Quote:
Originally Posted by orlok
At last! A tale of perseverance, Stitchawl, that must have been really trying at times. At least you had the V&R thread to let off some steam  . So have you set an exact date for your move? |
I put a 5hz pure tone meditation tape on 'continuous loop' and have kept that in my ears for days just to keep from blowing up. Today I switched to a tape of Nepalese monks chanting 'Om Mani Pedme Hum' on continuous loop for my ride into Osaka and wait at the Consulate. I think they could have asked me if I'd like my arm cut off and I would have just smiled at that point. But they didn't. They just smiled and handed me our passports.
On of the requirements for this category of visa is that you must have confirmed flight tickets. Those were actually one of the difficult parts to this, as it's normal for Japanese travel agents to buy up all available seats, and only release them about three weeks before the flight. Usually the best you can do is get 'on the list' for the seats as they become available. We did an end run around the Japanese ticket agents and bought our flights from an International seller just so we could get 'confirmed' tickets. We fly out June 6th.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cromag
Glad you're on your way! I hope you get as many stories from the actual trip as you have from the pre-trip bureaucracy!
|
We should. This 'trip' will last the rest of our lives. It's not a trip, it's a 'move' back to northern Thailand for retirement. It will be nice to get out of this 'cement jungle' and back into a real one!
Stitchawl