Bangalore: Last Minute

Everything about my trip to Bangalore was very last minute. I thought that it only takes 2 days to get a visa to India because somebody told me, without knowing that the processing time is different for non-Singaporeans.

The formal invitation letter was sent to m4 on a Monday (13 April) afternoon. Upon receiving the letter, I checked the embassy for all the requirements and found out that for non-Singaporeans applying here in Singapore, a minimum 5 working days is required which means I could only get it by Tuesday (21 April), not in time for the conference. The website even states that emergency services are not provided to non-citizens. So I panicked and thought I could not go anymore. But then, Tuesday was an embassy holiday because of the Indian New Year.

Earling morning Wednesday, it took me three hours to just queue and convince the embassy people that I really have to fly by Sunday and I therefore need the visa within 2 days. There were other people who were there with me but got rejected and were asked to go through the normal process. I went back to the embassy last Friday to claim the visa. I booked the plane ticket that afternoon.

On the night before my flight, I was convinced by Jhoana and Smile that I have to make business cards and so I did. On the day of my flight, I bought new leather shoes and had my haircut so that I could look my best.