Bolivia, love and confused.

Bolivia is my favourite country in S.A., I am really lucky that I had a chance to visit this fantastic country with my HKSAR passport. With the changing policy of this country, maybe it was my first and my last time to feel the wonders of her. At first, I heard many HKSAR passport holders were rejected to enter the country in the border. So Bolivia is not in my travel plan orginally. Then I heard so many travelers recommended this country, so I thought it was worth to give a try.

I went to the embassy of Bolivia in Lima, Peru. All the information from my book (Footprint 2008) and internet mentioned I need to pay 100USD visa fee and need to wait for 4 to 6weeks to get the visa. To my surprise, I only used 1day to get the visa and the visa was totally free for me!

I was very happy when I got the visa and enter the border of Bolivia without any problem.

However, after I finished my 30days travelling there, when I wanted to crossed the border of Bolivia to Peru. The problem I heard from the internet finally arose.

I met one HK guy(What a coincidence, I almost never meet any HK people before) in the border and the immigrantion officials of Bolivia said his passport had problem, so they rejected him to enter Bolivia. Once the officials saw my HKSAR passport(actually they were surprised to see that I got a visa in my passport!), they said mine had problem also(they said it was China passport and refused to listen to me that HKSAR passport was different) and kept my passport with the other HK guy(noted that I had finished travelling there and wanted to exit).

I felt totally confused, I got visa and I am leaving the country, what did they want to do with my passport? For the other guy, maybe it was a little bit normal because he didn't have a visa. (but the tourists from United Stated, the country had a very bad relationship with Bolivia, can buy the visa in the border, why HK tourists cannot?)

Anyway, after about 15mins stoping the queue in the border, I finally got my exit stamp and the other guy was rejected to enter Bolivia. (But a few days later, finally after some 'procedures', he was able to enter)

Think about the lastest James Bond movie, it talks about the Bolivian government sold the right of water in her country to a foreign company(this is mainly true) to earn money, ignoring the lives and deaths of her own people. My case is just one tip of the iceberg regarding the problems there.

I can only say, wish that the living of the people there can be improved and I could come back to this beautiful country.