Up bright and early and working on the Patagonia section of the Chile chapter. Since my friend now feels perpetually tired and goes to bed early, it means that I get plenty of rest too. Accommodation listings are tricky; there are only so many ways you can describe a youth hostel, and I try hard not to be repetitive. It’s more fun with food listings; I’ve managed to work references to sex into restaurant reviews elsewhere in the chapter; I hope that Rough Guides keep them in.
Email from a South Carolina friend who’s visiting us for the first time in ten years; we need to work out when she can come down to Cambridge during the coming week. On Thursday, Steve and I have to collect our passports from the Chinese embassy, and I’m half-thinking of spending the evening in Coventry, visiting another Warwick friend of mine, before legalising my deed poll in Milton Keynes on Friday, and the staying with another friend in London, but that might be somewhat ambitious…
Work on the train on the way back to Paddington. I can’t remember the last time I’ve taken a trip without my laptop. There’s always too much to do.
The northern Patagonia section is shaping up nicely. I hope I get half of the Chile guide again next year; last year, I was rushed because I didn’t want to stay away for too long because a friend of mine was dying, so it’d be good to explore the south of Chile properly again.
The Ulan-Ude – Ulan Bator and the Ulan Bator – Beijing legs need to be booked in the next day or two, and then I’ll breathe easier. Not sure which name I should book the former in – my Russian or my English. Probably the Russian, since they’re sure to check my ticket, but I’ll be entering my final destination under my English name, so what to do???
Stay with my sister and her partner because I’ve got a list of things to do in central London in the morning. My sister is trying to order her ticket with Siberia Air (or something like that) from Ulan-Ude to Moscow and her card keeps getting rejected. Russia may think it's a First World country, but its online booking systems are bloody prehistoric.
Manage to get through to my lawyer friend David on the phone, which I’m very happy about. He’s one of the people I respect the most; I haven’t spoken to him for a year and haven’t seen him since 2005, when I assisted him with a federal death case in Ukraine. Discuss Leonard Cohen (we’re both fans), my name change and my forthcoming Russia trip. He thinks it’s funny that Russia doesn’t recognise my British citizenship. He asks me if it's okay to pass on my details to an attorney in Virginia who's handling some Russia-related case. I agree; I think it's the same one that my mitigation specialist friend Scharlette mentioned to me earlier this year, but I didn't want to put myself forward before I actually got my Russian passport.
Work late into the night thanks to a sudden burst of energy; still, progress is too slow for my satisfaction.
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