The Indian visa, end of the story

Celebrations!

The envelope was waiting, patiently, in the mailbox, right next to the door. The priority mail could mean just one thing. The Indian visa!

So my passport came back, with the Indian visa in it, in the imparted time. Only problem : it will have cost me twice the price and two trips to Ottawa instead of one. Other problem, since I now have a journalist visa in my passport, I won't be able to stay vague about my job when I'll cross borders everywhere else. Lesson learned.

Other lesson : double check every information before sending the visa request.

Buying the flight

Before I change my mind, I bought the flight that will have me landing in New Delhi on January 5th.

For that, I noticed the price of the flight was 400 $ higher in just one month. 100 $ more than the week before. And that is for the cheapest one. Not necessarily the one I wanted.

I searched on flights comparators I didn't know about, like momondo.com and google.com/flights (no, I hadn't realized  Google had started comparing flights). I also tried on the usual websites like Expedia.ca or priceline.com.

Results were not convincing for the length of the flights, the number of stops or the arrival time. I was about to give up when I took a last chance. I've already written it, flight comparators are not all comparing the price for the same companies. That is when I found a flight on Emirates, a company well known for the quality of service. A company I didn't get the chance to fly on yet.

Before booking, I checked on Emirates website itself... where the same flight was cheaper. Economies : 120 $.

Other than the website problems which delayed my booking for 24 hours, I was done with the problems. At least I hope so. Direction India as soon as the new year starts : visa and flight in hand.

Nomination

A simple word to ask you to vote for me at the MIB Awards. My blog is nominated.

The Indian visa saga

The ones who are used to my blog already know I don't like to ask for visas. Always complicated, lots of forms to fill, always that feeling I gave the wrong answers.

Yes, I understand why. It's only that I don't have any other intention than visiting, than feeling the countries culture. If everybody was planning on doing the same, we wouldn't need a visa.

I stressed to get the Chinese visa. I almost had urticaria for the Brazilian visa. I had to work hard to get the Cuban visa.

And the adventures keep on coming for the Indian visa. Because I decided to leave for a month in January, I wanted to get a lead to be one step ahead. The flights are cheaper when bought several months ahead. But to book a flight, one must be sure they will be able to leave.

So I went for a tourist visa. I filled the form online, checked each information at least three times and drove to Ottawa to hand my application directly. If there is a problem, they will tell me.

At BLS office, the agency that will take care of the application, one can only pay cash or with debit. It will take seven to ten days, I'm told, before the visa is ready.

"If I wrote I'm a journalist, will there be any problem?" I ask.

Stop. Smarter people will say I should avoid talking about my job. I chose honesty... Just to see. End of the pause.

"No problem. Since you're asking for a tourist visa, there will be no problem" I'm told.

Loud buzzer telling me it's wrong!

Got a call, two weeks later, telling me my request was denied. Tourist or not, I need a journalist visa. The difference? The price, higher, and the length of stay, shorter.

The call center being unable to answer all my questions, I went back to Ottawa to hand a second request, which is still in treatment.

They gave me excuses, but no discount. I had to pay again, even if I had asked all the questions the first time and they gave me the wrong answers. I told them they should put the right information on their website. They said they would make the corrections. Nothing has changed to this day.

In the mean time, I hear a lot of bad stories from visa applicants... I prefer having faith. The decision should come before the end of the week.

But if India doesn't want me, I'll go somewhere else...

A word about Peru

I reached a decision! In just about a month, I'll hit the road again. Finally!

So I'll leave for Peru, where I plan, of course, to see the famous Machu Picchu. I should then stop in Lima, Arequipa and Cuzco before a pause near Lake Titicaca. I will then continue on to La Paz, Bolivia, where I'll board the plane home.

Small information point about Machu Picchu, which one can reach in many different ways. The most famous one for trekkers probably is the Inca Trail, known to be one of the five most beautiful treks in the world. The trails goes past some Inca ruins. It reaches an altitude of 4200 meters, which can bring altitude sickness.

There are other treks since there are many other ways to reach the summit. We decided to try our luck at the Inca Trail itself. For that, it is necessary to book a long time ahead, especially in high season. Only 500 people can walk the trail each day, 200 of them being tourists. The other 300 permits are solely for guides and porters.

To know if permits are available for a specific day, look on that website.

Whatever the length of the trek is, it is mandatory to get a permit only for the first day of the trek. The permits can't be exchanged, transferred or refunded. They are linked to the passport number. And you can get it through an agency.

In the many agencies, we chose Wayki Trek. This company offers to spend the night before the trek with our guide's family. We're thinking about it.

The complete list of all the companies offering the treks is available here.

With my new trekking shoes, I'm already training for the Inca Trail.