Applying for another Indian tourist visa in Colombo, Sri Lanka

johnny five · Apr 18th, 2009, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by mushika

(I posted this elsewhere on indiamike.com but got no replies) Please Help!

Because of current unrest in Thailand I've now decided to head to Colombo instead of the previously planned Bangkok to apply for another Indian Visa.

Can someone recommend a budget ($10-12 US) guest house which is convenient to both the India Visa Centre on Galle Road and the India High Commission where the interview is held?

Thanks

Are you aware that both Columbo and Kandy visa offices are reported to have introduced a "blanket" 3 month visa rule?

mushika · Apr 18th, 2009, 13:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnny five

Are you aware that both Columbo and Kandy visa offices are reported to have introduced a "blanket" 3 month visa rule?

Yes, I am.

atala · Apr 18th, 2009, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by mushika

Can someone recommend a budget ($10-12 US) guest house which is convenient to both the India Visa Centre on Galle Road and the India High Commission where the interview is held?

Thanks

I have not stayed in any places other than some Buddhist monastery in Colombo, so I cannot recommend a specific guest-house. I can only assure you that Colombo (meaning ripe/sweet mango, colo-ambo) is real easy to navigate. You can easily take buses, they are not as crowded as the ones in India. So if you stay in the Fort area, the downtown of Colombo, you should be able to find a suitable place. Colombo is rather small and spacious. You are quickly out in the lush green surroundings. It is rather astonishing if one expects a large noisy metro.

Another option that I could recommend is to go to Kandy for the visa. I have heard it is easier to get it there than in Colombo. There I could recommend you a place where you spend around $4 per night incl meals. Kandy is nice and cool, so it should be convenient for you to go there.

The Colombo Airport is almost as close to Kandy as it is to Colombo. So you are not giving away anything.

mushika · Apr 18th, 2009, 22:11

15 years ago my wife and I were in both Colombo and Kandy on our way to Thailand, from India. Don't remember much. Maybe Kandy would be better for the visa wait if it otherwise would make no bureaucratic difference. So, yes, thanks, atala. if you can point us to a nice place we'd have a good start.

atala · Apr 18th, 2009, 22:47

Oh my, I assumed you were alone. It may not be suitable for the two of you, what I thought might be okay for a single visitor, namely a stay in a yoga/meditation center. But maybe it would suit you anyway as a stepping stone to something else?

http://www.buddhanet-de.net/lewella/index.htm

There is nothing communal enforced there, and you are completely free to spend your day as you like.

Other places with more privacy in the area are within your price range, though, as not many tourists are visiting these days.

mushika · Apr 19th, 2009, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by atala

Oh my, I assumed you were alone. It may not be suitable for the two of you, what I thought might be okay for a single visitor, namely a stay in a yoga/meditation center . . .
Other places with more privacy in the area are within your price range, though, as not many tourists are visiting these days.

Yes, I should have written I am with my wife. From their web-site it seems they don't offer facilities for couples. Darn, it looks fine otherwise. (Glimpsed the other shore.)

I see your info in a March 9 post which I'll follow regarding how to get to Kandy. Thanks, atala.

atala · Apr 19th, 2009, 17:51

In case you have a tangential interest in meditation and are not completely against light yoga exercise, there is a wonderful place above Kandy where you could stay, where both male and female guests are welcome; the name is Nilambe, and it is situated in an old tea-estate. http://nilambe.org/practical.html

If you like, and if I had a little more info about you, I could call at Lewella and ask if you could stay there as a couple, when you need to come down from Nilambe (or otherwise if Nilambe was out of the question for you). The two places are connected, Lewella being more of a free place very close to, or actually in Kandy, while Nilambe is a dream of a place on top of a hill, about half an hour by auto from Lewella.

This way your Lanka visit could turn into an exceptional experience. I know that Nilambe accepts guests even for just a few days, even though they are into long term residence meditation with a retreat character, but again in a rather individualistic fashion, but also with some communal participation.

mushika · Apr 19th, 2009, 20:08

Actually, we have been doing meditation here at Sri Aurobindo Ashram and my wife looks forward to a change of pace. Just hanging out in Kandy would suit her.
I've been coming here for thirty-seven years, she, sixteen years, but India has lost much of what brings us here and visas are getting more difficult. A life beyond India? We have no home to go back to because we are an international copuple who cannot satisfy the visa requirements for either of our countries. We've lived in Korea, Greece, Laos, Thailand and India, generally on tourist visas, over the past seventeen years. I don't know how we can keep it up. Frankly, I don't know how we have managed the bureaucratic dance this long.

atala · Apr 20th, 2009, 02:24

That's amazing that you were able to be on the road for such a long time. You know about the Nepal option, that you can stay there 180 days in one calendar year... You can make use of this rule by staying the last 180 days of one calendar year, and then the first 180 days of the following year, that means 360 days in a row.

If Nepal is an appealing place to someone...

I guess you must have had an independent source of income to get you thru for all this time.

mushika · Apr 20th, 2009, 10:48

That's useful information about Nepal. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks, atala.

It's long gone but I saved from five years teaching English in Korea and taught in Greece where she also worked. We eke out a life now from my small pension and have a leased flat here, so that keeps expenses reasonable nowadays, but it is very tight. It's airfare and visa-related expenses that account for more than 1/3 of our expenditures.

There's something up your alley but well off topic and not appropriate for an open forum that I'd like to get your "expert" take on. What does it take to be able to PM here?

