Visas!

Here's the skinny on the visa process. Yes you need a visa to go to India unless your passport is from India, Nepal or Bhutan. You can't get a visa after you get there unlike countries like Japan. You have to get it stamped in your passport before you start your travels.

For Australian citizens, the information and application forms are available at http://www.vfs-in-au.net/.

For Canadian citizens, the information and application forms are available at http://in.vfsglobal.ca/.

For people applying from the US, the information and online application is available at https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/homepage.

These websites are for companies that the regional Indian consulate has outsourced the paperwork to.

John filled out an application online and then we went to the Chicago office of the travisa folks and dropped it off; along with the passport, photographs (without glasses), a copy of the birth certificate (weird, I know) etc. You can also mail it to them.

Once they receive it, they send it off to the local consulate and send you an email when they get it back from the consulate. They then send you another email with the tracking information when they mail it back. John got his passport back 2 days after we dropped it off, and overall it was very easy. If you are dropping it off in person, and if you do it early in the day, it is possible to get it back the same day (no guarantees, though). If you mail it, they say 7-9 days for processing from the date of receipt.

Check for the closest consulate, and send it off to the appropriate travisa center for your visas. In the US their locations are San Francisco, Washington D.C., Houston, Chicago and New York city. The following are the rates for the Visas, not including the mailing cost.
6 Months - Multiple Entry - $73.00
5 Years - Multiple Entry - $163.00
10 Years - Multiple Entry - $163.00

For purpose of visit, you can say "Attending a wedding", and you can use the India contact information in the wedding invitation for the Indian address. If you need any information and if anything is unclear, we are here to help.

I am still trying to get my thoughts together on the street food post... signing off until I get that together. Ciao!

Events around the wedding [Update]

So, now that I have scared you about the number of people you will be encountering at any given time on the streets of Mumbai, here's the deal with the events before the wedding...

On Saturday the 15th, from 4pm to 7pm is the Henna ceremony. This is where everyone with two X chromosomes will get their hands painted by expert Henna artists. There will be tasty food, some dancing, music and good stuff like that. People with single X chromosomes can partake of the food, dancing and all that goodness; and if they are really adventurous, and can convince the Henna artists, they can get some sweet temporary tattoos! ;)


On Sunday late morning (time to be announced), there will be some activities before lunch, and will be followed by lunch at or near my parent's place.

My next food update will be about street food! Yay!

Mumbai's has about 60,000 people/square mile...

This post is mostly to warn first time visitors about how many people reside in the second most populous city in the world.

Shanghai may be the most populous city in the world, but interestingly it is less densely populated than New York city. Bombay on the other hand is a fraction of the size of Shanghai, and is therefore the most densely populated metropolitan area in the world.



So, armed with this information, you can prepare yourselves mentally for the sights, smells and congestion. As John told his family, " When you go to Anchorage, pretend each person is actually 46 people."

PS- It's true, I love graphs. :)

Along those same lines...

There are several suggested vaccinations that you should get before traveling to India. The CDC has a list of them here, but you should be up to date on all routine vaccines (check your doctor for specifics) and in addition get vaccinated for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhoid. There some extra vaccinations recommended for people going to rural areas or staying in the wilderness. Also, preventing Malaria is something you should discuss with your doctor.

Check that web page for more information.

I think this ends the more serious postings for now.

John

(Constant) Vigilance!

Ok. Travelling in India: The person-who's-never-been-there update.

From talking to Radhika and passed to me from her mother, etc, I get the impression that travelling in India is not as easy as travelling in the US and other countries. (I think it was the sentence "It's not as easy to travel in India as it is in the US." that tipped me off.) The point is, we want everyone to have a good time and not get ripped off, robbed, etc. which seems to be the main thing to worry about when travelling around India.

Some basic ways to protect yourself are to:

• Not trust people you don't know or we haven't pointed out to you (it's like The X Files, trust no one)
• Not use your debit card (obvious)
• Check the State Dept's Travel page for India for any security warnings or travel alerts

There are many additional things you can do, but the message here is just keep your eyes open. From talking with Radhika, I think the general trust that we have here in the U.S. (that we'll get the services we've paid for, or that people will do what they said they'll do) just doesn't exist between strangers there.

Again, it's coming from someone who's never been there, so... Maybe someone with more current experience (*cough* Salil *cough*) can give us a more recent picture of things. If anyone has something to add, please comment.

John

Weather - what to expect.

Hello all,

If you were wondering about how to pack for the trip to India, here's a graph with the average high and low temperatures (and humidity) in Bombay. January is the best time to be there if you, like me, prefer cooler and less humid weather.

It never rains in the "winter months", from November end until the beginning of March. The rain is mostly restricted to the months of June through September.

If you are traveling elsewhere, while in India, I'd recommend checking weather conditions there. The temperature varies considerably, it is especially chilly in certain parts of the country, e.g. Delhi, in the winter months.

I found the numbers for this graph from 2 sources, weather.com and BBC. There's a very nice BBC weather page, which should include most of the major cities in India (http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/). The only problem with that one is that it gives you the temps in Celcius, so you'd have to convert to Fahrenheit. The other site is weather.com, but it is tricky to get to the "Averages" from the overview page. As an example here's the site for the average temperatures in Delhi.

I will try to find and post some information about recommended vaccinations and about getting a visa etc. next time.

Cheers!
Radhika

Planning Update

So, the planning is going forward and we've reserved the location for the ceremony. It's good news, because if we do nothing else at least we'll have a big room with food.

Also, we're getting our clothes picked out. That sums it up.

Now you can return to being surprised that I wrote something here before the wedding in January.

John