Embassy Eiquette with Kiwi

I guess we've been too lazy to post anything lately. And I'm still too lazy to upload any photos (we really haven't taken many anyway) so here's a short story to keep things rolling.

While in Japan we had to first find the Vietnamese embassy, a massive undertaking for us, then we had to get there. We set out to do this in the bucketing rain with our umbrellas in hand and with the help of some helpful English speaking Japanse people we landed in more or less the right area after a quick ride on the subway. We then hailed a taxi to take us the rest of the way. The poor driver. He must have been 80 if he was a day and he didn't have any idea where the embassy was, even with the address in Japanese and his handy dandy GPS. He eventually turned the meter off while we drove around and aroud....and around looking for the embassy. After 30 minutes we pulled up to the gates of the embassy (just in time for them to close for lunch as the guards informed us).

Luck was with us and we hoofed it down the street to an awesome find, the Lily Cafe, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch and even better lattes. It feels like we're traveling from one meal to the next, one coffee to the next....

Anyway...after arriving back at the gates we ring the bell. Repeatedly. After 5 minutes of waiting in the rain (me on the verge of a tantrum) the informative guards finally advise us that we are standing at the rear gates and the entrance is around the other side. Thanks guys.

Finally, hours after departing on this mission we enter the embassy where we are told we need passport photos. Of course we do. And of course, we completely forgot. Again, on the verge of a Fox tantrum we decide to give up for the day and return the next day refreshed and passport photos in hand. Off we go in the rain again...ten minutes later we arrive at the subway entrance and I spot a passport photo shop! We had our photos taken and waited 10 minutes for our hideous pictures and returned to the embassy.

Embassys are hushed and business like places. Everyone quietly filling out their forms and waiting for them to be processed. This particular room had chairs around the perimiter and a large table in the middle. Kiwi and I settled ourselves at the table, completed our forms, attached our photos and handed them over for processing. There were about 10 other people, most in suits, waiting in the room with us. It was very, very quiet and rather boring. After we had flipped through the only magazine available Kiwi stepped out of the building, I though for some fresh air and to stretch his legs. A few moments later, I heard a tremendous 'bbbbbrrrrrrrroooooooooofffttt" (airy appetizer) then a "thrroooooomp" (deep bellow) and then finally a "pfffrt pffffrt pfffrt pffffffrrrrrrt" (crop duster). I tried to casually look around at the other folks in the room to see what they thought of Kiwi's noisemaking. Very subtle and polite those Japanse. The fellow traveler behind me gave me a surreptitious look and a smirk.
Kiwi strolls in none the wiser and has a seat across from me. I pull my notebook out and write "Did you just fart out there"? His reply "Yes" with a question mark. My response "Ya, everybody heard". Then we had to try desperately to muffle our laughter but we really couldn't. You know how it is when you're not supposed to laugh...it's all you can do. We were dying of laughter in the quietest room in all of Tokyo.

That's my story.

KF