April 25, 2007

SINGAPORE

One Step Closer to Dalian and a Reason to Visit N. Korea

Today was a long day, made longer by my decision to watch the Champions league tie between AC Milan and Manchester United at 3:00am. The game lived up to the hype, largely because it featured three of football's best players - Kaka, Wayne Rooney, and Christiano Ronaldo - who each played a massive part in the 3-2 result. Kaka's second goal (shown below) was pure class - he made three defenders look silly, and then calmly slotted past the keeper.

Tonight, Chelsea and Liverpool battle it out at Stamford Bridge, but the pressure will be on Chelsea to get a result. While it is tough to bet against the likes of Petr Cech and Didier Drogba, an in-form Liverpool side are always tough to beat.

Unless, of course, you are the Arsenal, in which case putting six goals past them is a mere matter of course.

Enough about football.

I picked up my Chinese visa this morning, and thankfully the Chinese embassy did not hassle me over my posts regarding Tiananmen or Tibet. However, I was only granted a 30 day window for each entry (valid over a 6 month period with unlimited re-entries). Since my research lasts two months, I will have to leave the country and re-enter to avoid problems. It is a bit inconvenient, but it gives me an excuse to visit somewhere new. Looking at the map, the closest country to visit is... You guessed it, North Korea.

Now, if I can only figure out how to get the visa.