Indian idiocracy - the misadventures of my mother and I

From the wonderful lush, clean scrublands of South Africa, I descended into the chaotic, filthy, abyss that is India.

[Warning: The following blog entries are authored by myself or my mother]

by Peter

My Indian idiocracy did not initially begin in India, but in the bush of South Africa. Five days before I was scheduled to leave my fathers house in Thailand to New Delhi, India, I recieved an ominous email. My mother had just been to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco where she had applied for a $60.00 tourist visa. While there, she learned that 1) American Citizens require a visa for entry into the Republic of India; and 2) Visas could not be purchased in the Republic of India.

For the next three days, between morning and evening game drives, I panicked. I used all the resources of the luxury Ulusaba Resort to establish contact with the Indian Consulate in Johannesburg, while simultaneously trying to call the Indian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand and in Kathmandu, Nepal. I had just weeks earlier confirmed my eighteen day tour of northeastern India with Indian Holiday Pvt. LTD; I like to call them incredibly horrible pricey liars but thats enough hate for now. In all my travelling, I have taken for granted that an American Passport is all that is needed for entry into most countries. In worse case scenario, like Turkey in 2003, you can pay double the normal price at the airport. However, India does not work that way. I should have known. A country with a millenium age caste system is a recipe for the worst and biggest bueracracy ever. It puts to shame the Berkeley High attendence ladies. Unfortunately, the Indian Consulate refused to talk with the staff of Ulusaba and seemed to enjoy hanging up on my cries for help.

I left Ulusaba separately from the rest of my family to try my luck with the Consulate in person. Thankfully South Africa bueracracy came crashing down somewhat with Apartheids end and for $300.00 I had my visa in a day. I left the next morning for Thailand and then the next day for India. I arrived in New Delhi on April 14th and made my way after being ripped off 60 rupee (40 rupees = $1) met my mom at a hotel in New Dehli