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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 20:10:05 GMT
Okay, this thread should just about cover it all for me. I'll do my travel-log on here as well, from India, when the time comes.
It's been years since I was last in India, the country that I was born in. I've had a busy life, raising my kids and doing what people do in life. My family (my sister in particular) has been asking me for years to come back and visit her. So recently when I told her I was coming, she was really happy. I was very touched. This is a woman who raised me up to the age of 5, when I left to go and live in the UK. She is 16 years older than me.
As it happens my mother will be in India when I arrive (she leaves in two weeks time from the UK). My mother spends most winters in India, and she assures me that she will be picking me up in a taxi from the airport and taking me back home to the Punjab, where the family live. The Punjab is the next province, so it will be quite a long drive. I'm really relieved that she has offered to pick me up, as I know I would have been lost otherwise. India will take some getting used to.
However, I know I will only be there, with my family, for a few days, as I plan to travel/explore more of the country. I also know this will be a challenge for me, but one I think I am finally ready for.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2012 20:12:30 GMT
btw, any comments or questions are welcome on this thread.
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Post by mossie on Nov 22, 2012 20:53:07 GMT
Go for it Deyana. I wish you luck, and bon voyage.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 0:14:08 GMT
Thank you, mossie. But I still have some time before I go. I can't believe how much there is to arrange before hand for this trip. I'm having fun, listing the places I want to see though
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 6:24:37 GMT
Generally, you are supposed to come laden with gifts, no?
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Post by bjd on Nov 23, 2012 8:32:25 GMT
When are you leaving and for how long?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 13:31:05 GMT
Kerouac, yes of course bjd, not sure of the exact date I'm leaving, sometime in the new year. And be back in the Spring-time. Be gone for several weeks in total. But I have plans to go back again in November 2013, this time for longer...
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Post by lola on Nov 23, 2012 23:27:39 GMT
We'd love to hear about your trip. Hope it all goes well.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 19:53:45 GMT
Thanks, lola. I can't help feeling a bit apprehensive about it. It's all so new to me. I really don't know what to expect. I've been looking at the various new Tablets that are out now, and am probably going to opt for purchasing one before I go. From what I know of them, they seem like the best bet. Easy to use, are light to carry and small enough not to take up too much room in the bag. Typing on a Blackberry screen - I find it's way too small. They also come with an electricity converter build in. As I understand it, I just need to purchase a plug adapter. Of course me being able to access the internet will be here and there. (Or maybe not at all for long periods of time)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 19:54:54 GMT
Actually come to think about it, that may not be a bad thing after all....
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 22:26:15 GMT
All of the new electronic equipment accepts all world voltages -- all you need are the proper prongs to be able to plug something into the wall. Lots of stores sell the "universal" model that will work anywhere. Even if you don't buy it in Canada, you will be able to find it in India.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 23:44:14 GMT
Yes, that's how it is. I think it's brilliant. I've heard that buying the adapter plugs in India is very easy to do. Mind you not all places have electricity. As a young kid living in the village I remember we had none. Zilch. And of course that meant we had no water pumps, fridges, stoves or anything that had to run on electricity either. It's a little better now though Although it comes and goes.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2012 23:45:23 GMT
Electricity surge protector plugs may not be a bad idea come to think of it.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 25, 2012 7:33:22 GMT
Deyana, you have my admiration. Feeling apprehensive would be putting it mildly for me (and I come from a continent that has many eye-popping sights) but visiting India would be a culture shock even for me. That is, visiting it the way locals would travel around, and not being escorted in air-con vehicles to the next 5 star hotel. I can't wait for your report. I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly. All of it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2012 19:01:06 GMT
tod, yes, I can just imagine the things that can be seen and found where you live. India is similar in that way. I've always wondered how I would handle certain things over there, but I guess I will find a way. Being driven around by escorts in air-con vehicles has never appealed to me. I need to be where the locals are and see things from their point of view. That to me is a 'whole' experience, rather than just a partial one. I guess the fact that I can speak Punjabi fluently and can understand and communicate in Hindi too will be a real help. I'm not going in with an illusions, I know of the poverty and strife, but that is something I need to learn about to a greater level anyway. I will report back as often as I can, and no worries, I won't be leaving out any of it. I know showing just the good side of a country won't satisfy the curious minds we have here.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 30, 2012 4:43:22 GMT
Looking forward to it!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 15:15:07 GMT
I'll do my best to reflect the reality that I see, nycgirl Those are the kind of reports or essays that always hold my interest the most. Right now, all I can think of is how much my arms hurt from the all the vaccinations I had to have
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 15:16:20 GMT
And then I get moments when I say to myself "what the heck are you letting yourself in for".
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:32:34 GMT
Finally got the visa through today. yay.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:36:29 GMT
I can't believe that I have to apply for a visa to enter a country that I was born in. Eventually I'll get around to obtaining my OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India). Which I know I am eligible for. That'll have to wait until I have more time on my hands. Right now I'm just happy to be allowed to stay in India for six months! lol.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:39:49 GMT
Now you are making me impatient for all of the rest -- your travel dates, airline, itinerary... I'm sure that it is going to be a real adventure!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:46:46 GMT
Kerouac, my mind can only handle one thing at a time. Next the tickets and the itinerary. The itinerary will be the biggest challenge for me, because I don't have a clue! I know basically what I want to see, but no idea if I'll have enough time to see/do it all and more importantly what route to take? Need to start working on this now... I think I will have to spend more time in the village than I originally thought as I have work to do on that house and farm I inherited a while back. Now that's going to be interesting.
