After working furiously to get sites out the door and classes prepped and finished before my flight date, I now discover that there's going to be a frustrating delay.
Even though I have my shots, flight, ticket, passport and money I don't yet have a Visa. Today the Indian Embassy took my passport with the visa application and told me that I'm not getting it back until Friday 30th. Then I phoned BA and they don't have more availability to Dheli until February 5th. In one morning I went from preparing to go in four days to not going for another two weeks and it costing me €100 extra on my flight price to boot. The first encounter with Indian red tape. I'm sure it won't be the last.
So, homeless in Dublin for two weeks, some of my friends gathering in Toner's on Sunday night to toast my departure and I won't be actually leaving for a week and a half later.
On the bright side, I extended my stay by another week when I changed my flight details, so I'm coming back on the 29th now and only lose four days off the entire trip. I can also confortably get the new village site done (details soon) rather than completing it in a mad rush, which is what I was looking at. I have more free time with Ailish and may go visiting freinds around the country while I'm wating.
Goddam beauracracy.
Posted by Mark at January 22, 2004 01:24 PM