I've gotten mixed reactions when I tell people that I am going to India for vacation. Half of them are along the lines of, "Wow! Oh my God, how exciting!" while others are a simple, confused, blunt, "Why?"
To put it all in context, I am not Indian; I do not have family or friends currently in India; and this is the first international trip I am taking (again, not counting Canada). However, I am Muslim, Afghan-American, and I pretty much grew up on Bollywood movies. India has always been a dream destination and I have a variety of reasons for wanting to go. To start with, the history and culture are just mind-boggling. I want to visit a place where I can admire sights and structures that have been around for hundreds, if not a thousand, years; where civilizations have rose and fell; where beauty and grandeur abound among ruins. I want to be in a place with fellow Muslims and where I can get a sense of what a real Muslim community, with multiple mosques and public calls to prayer, feels like. I want to be in a place where I develop a better understanding of what people go through in a developing country. I'm going in with an open mind, an open heart, a sense of adventure and I am willing to have my world turn upside down for a few weeks but to personally grow from what will hopefully be an amazing experience.
Oh, and shopping. I just adore Indian textiles and crafts.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Getting Ready for INDIA!
In 24 hours I will be heading to the airport.
This past year I have gotten accustomed to traveling via air: one family trip, one girls trip, four interview trips. However, what makes it different this time is that I will be going on my first international flight. Well, not technically, since I have flown twice to Canada (but then again, I don't really count that as "going abroad"). I have been completely sleep deprived this whole week and mired in my typical anxiety. Have I printed out all relevant documents? Set up my bill pay for the next month? How do I pack light? Etc, etc etc.
If there is one thing I've learned though, it's that the best laid plans can go ridiculously astray. I've also learned that that's not necessarily a bad thing. Therefore, I'm going into this with an open mind and a willingness to just wing it and go with the flow.
However, it was quite a process even getting ready for this trip!
First off was the visa application. Travisa Outsourcing handles the visa process for the Indian Consulate and as much as I'd like to say it was easy peasy that was hardly the case. The government of India is very particular and difficult to please. I had to watch the video on the Travisa website a couple times to make sure I got every part filled out correctly; had to reaffirm several times that yes, I am a US citizen; had to upload my passport photos and signatures; and generally had to be paranoid about triple, nay, quadruple-checking to make sure every little piece was done correctly because Travisa just loves to warn you that "this application will be delayed" if it's not. I also had to send in a copy of my driver's license and obtain a money order. The real kicker was having to send in my physical passport. As reliable as FedEx may be, it's no easy feeling to send off this all important item and hope it will safely return to you (with visa affixed). I sent in the application exactly four weeks before my trip and it arrived two weeks later (granted, this was during the holiday season).
Next up was booking rail tickets, another seemingly herculean task. Since some point last year, it has become very difficult to obtain Indian rail reservations because part of the sign-up process includes getting a code through email (no problemo) and a code through an Indian mobile phone number (uh oh...) There is a great website, www.seat61.com, and it walks through the process step-by-step. Basically, I had to sign-up through cleartrip.com which then diverted me to the irctc (Indian Rail) website to get those codes. I then emailed irctc customer service, with my username and an uploaded picture of my passport, explaining that I will be touring in India and require an SMS code to complete the sign up process. Within 24 hours I received a reply with the code and the rest was smooth sailing.
Rail tickets can be booked one-way only, with different seat/berth classes to choose from. I'm a female, traveling with two other older females, so I chose to book first class tickets (otherwise known as AC1). It seemed the most convenient option for us and we'll see how that ends up! Planning ahead is crucial here because tickets do sell out fast!
Figuring out the itinerary was a bit of fun. We'll be based in New Delhi and will do a day trip to Agra, while spending two nights each in Jaipur and Ajmer. My aunt's brother stayed in a particular guesthouse in Delhi and Ajmer so she set those up, but I used tripadvisor.com to find a reputable guesthouse in Jaipur. I checked out several, filled out reservation forms on their websites (which are really inquiries into the rates) and then chose the guesthouse with the best rate.
