November 8, 2007
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Visa Nightmare
Would you believe it took nine hours to obtain a visa for my forthcoming trip to India? When I’d applied for a visa for my visit to China back in March, the process was simple: queued for an hour and upon reaching the counter at the Chinese Consulate, handed over my visa application form, passport and cash. I was then informed to return to collect the passport with the visa in two days time. It was even better during my trip to Cambodia – the visa was issued on arrival.
My arrival at the India High Commission at 8am was greeted with a sight of a queue stretching back two blocks. You have to queue to collect a queue number with a stamped date and time for you to return to hand in your visa application. After queuing for over an hour, my return time was stamped for 2pm on the same day. I was lucky. Some people have to return a day or more later. As I’d expected, the hall was heavily crowded at 2pm. I’d observed that one has to move like Speedy Gonzalez because once your number appears on the board and you’re not at the counter within a second, the next number immediately appears.
Two hours later, my number came up and I’d raced to the counter like a raging sprinter on steriods. Apparently, due to my occupation working in the media my application was referred to a shifty looking Indian in a dark suit. As I’d fretfully waited, questions flowed through my mind in the event of my application being rejected: will the air miles I’d used for this flight be recredited? Will I have time to make alternative travel plans? Will I ever get the chance to taste whether the curry in India is as good as in the UK? And that bloke does look extremely shifty with that dodgy bushy moustache. After five minutes, shifty bloke returned with approval for my application and telling me to return to the same counter. The assistant at the counter then politely informed me that my visa will only be valid for three months instead of the usual six due to my job in the media. What kind of discrimation is this?!
That was followed by more waiting around for one guy to dispense passports finalised with visas. Then he’d disappearred never to return. After another thirty minutes when the assistants had finished processing all the waiting applicants’ forms, two of them then progressed to dispense the passports with visas. A scrum had formed around those two particular counters. Your numbers would be called out very quickly and if you don’t hand in your receipt in that millisecond, tough luck.
By the time I’d left having collected my passport containing the precious visa it was already 5pm. During the frustrating wait, I had chatted with two applicants of Asian descent. I was informed that India itself is just as disorganised as the flawed and stupid system employed by the India High Commission. “Welcome to India,” they’d joked.
It was rather disconcerting. I hope that my previous travel experiences in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines will have prepared me for a deluge of the unexpected. Bring it on, India.
USA Trip
Las Vegas – 20th-25th September 2007 Continued
Did I mention that Vegas is also a phalanx of gorgeous women? I have never seen so many stunning beauties in one place although I suspect most of them migrated to Sin City for the weekend, with a large percentage originating from Los Angeles. The Planet Hollywood Hotel Casino has the most attractive dancers on display.
The MGM Grand at night
The lobby of the MGM Grand
The Red Bar at the MGM Grand…it was quiet because the photo was taken during the day
The Excalibur
New York New York
Casino floor at New York New York
The Bellagio with the fountain show
It was unbelieveable how many cameras were pointed at the fountains that I’d wondered if these people got to watch the actual show, and appreciate it.
The lobby of the Bellagio
One of the wings at the Bellagio
Jean-Philippe Maury Chocolate Factory at the Bellagio
Chocolate Fountain
Some info
Funny looking tree at the Bellagio
Still at the Bellagio
Designer shops at the Bellagio
The Fremont Street Experience – visual light show every hour
An acrobat show. By the time my zoom lens was fitted it was over.
Another music show
As seen in the movies and TV shows whenever the setting of Vegas is depicted
A small fee is charged for posing with them for photographs
A taste of the old style Vegas
The Pirates Show at the Treasure Island Hotel – extremely congested with onlookers as expected
Ship with cannons!
Pyrotechnics!
And scantily clad female dancers! Unfortunately, this was as far as my zoom lens could reach as we stood away from the sardine can crowd.
When I last saw the show back in 1996, it was much different to now. The songs and costumes were more flamboyant reminiscent of the Golden Age of movies (think MGM musicals and Errol Flynn period films). Now the show is all sexed up and infused with a more techno beat for music to accompany it.
