Beijing

I'm in Beijing while my passport is in Hong Kong. Kind of risky I know but I think it'll be all right. A friend of a friend is taking my documents into the Russian consulate there (where it is possible for non-Chinese passport holders to get a Russian visa, unlike in Shanghai and Beijing) and I hope to get them back by the end of next week. I phoned the Russian consulate in Hong Kong and they assured me that I need not apply in person, that it was okay for someone else to do it for me. I guess if problems arise, I will go to Hong Kong in person to sort things out (though I'll have to get my passport back first!) but I'm really hoping it won't come to that.

Much of my time in Shanghai was taken up with these visa issues and I also got sick for a couple of days. But I did see some of the sights: the Bund, West Nanjing St, Shanghai Museum, and Yuyuan Gardens. Didn't make it to the World Expo though. Even though I've bypassed the Chinese government's block on blogspot websites to post this message, the loophole doesn't seem to let me post pictures, so my photos of Shanghai will just have to be posted later, perhaps from Mongolia. They include a dog dyed pink and orange and a Ming dynasty sculpture that looks just like Kojak.

Update: here are the photos!