Haylo · Apr 20th, 2009, 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by mushika

What does it take to be able to PM here?

This function has already been opened to you, if you click on someone's user name to the left of their post, you will see the option "Send a private message to Username"

mushika · Apr 20th, 2009, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haylo

This function has already been opened to you, if you click on someone's user name to the left of their post, you will see the option "Send a private message to Username"

Thanks, Haylo. That's good news.

Michael1111 · May 19th, 2009, 17:09

Hi,

I would like to know, how many previous Indian visas you already had sticking in your passport? (I have 3)

Do you think that if I tell the interviewer that I want 6 months, because I want to visit as many places as possible, they will consider that kind of a wrong answer? I don't know anything about pilgrimage and would be afraid of them asking me questions about it... .

Thank you :-)

Haylo · May 21st, 2009, 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael1111

I would like to know, how many previous Indian visas you already had sticking in your passport? (I have 3)

Who are you asking?

Michael1111 · May 22nd, 2009, 14:43

Hi,

you ask, whom I intended to adress by asking that question... .
Well, as I'm a bit stupid, I oversaw the fact that the person who initiated this thread, did so already 3 years back. But initially the question was directed towards himself, this guy named "Belgian".

Why, is that toppic eventually of any concern to you?

Cheers,
Michael :-)

May 22nd, 2009, 14:43	#30
Michael1111 aaaaaahh !!!! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India Posts: 23	Hi Haylo ! Hi, you ask, whom I intended to adress by asking that question... . Well, as I'm a bit stupid, I oversaw the fact that the person who initiated this thread, did so already 3 years back. But initially the question was directed towards himself, this guy named "Belgian". Why, is that toppic eventually of any concern to you? Cheers, Michael :-)

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Apr 18th, 2009, 22:11	#19
mushika Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pondicherry Posts: 12	15 years ago my wife and I were in both Colombo and Kandy on our way to Thailand, from India. Don't remember much. Maybe Kandy would be better for the visa wait if it otherwise would make no bureaucratic difference. So, yes, thanks, atala. if you can point us to a nice place we'd have a good start.

Apr 18th, 2009, 22:47	#20
atala 8 years in India Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Switzerland Posts: 978	Oh my, I assumed you were alone. It may not be suitable for the two of you, what I thought might be okay for a single visitor, namely a stay in a yoga/meditation center. But maybe it would suit you anyway as a stepping stone to something else? http://www.buddhanet-de.net/lewella/index.htm There is nothing communal enforced there, and you are completely free to spend your day as you like. Other places with more privacy in the area are within your price range, though, as not many tourists are visiting these days.

Apr 19th, 2009, 17:51	#22
atala 8 years in India Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Switzerland Posts: 978	In case you have a tangential interest in meditation and are not completely against light yoga exercise, there is a wonderful place above Kandy where you could stay, where both male and female guests are welcome; the name is Nilambe, and it is situated in an old tea-estate. http://nilambe.org/practical.html If you like, and if I had a little more info about you, I could call at Lewella and ask if you could stay there as a couple, when you need to come down from Nilambe (or otherwise if Nilambe was out of the question for you). The two places are connected, Lewella being more of a free place very close to, or actually in Kandy, while Nilambe is a dream of a place on top of a hill, about half an hour by auto from Lewella. This way your Lanka visit could turn into an exceptional experience. I know that Nilambe accepts guests even for just a few days, even though they are into long term residence meditation with a retreat character, but again in a rather individualistic fashion, but also with some communal participation.

Apr 19th, 2009, 20:08	#23
mushika Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pondicherry Posts: 12	Actually, we have been doing meditation here at Sri Aurobindo Ashram and my wife looks forward to a change of pace. Just hanging out in Kandy would suit her. I've been coming here for thirty-seven years, she, sixteen years, but India has lost much of what brings us here and visas are getting more difficult. A life beyond India? We have no home to go back to because we are an international copuple who cannot satisfy the visa requirements for either of our countries. We've lived in Korea, Greece, Laos, Thailand and India, generally on tourist visas, over the past seventeen years. I don't know how we can keep it up. Frankly, I don't know how we have managed the bureaucratic dance this long.

Apr 20th, 2009, 02:24	#24
atala 8 years in India Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Switzerland Posts: 978	That's amazing that you were able to be on the road for such a long time. You know about the Nepal option, that you can stay there 180 days in one calendar year... You can make use of this rule by staying the last 180 days of one calendar year, and then the first 180 days of the following year, that means 360 days in a row. If Nepal is an appealing place to someone... I guess you must have had an independent source of income to get you thru for all this time.

Apr 20th, 2009, 10:48	#25
mushika Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pondicherry Posts: 12	That's useful information about Nepal. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks, atala. It's long gone but I saved from five years teaching English in Korea and taught in Greece where she also worked. We eke out a life now from my small pension and have a leased flat here, so that keeps expenses reasonable nowadays, but it is very tight. It's airfare and visa-related expenses that account for more than 1/3 of our expenditures. There's something up your alley but well off topic and not appropriate for an open forum that I'd like to get your "expert" take on. What does it take to be able to PM here?

May 19th, 2009, 17:09	#28
Michael1111 aaaaaahh !!!! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India Posts: 23	Hi, I would like to know, how many previous Indian visas you already had sticking in your passport? (I have 3) Do you think that if I tell the interviewer that I want 6 months, because I want to visit as many places as possible, they will consider that kind of a wrong answer? I don't know anything about pilgrimage and would be afraid of them asking me questions about it... . Thank you :-)