Rum, Buggery, & The Lash...

Well, not exactly... There was no rum.

Quicker than you can say Roe vs. Wade, our final attempt at procuring a Chinese visa was aborted. A visit to the China Travel Service where we had hoped to have our visas processed quickly (for a small fee, of course), looked hopeful at first. Then the eagle-eyed clerk spotted our proposed date of entry and broke the news to us. If we got a visa now, it would expire before we got to Beijing. Seems like there is a 3 month limit to the darned things. The failure to mention this little fact anywhere on the consular web site will hopefully see the web content manager engaging in a marathon self-criticism session that segues nicely into lengthy "re-education program". He has failed the Revolution in every way. That's two days I'm not going to get back!

Our new plan is to get the visas during our last stopover in Singapore on the way back from India. Should be a breeze.....

All was not lost, however, as we managed to sneak back to reliable Cafe D'Lite for a snack that somehow ameliorated the shame and humiliation that comes with such relentless and systematic violation. Mmmmmm.... Laksa.......