All of a sudden it's close! Weirdly, and kind of unexpectedly, it's suddenly almost time to go. Peter & I have passports and all visas. Dad won't know until 3:30 on friday whether he has a chinese visa or not - only just over 12 hours before we go. We're hoping, and keeping everything crossed that his passport returns from the embassy, whether it has a visa or not. At least then he can get to Almaty - if the passport doesn't turn up; Game over. We still have no better ideas as to why his visa was refused initially, but they now seem to be looking more and more closely at the details - addresses on the invitation letter, times of arrival, places to visit, times of departure. All three of us are now packing,
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