Sitting at the China Visa Application Service in town today, my mind did a temporary and entirely unexpected flip back a decade or so. Maybe it was the array of customer booths. Perhaps it was the rows of chairs with anxious-looking applicants. It could have been the view across Hyde Park or even the fact that I was just in an office building on the fifth floor.

But there I was again. At the Kobe Immigration Office. Reams of information in hand. Passports and application notes and a steady drip of misinformation from our boss ("Of course you won't need to leave the country to validate your visas") allied with the stern looks of guards, attendants and clerical staff. Well, flooding back it is, together with a large dose of the excitement and culture shock that Nadia and I felt at the time. But we got through, with a trip to South Korea, of course.

The CVAS could not be more different really. Well organised, easy to navigate, friendly staff, a short stay. Admittedly I was only getting a tourist visa, but still, how different two seeming similar things can be.