Rather than count sheep, I put the time to good use. Filling in the on line visa application for India. I remember in the olden days, you tipped up at a foreign embassy, filled out a form, gave them two passport photo's, your passport and some money. A couple of hours later you collected your passport with a sticky visa inside. Even more recently the VOA (visa on arrival) process actually did it at your destination airport. In the main, it's not like that now. Especially if you are oversea's already. India is a case in point. They have outsourced their visa process to an external company. Makes sense I suppose. The immigration department outsourcing their core business. (Doh!).
What happens now is infinitely slicker. You don't go to the Indian embassy for a visa. You fill in an online form (on a crap website that constantly kicks you out). You then print off the form, take it to the outsourced company (which is next door to the Indian Embassy in Bangkok). They take your money, take the paperwork to the Indian embassy to be processed. The Indian embassy issue the visa, takes the paperwork back to the outsourced company which is next door to the Indian Embassy, who then give you back your passport with the sticky visa in it. The whole process takes five days.....
I have since found out that the UK adopts the same process. Only it takes seven days.....
Anyway, that's how it should go. Having filled out my on line form - three times - I finally got to the end and was issued with a reference number. I was requesting a six month, multiple entry visa as I would be flying from Bangkok to Delhi, having a few days in Delhi, before flying on to Kathmandu. After a couple of months in Nepal I would be heading back, overland through India to New Delhi. The whole trip would take about four and a half months. Hence a 6 month visa.
Surprisingly, after all that I was still in the 'wide awake club' so started looking at flights etc..
I had decided that Friday would be 'sort the visa out day' . After breakfast I called at an Internet cafe and printed off the required paperwork. I already had the two photographs, so, having put everything together, headed off to the outsourced office next to the Indian embassy. My intention was to take a taxi to the nearest BTS sky train station and then hop on the sky train for Sukhumit Road. The taxi driver quoted 200 baht. Halfway through the journey he asked why I was going to Siam Square and offered to take me the whole way for 400 Baht. I agreed 350 Baht, time was getting on.
Once there it was surprisingly empty, a good sign I thought. I was issued with a ticket and within 5 minutes was at the counter. The lady from the outsourced company, while very pleasant tried to to tell me to apply nearer my intended travel date so I could get a 3 month visa. I tried to explain to her that I didn't intend coming back to Bangkok and anyway I would be entering India on the 4th August and leaving on the 4th December so a 3 month visa would be useless. After much discussion she got my point. But it was tricky, despite the fact that 12 month Visa's are given away in cornflake packets back home, Thailand is different. A 6 month visa requires confirmation of flights in and out of the country, a letter of request to the embassy and an interview with a member of the Indian consular staff. I was given a piece of paper to give the rationale for the request. I also needed to book the flights so rather hurriedly found an Internet cafe and booked the flights with the old favourite, Air Asia. I got back to the embassy 20 minutes before closing and was given an 9.00am appointment for Monday to see a consular official and hopefully get the visa granted. We shall see....
Rather than a taxi, I took the sky train back to Siam Square and a taxi to Khao San Road. My hotel has a swimming pool on the roof. I thought I may relax for a couple of hours and take in the sun. I thought wrong, the heavens opened so I went for a beer or two.
Over an ice cold tiger I reflected how I'd missed the Koreans taking photo 's of everything and everyone. How I'd missed the ladies in the silly hats selling wooden frogs and wrist bands and how I'd missed the touts trying to rip me off. I'm still puzzled how a devout Buddhist, who has to be good to improve his Karma to be reincarnated and come back as something nice finds it so easy to do everything possible to rob you blind! Is it coincidence that Bangkok has so many rats?
At least it's the weekend.......
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Thanon Khao San,Bangkok,Thailand
No comments:
Post a Comment