The M-word.

Only four more sleeps until D-day.
After a pretty stressful couple of weeks, we (think) we have everything sorted.
The biggest hurdle so far has been visas. Being a rookie visa-applier, I decided to not lie on my visa application (for that really big country, with a billion people...one kid policy....you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to use the C-Word) and put my occupation as 'media production'. The M-word. This country apparently doesn't like foreign media, even though we would have been in its capital for 10 days, can't read or speak Mandarin, are pretty lazy when it comes to politics and only liked Mao's Last Dancer for the dancing. Not to mention the negligible status of Director's Assistant at a regional television station as 'media'.
So from now on Phill and I both interpretive dancers.
The M-word has meant massive changes to our plans. The C-word issued Phillip with a visa valid for 6 months, with multiple entries, and for 60 days. They were kind enough to give me visa which has no use to us. It is valid for a month, for single entry, and for 30 days. This means that we would have had to enter that country three days after we land in Bali.
Their government is not a company, and they don't consider tourists as their customers, and they don't aim to please. They have provided us with visas which are useless. We hope they use that $400 visa fee wisely...
We will try and get me another visa when we are in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Which is why I'm not using the C-word...they have spies everywhere. Otherwise, we will have to fly into Mongolia, whose national airline does not yet have Internet booking. And in order to fly into Mongolia, we will have to go to Korea, Japan, or Beijing in transit.
Visa free world?
But on a positive note, we did get Mongolian and Russian visas, in time, with no trouble! Bring on the yaks and vodka.