stay calm outwardly, whilst internally I’m screaming “just believe me, it doesn’t work”. But as I was consistently reminded as a child “patience is a virtue”. (No prizes for guessing I was an impatient child 🤦‍♀️)

Then what usually happens next is whoever is helping you… try’s to recreate the same steps on their phone…. All the time you know it will have the same result.

Next comes the usual pass off, go try someone else. Given the number of foreigners in China is being squeezed by Covid, it’s not surprising really that as a foreigner things are more complex, simply the need is not there to streamline the processes. So with my best attempt at patience we continued our quest to find someone to help us.

Eventually after continuous asking and questioning, we were guided by a kind security man who took sympathy on us, into the depths of the hospital. Here we joined a queue behind a handful of other foreigners. After asking if this was a line for a covid test and getting the response “I hope so” , from the person in front, a new kind of patience is needed. There is no rushing what is to come.

The line was to register at the hospital. It involved filling out details on a form, which were then checked against our visa pages, which were then entered into a computer, which printed a piece of paper. About 5mins per person, the line was slow. But eventually we got our papers.

We followed a lady to back of another queue, thankfully shorter than first. At the end of that line we went into a little examination room where a nurse took our papers. Counted our heads, typed something on the computer for about 5mins. No idea what because not a single word was exchanged the whole time. Eventually she seemed satisfied with whatever she was checking and stamped our bits of paper.

Next, back to the first line but this time we were told to stand at the side, not the end. The single lady behind the counter was now entering details for a family of 6. After standing there for about 25mins she finished and put out her hand, for our papers. Next came a Wechat qr code for payment and finally another stamp on our papers.

With our double stamped papers in hand we went back to the original testing site and joined the back of another line. At the front of the line were some systems (like the self checkin desk at an airport) where if you had the right ID and could use the original app, a quick couple of scans and you are issued a testing barcode. Now obviously we didn’t have either, so as we reached the front of the line, I was confused about what to do, luckily a nurse saw the papers in my hand, took them and disappeared round the back. 10mins later she came back with the papers stamped again and some barcodes for us.

Finally we joined the back of what looked like the last line and waited our turn to be tested. Hand over the barcode, quick mouth swab and we were done!

All in all about 3.5 hours.l to be tested but we still needed to get the results. In some very broken Chinese we managed to establish the results would be available tomorrow at 14:00.

The next morning involved stocking up on suncream and a few other necessities before our long journey to the Vietnam boarder regions. At two o’clock we headed to the hospital, apparently our results were not ready and we were told too come back a 16:00. Trying to make the most of our last few hours in Yangshuo we decided to hike up one of the karsts for a view over the town. 1.5 hours of very sweaty climbing up, (and I mean sweaty, and I mean up up!… ) we got a fantastic view. How my children can still have the energy to run around after such a climb I do not know.

Once I recovered we headed back down in less that 20mins and were back at the hospital for 16:00.

However apparently they still didn’t have our results. The first response was to come back at 21:00. Obviously reluctant to do so, knowing the place would be pretty much closed by then, I phoned our hotel front desk and asked if they could help us understand why our results were not ready. After passing my phone over, it turns out the results were not just delayed but had been lost.

After a couple of calming inhales, I calmly but forcefully asked who could help sort our situation. We got passed on a couple of times till finally a man told us to try asking at the lab.

With no idea where the lab was we headed back into the depths of the hospital. After about the 5th time of entering a building, asking for direction and moving on to another, we finally entered a building where they simply said go to the second floor.

The second floor was deserted. A room split in half by glass, with small windows. (Imagine a bank) 5 empty counters, behind the glass with 5 empty chairs on our side… but no one on either side of the glass apart from us. With doubtful glances at each other and proceeded to the first counter where we rang what looked like a door bell. A few mins a young very flustered man in a lab coat came out… saw us, muttered something in Chinese and vanished again. After a few more mins a confident lady came over and to my relief in perfect English asked for our triple stamped papers. I’m pretty sure my face showed utter shock when she handed us 5 negative test results slips no more than 2mins later. Incredibly grateful we left the hospital at around 19:00 ready for the next leg of our travels.

(Now I realise the above is not the most exciting post, but i feel it’s important to realise and for me to remember how complex travel can be, especially in Covid times. Also that as a guest in another county, although frustrating, it’s a privilege to have these opportunities. And of course, for me anyway, the pain is always worth it)

Finally a quick shout out to my boys who actually showed much more patience, (with this and the many more tests to come) than I ever could have at their ages.