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Post by onlymark on Dec 4, 2012 18:51:32 GMT
Right now I'm just happy to be allowed to stay in India for six months! lol. I have to chip in here deyana as regards your visa. I'm not certain of this at all but fairly sure and I don't know if it will affect you but feel it's worth mentioning -- you've got a visa - the visa states '6 months' (it's either an entry visa or a tourist visa but anyone born in India gets an entry visa I think) - the problem is that the visa is valid for 6 months - NOT that you can stay 6 months - unless you enter on the day of issue. What that means, and again I think you need to check if it will affect your plans, is that it is valid from the date of issue and expires 6 months later. So if you don't enter India until e.g. a day before your visa expires - then you can only stay for 1 day before you must leave. It's not valid for 6 months from the date of entry, but from the date of issue. Also, and to complicate matters, you can have a visa valid for 6 months but only valid for 30 days or so in the country. In effect they are valid from say, 1st December to 1st June but when you enter the country you can only stay 1 month there. The reason I say all this is that I've tripped up on Indian visas before and had to leave the country before I expected to, never mind even having a multi-entry visa but having a time limit imposed that I couldn't re-enter for. Indian visas can be complicated things - I suggest, if you haven't done so already and know what the restrictions are, that you read it carefully.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 22:20:37 GMT
Mark, I understand what you are saying. The visa I applied for was a Tourist visa, and it's good for six months. I think a Visitor's visa can be extended, but it's only for people of Indian origin, at least that's how I understood it to be. I found it simpler to apply for a tourist visa this time. But you are right in that the six months starts on the day of issue. So in fact, the time I am allowed to stay in India has already started. They have put this up on their visa site, and they also make it clear that people should wait to get the visa before buying the air-ticket, as sometimes they need further information, which can all take time. However, with me, it was quite straight forward and I was informed it would be done within 3 working days. It's taken a few more days than that, but it's done now. Thanks for informing me about this though, it made me ring the visa office just to confirm that the visa is in fact good for six months, I was told, yes, it was. So going by that, it should be good until the end of May. Hopefully, I won't get any problems once I land in India regarding this.
I don't really understand why they would have given you a six month visa and then told you you had to leave within a month. That's kind of strange, did they give you a reason for that?
I agree that an Indian visa can be complicated. It seems that most countries have tightened up their visa requirements nowadays.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2012 4:09:18 GMT
I think that in many countries, visas are issued with the potential to be valid for 3 or 6 months. However, when the immigration authorities stamp you in, they can decide on the spot to limit the validity with their rubber stamp "authorised to enter for ___ days." I know that in the past in Asia, I have sometimes had a visa (or visa exemption) for 30 days, and when they asked me "What is the length of your stay?" if I said "one week" they would often stamp my passport for 10 days.
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Post by onlymark on Dec 5, 2012 4:48:45 GMT
Years ago I was spending time going between India and Nepal. I had to obtain a further Indian visa in Khatmandu as the one I had was running out. It was there that they gave me a 6 month one but marked it as maximum stay 1 month. This, I think, was because I'd been in and out of the country a few times and had possibly used up most of my allotted time there. It was at one time that you could only spend so many months there each year without exiting for a certain time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2012 21:35:06 GMT
Kerouac, I am beginning to understand how it works now. It makes sense really, if you are only asking to be in the country for say - 6 weeks, there would be no reason for them to give you more time?
Mark, yes, there were probably different rules that applied at that time. You may very well have used up your allocation, at least for that year. I know that now they ask a person to be out of the country for a certain amount of time before they will let you back in again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2012 18:58:36 GMT
I think I've finally persuaded my sons to take some time off and go to India with me. Something I've been trying to do for a while now. yay. It might just be a shorter time frame for them, but a great relief for me. I really, really enjoy the company of my kids.
Itinerary wise, I'm still lost as ever. Not having paid much attention to India's touristy areas before, I can't believe how many there are! And what great distances they are from each other. I doubt that I'll have time to see all that I want. But as I'm planning to go back in November 2013 (with someone who does know his way around ) and for a longer amount of time, I will check the rest that I miss out then. As well as do more of the work I need to get done/started over there.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2012 4:38:56 GMT
Okay, I've been working real hard this evening trying to make sense of where I'm going in India and how to try and fit in all the places I want to see, without rushing too much. Here is the map and the crosses and the line show the route I intend to take: I've been trying to read up on the areas that are of interest and where they are and the route is planned around those. The journey will start up North in the Punjab, where we will stay with family for a while and then venture a little more North to see the Golden Temple, the Border ceremony on the Pakistan/India border crossing, Shimla, Ludhiana, Jalender, Delhi (Taj Mahal) and then Eastwards and Southwards and so on as indicted, until several weeks later we end up back in Delhi. I'm really excited about seeing Mumbai, Koltata (Calcutta) and Varanasi in particular
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Post by onlymark on Dec 20, 2012 6:48:26 GMT
Unless you are flying that is a big route. Nearly six thousand kilometers. Plus the extra up to Amritsar and the Wagah - Attari Border Roughly the same as a network called the Golden Quadrilateral - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_QuadrilateralUnless you knew that.
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