Searched to the bones

We expected tough border checks in Iran and Turkmenistan but the "winner" is definitely the Kazakhstan - China border. Well, Almaty - Urumqi isn't exactly a busy tourist route which may explain part of it. On the other hand China has increased both Visa and custom regulations significantly as the Olympics are upcoming and the protests around the world were not what they were looking for. In fact we were very lucky to get a Chinese visa at all. Most travelers we met in Central Asia tried both in Europe and Central Asia and were refused a Visa. Probably Ethiopia (where we got our Chinese Visa) has different regulations... . We even met Japanese guys coming to Kyrgystan from China who spent 3 days in jail as they had a "Free Tibet" sticker in their luggage... So there we are at this border. Soon three border guards are around us asking all kind of questions out of curiosity. It seems like and easy game but then it changes. They seperate us, Katrin into one room, me into another room. 5 guys watch me unpacking my backpack to the last pair of dirty socks. They look at the pictures on the camera, want to look at the phone numbers on my mobile and even search my backup CDs of the pictures... . Eventually they've seen everything and we are allowed to pass.