Visa runs in the Capital...

Trip Start Jan 12, 2008
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Trip End Mar 19, 2009


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Where I stayed
Our own private flat for a week - Brockley (Zone 2)
(London hotels)

Flag of United Kingdom  , England,
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

After waiting for Bills passport to arrive, we arrived in London late Wednesday.  After pleasent tube and overland connection (train speak for non-Londoners) we arrived in Brockley.  We are renting a room in Brockley (SE London-Zone 2) to give us a bit of freedom, space and somewhere to come home too..  Its a nice room in a guys house and we are sharing the bathroom and kitchen.  Works well for us as he is inviting and also hardly here and we are free to live.  Brockley is a few suburbs from where Bill grew up and is in South London where we both are used to.

We are down here to get visas for the Estern block leg of the trip.  We need Russia, Mongolia and China-wish us luck.  So day 1 we decided was the Mongolian visa.  We are not sure that there is any real gain by getting it first but without tickets in and out of Russia as yet a visa into the bordering country in our passports may possibly help with the Russian one.  (We have a feeling the concept of indepentent travel has entirely cottoned on in Russia or China as yet).  So we paid the extra £20 and the visa was in our passport in an hour.  One down 2 to go!

Russia - so this is going to be the hardest visa to get and we know it.  We headed to Queensway and found the Russian Embassy on the edge of Kensington Palace Gardens.  Time to line up!  After what seemed like 1 1/2  hours we were aloud in the embassy gate. Following this there was another queue and another half hour at least.  We got the serious lady unfortunately.  We put n/a for our job.  Technically not a lie - we are not employed at the moment.  So she pointed and grunted and we put down our last jobs and their phone numbers.  The second problem is that we put our residental address as Chorley (UK) in case they need to contact us and it contradicts our Sydney employment.  Lets hope that they don't put too much thought into it... So now is the waiting game...

After the Russian embassy we headed to the Natural History Museum so that Bill could catch up with a few old workmates and say hi.  we had a few beers to take away from the horrible Embassy experience and relaxed.  Next was dinner with Russ, Mark and a few others in Soho before heading home to bed.  Leonie has an early mornign the next day.

Saturday was a party in the Park in Brighton for Leonie.  Catching up with old friends in Brigton at the annual Brighton Pride. Bill took some time in his old stomping grounds and tucked into a Pie and Mash (with Eel juice) which is a South London Favourite.]

We continue on the waiting game until next Friday when Bil gets his passport back.  Leonie needs to wait a little longer... Monday.  Time for a party, visiting friends and chilling in London in general...
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