take a number, have a seat

so getting the visa for india is very much like being in india. first of all, you have to find your way to nbc towers, which is an island in itself, with parking lots that cost upwards of $25, so it's best to be dropped off or walk in from somewhere else. and you have to know the shape of the building in order to find it. tricky. you can apply for visa mon-fri 9-12:30 (excluding the dozens of muslim/hindu/christian holidays and gandhi's birthday) and pick it up between 3:30-5. so we arrived friday around 10. jeff took the day off work, cause there's no other way to do this. at least 150 people ahead of us, our "number" says 39, the digital sign says 02, and they are calling 116 (?) with the next number being 48! we do not know how high these numbers go before it is at zero again. very low rent, no speakers, just one quiet indian whispering numbers (i can't even listen to my new ipod nano) and have to sit on my coat on the floor because all the leather furniture is taken by snoozing indians-ONE person working while 300 india loving suckers sit and wait and wait and wait and wait....
we stayed almost 3 hours only to be told, "you must return next tuesday between 4-5. we are giving our staff the day off because they work so hard."

i come back when told, stand in a line to collect numbers, sit, sit, sit, half an hour later, the entire room gets in 3 lines-left for miscellaneous, right for visa, middle for i'm not sure. no numbers called, dude in front of me is 68, i am 29......he is from turkey, we strike up an amusing conversation about india, he is going to bangalore, chinese woman joins in, we all have a laughing party over all of this......and in an hour i am out the door swooning over our unbelievable chicago skyline and missing home already.
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3 time's a charm

this will be my 3rd trip to the indian subcontinent in 3 consecutive years. i waited 7 months after the first, and 9 after the second. let's see if i stick to the plan. these are the places i plan to visit. the north west!!!
arrive in bombay, fly to amritsar, punjab on the pakistan border to see the golden temple and hang with sikhs, watch the border guards do their competitive dance visit the rat temple, than to dharamsala-where all the exiled tibetans live, including the dali lahma, than to various places in rajasthan (udaipur, jodphur, jaipur, etc.) and through gujarat back to bombay. 3 weeks later, i go back to kerala and mysore for yoga, jeff goes home.
will be travelling on planes,trains,busses, autos,camels,and rickshaws.

stay tuned.....i will arrive on november 26th