Kyoto and Nara

My timing to come and check out the more scenic areas of Japan could not have been better, it's currently time for the cherry blossoms to come through and so I get to see this annual event in all its glory in one of the best places to see it, quite lucky really.

Spent some time in Kyoto and then took a day trip to Nara which was excellent, it was great weather and was fun just to wander round the parks and lakes there. They have a lot of wild deer that just freely roam around Nara but every time I tried to get close to one it would just run off. Either they're scared of the wheelchair or I smell bad. I hope they're scared of the chair!

I collected my Chinese visa on Monday, I was a bit concerned about getting this visa as I couldn't give them all the information that they normally require i.e. my return ticket out of there, but the letter that I have from the British embassy explaining what it is that I'm doing worked like a charm and I can stay for 30 days (probably won't need that long).

Dropped by the British consulate to pick up my new passport that I ordered way back when I was in Kathmandu, now there's no chance of me running out of pages no matter how much I extend this trip. Also booked my ferry to China which will leave this Friday on a 48 hour cruise to Shanghai where I plan to get a train up to Beijing. This is an exciting part of the trip because now, for the first time since I left Bangladesh, I'm actually going in the right direction!