I’d like to have an incredibly funny and interesting story to tell about collecting the visas; some drama I hadn’t anticipated that led to a multiple-international diplomatic incident of epic proportions, but nothing, nicht, nada to tell.

The snow had all but cleared following last night’s blizzard conditions, the roads were not clogged with morning commuters, I arrived at the Consulate a few minutes before it opened at 9am, I waited for 5 mins while the Russians in front of me handed their visa applications in and was then given the passports back. With visas.

Simple. I was back at work by 10.15!

There is a slight teeny tiny thing in the back of my mind wondering if there should be some kind of Consulate/Embassy stamp on the visa (there isn’t), but apart from that, we are ready for our Central Asia adventure!

Just need to find some flights now. I think Ryanair should break into the Asian market. I might write to them with a customer suggestion.