Cool looking motorcycle on display inside Treasure Island
Waterfall at the Mirage
Pic taken with camera phone
It was all too much for this guy
View of the Luxor from Las Vegas Airport – looks really tacky with the advertising.
San Francisco International Airport for my flight back to London.
The three of us thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would have no hesitation in returning to Vegas to do what we’d missed out on due to time constraints. I never got all the shots I wanted to take, and my mood in addition to the crowds prevented me from using a tripod at night. I did notice after 11pm when the streets became more devoid of tourists, solo photographers emerged gleefully planting their tripods. Still, even though none of my photos in Vegas were shot using a tripod I’m pleased with some of them.
Shooting in India should prove a more fastidious challenge as I will be travelling solo.
Starting Salary
Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked the young MBA fresh out of MIT, “And what starting salary were you looking for?”
The candidate said, “In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”
The HR Person said, “Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every 2 years – say, a red Corvette?”
The Engineer sat up straight and said, “Wow!!! Are you kidding?”
And the HR Person said, “Certainly, but you started it.”
Little Boys Love Her
(I wonder why…)
Comments (15)
what? no pics of those beautiful women in vegas??? c’mon!
Yikes I didn’t know that going to India could be such a hassle =-P . Stay warm !!
You are such a travel buggy! Any particular reason for India?
haha who is the short shorts performer? The Bellagio lobby ceiling is vibrant.
My parents just got back from India. My uncle owns a software company near Hydrabad. They’re always talking about how everybody and everything is so inefficient.
Wow, your trip to India sounds like it’s gonna be interesting…sounds like the Philippines on inefficiency, it drove me friggin’ nuts! Why do you want to stay there for six months? Dude, I wish I could go…
Yeah the pics are gorgeous with all those colors!
Heh-heh, And who is the female performer above?
i felt the concentration of beautiful people was higher in miami. i swore everyone there was tanned and toned!
lovely photos as always. j loved that last photo of the performer. he cracked up even more when i pointed out that one boy was taking a pic with his camera phone and another looked like he was about to!
when i applied for my indian visa it was also a mess… too much bureaucracy…..
I think India will surely be an interesting experience provided you don’t spend too much time in the toilets (oh, there’s absolutely no public toilets by the way! people just piss by the roadsides I heard…) “just walk closer to the traffic” was the advice friends gave me when I considered visiting India… In any case, I’m sure you’ll capture a myriad of fascinating shots! Please take lots of pics! Have a good trip!
hahahaha nice HR funny. =) can’t believe that getting a visa to vist india was such a nightmare….a queue to get a number for another queue! ridiculous!!! well, i hope that the trip makes up for it. nice pics of vegas.
Weird. Did they explain why the difference of three months in the visas?
I hate Vegas, but you have some fantastic photos!
When I teach at Roosevelt Middle School, I have to walk pass the India Consulate due to parking. There is always a long line of people that look like they were waiting for hours.
Also, that consulate had a big scandal that I blogged about where instead of shredding sensitive personal information about people who applied for visas, they instead just dumped it at a recycling area that anyone could have rummaged through.
Sensitive
data dumped at recycling center – Indian Consulate tossed visa
applications from business, political figures at S.F. facility
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/MNGHNNTLI81.DTL&hw=india+consulate+shred&sn=001&sc=1000
I blogged about this, and then made copies and gave it to people to read while they were waiting in the long line. Check out my article, and imagine yourself reading it while waiting in the line:
http://www.xanga.com/Kevin72/568725309/item.html
have fun in india!
vegas is always fun =)
Nine Hours! That’s Nuts! Atleast you got your visa.. it would have sucked if you’d not have gotten your visa, and still waited for 9 hours. How long are you staying in india anyway? O_O
Ryc: I didn’t have to work until 4.30 anyway. PLUS, I didn’t actually count on staying there as long as I did. But it was all good. It just sucked that I missed my bus.
I love the lobby and the garden area at the Bellagio. That casino is gorgeous. If you want to be surrounded by beautiful women, try Scottsdale AZ. I swear there are so many pretty women here.