I Bow to Thee, Mother India!

by: Vaniedosa

12th of November 2012

"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind." - C.S. Lewis

As I glanced at this quote on the New Delhi airport's advertisement board, I was so itching to head back to my home country and leave this country behind while its own people were partaking the celebration of Diwali, popularly known as India's Festival of Lights. Through all my senses, I know there are far better things why I keep wanting to come back home.

On this day, we were saying goodbye to India while others marked their calendars so as not to miss this traditional holiday no matter what. The simple reason we didn't opt to stay for Diwali was simple Mathematics, "others" was way way more than "two (of us)". (I and bestfriend went). We didn't want to compete against the many locals and tourists in every way on getting in, around and out of the country with the second highest population in the world. Besides, at this point before we embarked, we thought and felt that we already have had more than enough of this so called land of thousand colors. Yes, more than enough. Err, well, just for now...

Getting a Tourist Visa - India

Citizens of the Philippines are one the eleven (11) countries granted by India for a Visa on Arrival (VOA) if entering through Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata Airports along with Finland, NZ, Vietnam, Myanmar, Japan, SG, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Cambodia and Laos. VOA is only granted to tourists for purposes of tourism, sight-seeing, casual meeting with friends and business visit and short medical treatment with a maximum period of thirty (30) days. Upon arrival at the designated ports of entry, one should present:

> passport with 6 months validity plus a photocopy

> 2 passport size photographs

> hotel booking confirmation

> return airline tickets

> USD60 visa fee

Otherwise, a visa should be applied as early as 2 months before departure. For Philippines, the processing is being handled by a third-party contractor - BLS International. 

India in a Snap

Few days from being lost in translation in China, we again packed our bags, hopped on a plane and immersed ourselves with yet another intriguing world. 

around the streets of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur - India's Golden Triangle