Post by contributor Lindsay Clark of Nomadderwhere.
Near the middle of my travel notebook are three pages labeled "Problems," which outline the state I was in Lusaka, Zambia on my last week in Africa.
They were evacuation plans from my very vulnerable state and from the continent.
The first worrisome truth: my ATM card wouldn't work in the country, a country more expensive than my home.
Without cash, I couldn't pay for the hostel accommodations, taxis around the sprawling and scalding city, or the ever-climbing price of my Indian visa "possibility."
Able to afford one night at Chachacha Backpackers, I squeezed dry the resources at my disposal: boiled water in the kitchen for hydration washed clothes in the outdoor basins, tapped the hostel staff for detailed instructions to internet and grocery locations to avoid taxis.
Luckily, my MasterCard was accepted for the internet time I used to contact local friends that could help me.
ShopRite also let me swipe for a week's food ration: 6 eggs and few cups of rice.
The second worrisome truth: the visa to India was virtually guaranteed to take longer than my coming flights would allow.
The wise advice obtaining visas before that first wondrous jet out of your homeland.
Penny-pincher that I aim to be, I refused to get an Indian visa at home because it would have meant purchasing one year, instead of the minimum six months, to keep my travel dates valid on such a visa.
And so I tried across the globe to wrangle this coveted visa as a nomadic, budget-minded foreigner but never was I in the right place for long enough.
With a week between trucking Africa and my flight to Delhi, Lusaka was the only option at the end of this dusty road.
It's safe to say, at this point, I had done my research on Indian visas, and Lusaka's High Commission knew I was on my way, or so one would believe.
Any other establishment would have seen my preparation and advance notice as thorough and helpful, except maybe the BMV.
So, one can imagine my stupefied state when the indifferent receptionist reported the duration of the process to last up to three weeks - the same woman that told me three days over the phone.
When the High Commissioner addressed me personally, albeit in a robotic tone, that I was "up poop creek," I made my first frantic reach for the motherland in five months. I ran blurry-eyed to the US Embassy.
There are few things more annoying than a company, operation, establishment, branch, etc. whose employees abandon their human instinct to help others and refuse to do or say anything that isn't in their well-articulated job description.
These are the same people who expect everyone to know the details of their operations, while also making sure to inform you of the painfully obvious truths they assume you've forgotten or aren't smart enough to know prior.
Once again, I'm talking about immigration (and the BMV). The American Embassy wasn't all that concerned with me.
I've never had a true need for the Embassies abroad, and I assumed this fragile situation of one expiring visa, another visa's complications, and the always entertaining money troubles would merit a sympathetic, "Get-r-Dun" attitude.
Though my tears and hyperventilation were real, I allowed them to get a bit pathetic and theatrical in order to get me the thing I needed: the backing of the American government.
As Frida Kahlo once said, "Never trust a limping dog or the tears of a woman." I got help. But it cost me.
Fees out the wazoo to India. And I found myself leaving the Indian High Commission with the equivalent of about $80 less than what I needed to survive at the bare minimum for the next five days.
Was this the end of my visa troubles. Not at all.
Stay tuned for the conclusion of Lindsay's "Why I Hate the Indian Bureaucracy" tomorrow.
Lauren, Ephemerratic says
Too bad that happened. I got my Indian visa at home, and, being a budget-minded backpacking American, was able to get a 10 year visa for just $90 more than the 6 month one. The process couldn't have been easier either since the Indian Embassy has outsourced it's visa fulfillment. Yes, India outsourced something - how the tables have turned.
And, since India is one of my favorite countries, I know I'll be back to India again and again in the next 10 years. Talk about a bargain!
ShannonOD says
Oh man, I had my own "tear-out-hair" Indian visa issues in Kathmandu and it made me supremely anxious my last days in the country and I ended up paying some sort of bribe to the embassy in Kathmandu just to get it sorted out! I'm right there with you! :-)
Dave says
Wow, Lauren, $90! That is definitely the deal of the Indian century. I hadn't heard of country's outsourcing the processing of Visas. Where was that?
Dave says
Shannon - I know the process you speak of. I detailed the insanity of the week-long Indian Visa process in Kathmandu in this post:
https://gobackpacking.com/2008/05/15/ho...
It was the first time I've bribed an embassy worker/guard, but it was worth it.
ShannonOD says
That's awesome! I couldn't have outlined my own process any more succinctly - I had the exact same situation :-) Ahh, India...
Geoff says
Yep. Indonesia only gives 30 day visas on arrival. If you want 60 days, you have to apply in advance at the Indonesian embassy.
But once a visa is issued, you need to enter the country within 90 days.
Given I wasn't planning to get to Indonesia until nearly 8 months after leaving the UK, there was no way I could apply for a visa in London before leaving.
So instead, I went to the consulate in Melbourne. And they won't give me a 60 day visa because British citizens can only 60 day visas if they apply in Britain.
So it turns out to be impossible for me to get a 60 day visa. It's stupid. I want to spend 60 days in their country, I'll be spending money the whole time, which surely would be of some benefit to the country, and yet they make it impossible for me. I hate that kind of bureaucracy. So instead it looks like I'll be spending my money somewhere else!
Lauren, Ephemerratic says
Not $90 bucks total, $90 bucks more than the 6 month visa. So, essentially, if you are renewing your US passport and like to travel, get the 10 year India visa.
GlobalButterfly says
Wow, that sounds really intense! I just don't get it sometimes...I feel like the world is everyone's home. Why are there visas and passports and boundaries and state lines??? Grrr!!!
I hope it all worked out in the end for you?
Haha, love the Frida quote btw, she's one of my faves. :)
GlobalButterfly says
I just did the same thing for my Brasil visa! I don't want to have to worry about getting another one for years to come.
Dave says
I figured that experience in Kathmandu was for the record books. The funny thing is it created a whole new way to meet other travelers. I ran into an English guy I'd first met a month earlier trekking in the Annapurna region.
Dave says
Hey Geoff - that certainly sounds convoluted. And you're not even an American!
Jillian says
We got a 10 year multiple entry India visa in DC for $135. It was outsourced, we completed our application online and if I remember correctly we picked it up a few days later. Couldn't have been easier!
Jillian says
We got a 10 year multiple entry India visa in DC for $135. It was outsourced, we completed our application online and if I remember correctly we picked it up a few days later. Couldn't have been easier!
Ivan says
Most Indian organizations are run by bureaucratic idiots who do nothing but answer phones and refer to another phone number. Processing a visa should take 3-4 days like in the Chinese embassy, but the Indians only manage to do so in 30 days. If you want a visa to India, keep that in mind.