Obtaining a Visa to India

Sample Visa from: http://www.culture-4-travel.com

Now I am no stranger to the process of getting a visa but I have to report getting a visa to India was more complicated than any previous visa's I have obtained. 

I am lucky because there is a Indian Consulate in Washington, DC but if there is not a Consulate near you be prepared to mail your passport to the closest consulate. Since may will be mailing in their passports you MUST plan in advance for your trip. The Indian embassy requests you NOT book your plane ticket until you obtain your visa. 

India only offers three Visa time lengths: 6 Months, 5 Years, 10 years and they offers single and multiple entry visa's. You are always going to want to get a multiple entry visa because even if you just went on a day trip outside India you will not be readmitted. Now a 5 to 10 year visa may be helpful for someone who will be visiting family that lives there permanently. Since my mom is there for only 2 years I would be eligible to apply for the 5 year then according to the consulate the Embassy issue me 2 of the 5 years if I was eligible  I decided to only get the 6 month visa when I was applying because when I filled out the application online I was not aware I was eligible to apply for the 5 year so I only brought enough cash for the 6 month visa. The embassy only accept money orders, cash, and checks and since almost no one uses checks anymore I had cash and not enough with me to apply for the 5 year visa.

These are the steps to obainting your visa to India

1. Go Here: Indian Visa
2. Click "Need an Indian Visa"
3. You will be routed here: BLS Visa Services
4. From here you decide if you will be applying in person or postal
5. Once you decide click the "Apply Here" button
6. Do a Document Check depending on the visa you need here:Document Check
7. Then just follow the steps listed and you will have everything you need 

The only document I did not know I needed and had to WALK to obtain was a photo copy of my State ID that was to be used as proof of address. I had to also bring a printed copy of my application, my passport, and a passport sized photos

Tip: If you have to get a new passport sized photo go to your local drug store and get the 2 passport photos for the $15 then ask for an extra page of them sometimes like 12-15 and they will only charge you .30 cents extra per picture for future use. 

Thank you for visiting my travel blog

Please follow me and feel Free to contact me with questions or comments!

Twitter: @TanyaNeshat

Facebook: TanyaNeshat

Email: TanyaNeshat@gmail.com

China Part 2 Zhouzhuang Ancient Water Town - Venice of Shanghai

China Part 2 Zhouzhuang Ancient Water Town - Venice of Shanghai

Going to Zhouzhuang was something totally new and I had gone to while in China before. Zhouzhuang is about an hour and half outside of Shanghai, you will have to hire a driver for the day but it is worth the expense ($100). This city dates back to I believe 755 BC, it was amazing to experience this city. You can ride Gondola's and have the chinese ladies sing to you for a price ;). People do actually live in these water towns today but, you will have to pay admission to get in ($20) and that includes exhibits of the houses many of the generals lived in. You can only go in each exhibit once with your ticket, if you lose your ticket you cannot get into these smaller exhibits. As far as food I am an extremely picky eater so it was really hard to find me to find food but I did find one place that offered pizza. Zhouzhuang is an extremely tourist funded town so as you walk around there are sellers everywhere trying to get you into their shops. I did find a set of 4 pictures for less than $10 dollars that I love, they depict the seasons in Zhouzhuang. Below are pictures from our adventure in Zhouzhuang. I consider this a MUST do next time you are in Shanghai.

Thank you for visiting my travel blog

Please follow me and feel Free to contact me with questions or comments!

Twitter: @TanyaNeshat

Facebook: TanyaNeshat

Email:TanyaNeshat@Gmail.com 

China January 2013 Part 1 Mutianyu and The Peking Opera at The Egg

Hello Again Everyone!

I've totally taken my time since my last trip posting about it! Sorry about that! I am a student so I've been super busy with classes, but now I am going to be giving you all a little insight into my latest trip to China! This trip I took one of my aunts so the trip was a little bit repetitive HOWEVER I have to say going to China in the Winter while it was very very Cold it was a great time for sight seeing since no one was at any of the sights and I have to tell you I got some of my best pictures ever.

Mutianyu Winter Time 

Mutianyu - The Great Wall of China <-- Click the Link for more detailed information on going to Mutianyu

I went to Mutianyu again with my aunt and my mom just because my aunt has never been to the Great Wall of China.  Going to Mutianyu is a perfect Great Wall Day Trip - we left early in the morning from Beijing went to see the wall then went to lunch at The School House, saw a glass blowing show and headed home.  I  was happy to see it again because I wanted to see it with SNOW! It was very cold but also extremely beautiful! Defiantly didn't do a long trek like last time but if you wanted to now would be a good time since you could get amazing pictures. 

The Peking Opera at "The Egg"

"The Egg" as is a nickname for The National Center for Preforming Arts in Beijing. It it named this because well it looks like an egg and when the water around "The Egg" reflects it correctly you can see the whole egg shape.  You have to go to "The Egg" during the day in order to buy tickets, there is a metro stop right inside of "The Egg" to see the shows visit their website http://www.chncpa.org

The Peking Opera is one of the first things that I was looking at that I wanted to go see, and what better place to look for one than the National Preforming Arts Centre in Beijing. The National Centre is a tourist spot on its own. Now some things to know about going to a Peking Opera, it is NOT for everyone they sing in very HIGH pitched voices, it is visual beautiful though, some americans find the need for ear plugs since they can't deal with the pitch. Personally I didn't think it was that bad however since it is all in Chinese it was hard to follow the story, I would almost recommend bringing someone who could help you follow the story. We didn't stay for the whole thing because we were confused and had seen enough of the beauty of the show to satisfy out tourism. Do not bring Camera's or large bags to the Opera because you will be required to use their bag check system. Below is a Youtube video of a Peking Opera so you can get an idea of what to expect. 

The pictures below are when we saw the show so it is all lit up inside and of us checking it out during the day to be able to see "The Egg" reflection correctly.

Thank you for visiting my travel blog

Please follow me and feel Free to contact me with questions or comments!

Twitter: @TanyaNeshat

Facebook: TanyaNeshat

Email:TanyaNeshat@Gmail.com