Zobbo wrote:
> Declan Murphy <declan_murphy@hotmail.com> writes:
> 
>>Went in and got my visa stamp. I'm pleased to report that the normal
>>"service with a snarl" is back, 1 hour 50 minutes duration, with not a
>>hint of a smile anywhere. Somehow I'm finding the normalcy comforting.
> 
> But something is in the air in officialdom. I got my UK driving licence
> converted to a Japanese one a few months back and was expecting a rough
> ride. Especially as my UK licence is currently in two pieces. After the
> policeman behind the counter had patiently explained that they did not
> accept ripped or torn licences he then spent five minutes minutely
> examing it - eventually telling us they would accept it this time. 

Nice! Why is it in two pieces though? Cut in two by a pommie bobby, or 
are UK licences still made of paper?

> it was my six month old son grinning at him the whole time which won him
> over. I also got my UK licence back at the end of the process, which I
> was not expecting.

I'm not sure what the deal is. I managed to keep my Oz licence when I 
first obtained the Japanese one at Hirabari, but last time I was in 
Dublin I was told I'd need to surrender the Japanese one in order to 
obtain an Irish licence. Some kind of bilateral setup perhaps.

> Back to the point, I have to say that I find the immigration officials
> in Japan 100 times friendlier than the ones in the UK my wife and I had
> to deal with when we got married.

A hospitable British immigration service would be a contradiction in terms.



-- 
"Beyond the Euphrates began for us the land of mirage and danger, the 
sands where one helplessly sank, and the roads which ended in nothing. 
The slightest reversal would have resulted in a jolt to our prestige 
giving rise to all kinds of catastrophe; the problem was not only to 
conquer but to conquer again and again, perpetually; our forces would be 
drained off in the attempt." - Emperor Hadrian AD 117-138