Yay for Bureaucracy!

Ok, I would first like to waylay any fears anyone might have about me going to Pakistan. I have met a number of western(mostly American) travelers who have come from Pakistan and said it was completely safe. I even met someone who was just in Afganistan and said that it was fine. That said, my trip back to the Pakistan embassy was a little more interesting than my first. I was told to arrive at 12:00pm the next day and when I got to the embassy they swore they had said 4:00pm. A couple of hours later I came back and was told to go into the embassy to pay for my visa and get my passport. I was led into an office with a Pakistany man who looked very, very, unhappy. During my brief period of time in the room with him he threw his pen across the room and, I beleive, was saying unhappy things under his breath. He then went into the office of the man who had approved my visa. There was some "disscusion" and then he came back, I paid, he gave me my visa and passport, and I left. I have no idea whether or not I was the center of his discontent but it made my experience there quite an adventure. Whatever the case at the embassy was, I have no intention of sharing my nationality with people in Pakistan.

Today I went to the PSB to extend my Chinese visa. In Lijang this process had taken around 15 minutes. Of course in true Chinese Bureaucratic form, which is a bit thicker here in Bejing than in Lijang, they took my passport and told me to come back in a week. This was after they forced me to go all the way back to my hotel to get an official form from my hotel to prove that I was staying there. So, I'm stuck in Bejing for a week and my visa will only be good for three weeks because I have to spend the first week waiting to get my visa extension processed. Go China! Anyways, its not really a bad thing, I'm sure I'll find an adventure.

It is amazing how much fake stuff is here. I was walking through a market and saw a box of Magic cards. Magic is a trading card game that originated in Seattle. Packs of cards in the states cost around 3 or 4 dollars. Packs here cost 75 cents. Not being able to help myself I bought one. The packaging was exactly the same and I was sure they were real until I was feeling the cards in my hand and realized that they were just slightly more glossy than the cards I would buy in the US. I'm completely amazed how well the Chinese copied a random card game that nobody plays here but not suprised. There are whole markets were every single western brand of clothing, electronics, DVD's, etc. is copied and costs a fraction of the price it would cost in the states.