Finally, I registered on the US State Department's website to let the government know of my pending trip (should any unfortunate mishaps occur) as well as to receive email updates of any pertinent information for US travelers.
I printed out several copies of the rail tickets, hotel reservations, and travel insurance. I have yet to do the same with the passports and visas. And I haven't even finished packing yet! It's going to be a long 24 hours, given all of the other errands I have to do, and hopefully I can find time to fit in sleep somewhere there... it's 4 am already!
This past year I have gotten accustomed to traveling via air: one family trip, one girls trip, four interview trips. However, what makes it different this time is that I will be going on my first international flight. Well, not technically, since I have flown twice to Canada (but then again, I don't really count that as "going abroad"). I have been completely sleep deprived this whole week and mired in my typical anxiety. Have I printed out all relevant documents? Set up my bill pay for the next month? How do I pack light? Etc, etc etc.
If there is one thing I've learned though, it's that the best laid plans can go ridiculously astray. I've also learned that that's not necessarily a bad thing. Therefore, I'm going into this with an open mind and a willingness to just wing it and go with the flow.
However, it was quite a process even getting ready for this trip!
First off was the visa application. Travisa Outsourcing handles the visa process for the Indian Consulate and as much as I'd like to say it was easy peasy that was hardly the case. The government of India is very particular and difficult to please. I had to watch the video on the Travisa website a couple times to make sure I got every part filled out correctly; had to reaffirm several times that yes, I am a US citizen; had to upload my passport photos and signatures; and generally had to be paranoid about triple, nay, quadruple-checking to make sure every little piece was done correctly because Travisa just loves to warn you that "this application will be delayed" if it's not. I also had to send in a copy of my driver's license and obtain a money order. The real kicker was having to send in my physical passport. As reliable as FedEx may be, it's no easy feeling to send off this all important item and hope it will safely return to you (with visa affixed). I sent in the application exactly four weeks before my trip and it arrived two weeks later (granted, this was during the holiday season).
Next up was booking rail tickets, another seemingly herculean task. Since some point last year, it has become very difficult to obtain Indian rail reservations because part of the sign-up process includes getting a code through email (no problemo) and a code through an Indian mobile phone number (uh oh...) There is a great website, www.seat61.com, and it walks through the process step-by-step. Basically, I had to sign-up through cleartrip.com which then diverted me to the irctc (Indian Rail) website to get those codes. I then emailed irctc customer service, with my username and an uploaded picture of my passport, explaining that I will be touring in India and require an SMS code to complete the sign up process. Within 24 hours I received a reply with the code and the rest was smooth sailing.
Rail tickets can be booked one-way only, with different seat/berth classes to choose from. I'm a female, traveling with two other older females, so I chose to book first class tickets (otherwise known as AC1). It seemed the most convenient option for us and we'll see how that ends up! Planning ahead is crucial here because tickets do sell out fast!
Figuring out the itinerary was a bit of fun. We'll be based in New Delhi and will do a day trip to Agra, while spending two nights each in Jaipur and Ajmer. My aunt's brother stayed in a particular guesthouse in Delhi and Ajmer so she set those up, but I used tripadvisor.com to find a reputable guesthouse in Jaipur. I checked out several, filled out reservation forms on their websites (which are really inquiries into the rates) and then chose the guesthouse with the best rate.
Finally, I registered on the US State Department's website to let the government know of my pending trip (should any unfortunate mishaps occur) as well as to receive email updates of any pertinent information for US travelers.
I printed out several copies of the rail tickets, hotel reservations, and travel insurance. I have yet to do the same with the passports and visas. And I haven't even finished packing yet! It's going to be a long 24 hours, given all of the other errands I have to do, and hopefully I can find time to fit in sleep somewhere there... it's 4 am already!
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