Off to Hawaii, Day 1 in Waikiki beach

After having planned several vacations and having had to cancel them all, I took the risk of planning yet another one. This time, I had some miles, a travel cert from united.com telling me I need to book a trip - so, I went ahead, looked for tickets about a week before the actual departure date, to Hawaii!! We have, like many Indians always thought about Hawaii, sighed about it & dismissed it as far away from the path to India & hence, an unlikely choice for a vacation destination. The miles came in handy - and here, I have to give kudos to united - they do advertise that they make it easy to redeem their miles and they did make it easy - a week before the trip, I was able to book a round trip ticket to Hawaii from Minneapolis on united using 40K miles - which I think is excellent!!

Having had no clue about Hawaii, except that there was a 5 hr difference in time zone, I had booked the tickets to Honolulu. After the impulse purchase was done, I set about the arduous task of planning the activity. For some reason, I was struck by brilliance and chose the Waikiki area to stay - which, in hindsight turned out to be an excellent decision. If you are new to Honolulu, the Waikiki beach is the most popular beach areas with a fantastic stretch of beach resorts and walkways. After a lot of research (for the cheapest place to stay), I decided to book us in to the Outrigger Luana Waikiki for the night, which again turned out to be excellent!!

By the way, if you plan to stay in the waikiki area, you don't need to rent a car - there is a shuttle service called "Robert's Hawaii" that operates round-trip shuttles from the airport to almost all hotels in the Waikiki area for $15. It is better if you reserve it ahead of time though. (We didn't & were able to book the return pick-up after we reached HNL).

Almost all Hawaii islands are brimming with Outrigger resorts - in general, we found these to be of excellent location, reasonable price and good service! The place where we stayed was about a mile from the beach, but close to all the great resorts and the "Beach Walk" area of Waikiki. The Hilton has built a humungous resort & named it the "Hilton village" in Waikiki - having had a recommendation, we went over to the Hilton the first evening we landed and were disappointed by the lack of vegetarian fare in their resort. We weren't hungry and ended up having veggie spring rolls at the "Tropics" bar by the ocean. In the night, we walked along the roads over to the "Outrigger reef" hotel, which is right on the beach and is probably one of the best located hotels with one of the best accesses to the Waikiki beach. The restaurant there had absolutely no vegetarian options either - but, the views are incredible and they do boast an excellent breakfast buffet (which we didn't try).

The next morning, Charan decided she wasn't just going to be able to enjoy the beach alone & needed some more activity and with her ability to digest words quickly, she determined that we were to make the trek over to Diamond head.

A little bit of geographical knowledge needs to be inserted here - Hawaii, if you do not know is largely made of dormant volcanoes. All of the islands have volcanoes - the diamond head is a huge dormant crater that sits right on Waikiki beach. It is a great view from the air and the perspective from air shows diamond head looking like a mountain with its peak sawed off and a big lake in the center. Apparently, we overheard some military type person saying that diamond head used to be a military outpost years ago - sure enough, it seems to be such even now - with parts of the crater cordoned off.

We took public transport (bus) to Diamond head - the bus takes about 15-20 min and costs about $2. We trekked up the hill - Hint: start early if you don't like getting toasted. Being an adventure in the US, this trek is dumbed down with paved paths and steps all the way to the top - it is still a good walk to the top and the view of Waikiki from the top is incredible! For those who aren't very adventure prone, they sell certificates at the top for $2 which commemorates your trek to the top. Charan wasn't very excited about getting that, given she has trekked 8 KM on the great wall.



We made our way down & now started looking for something to eat - here is the troublesome part. Finding vegetarian food in Honolulu is a bit hard. The majority of the places in Waikiki are standard american fare, with the steak, potatoes, etc. I had also decided I wanted to taste the fresh fruits of the islands - the guy at the Outrigger had recommended Henry's place in the "beack walk" street - a little hole in the wall place manned by a really old Hawaiian/ Chinese person who cuts the fruits himself - I convinced Charan this was going to be good. So, we trudged over there as we passed the "luxury walk" with the Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's etc and despite the relatively seedy appearances found the pineapples, papayas, water melon incredibly to our liking. After having devoured a couple cups, Charan decided she needed real food.

So, we started our search for real food - the restaurant in Outrigger Reef serves breakfast till 11 & then, switched to lunch at noon - both the buffet's apparently have tons of salads - unfortunately, we were at the place at 11 AM and hungry. So, we walked out to the trump tower to find nothing vegetarian there either and didn't get the veggie burger at Denny's either, all of which are in the same intersection. Finally, we found the "subway" a block down and decided to get the sandwich there.

We returned back to the hotel, checked out of it, decided to head over to the beach - the guys in the hotel (Outrigger Luana Waikiki) were happy to hold the luggage & let us use the showers at the pool once we returned from the beach. they were incredibly helpful. As we checked our luggage in, it started to pour outside!!! that was disappointing. Although Hawaii is undergoing a drought, we apparently brought rain to the place - it rained for an hour and let up. We walked to the Hilton village & decided to walk along the beach and did so for a couple hours enjoying the ocean, the clear blue waters and the various resorts along the beach.

 

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Charan in the Outrigger Reef"]
[/caption]

 

 

[caption id="attachment_55" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Charan & I on the Waikiki beach"][/caption]

 

 

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="view of the waikiki area up to diamond head"][/caption]

 

One of the other things about Hawaii is that the state law dictates that all beach resorts need to have public access to the beaches. In other words, almost all beaches are public in Hawaii. Even if there is a fancy resort, you can still access the beach without having to shell boat loads of cash. We walked all along the Waikiki beach, found a bunch more restaurants (that we didn't try) along the beach and then, finally returned to pack up and board our inter-island flight to Big Island.

One of my colleagues told me there wasn't much to do in Oahu but, it was better in the other islands - so, with the brief research, I decided we were to spend most time on beaches and also, visit the volcanoes in Big Island. So, we had booked to stay in Big Island for 3 nights.

So, off we go to Big Island -

Lapis Thai, Lianyang, Shanghai

Lapis Thai, Lianyang, Shanghai

New US visa process @ Chennai US consulate (DS-160)

Just thought I'll quickly jot down my experience applying for a H1 B visa (renewal/ reval) at the Chennai US consulate after they introduced the new DS-160 process.

The fundamental difference between now & before is that we have to upload a photo per the specifications at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/guide/guide_3877.html - A couple of things to note are:

1. Make sure there is no shadow in the photo - usually a good professional photographer should be able to achieve this. While this is easy to get done in India, Kinko's in the US did a bad job for me!! so, watch out for that.


2. The face should be dominant in the photo - occupying about 75% of the picture - if it is done right, you should only be able to see a small portion of your neck & shoulders and nothing below.

I had taken a photo at Kinko's & uploaded to the website - the website accepted it. (I was quite happy that it did & thought that was the end of it). However, at the consulate, the lady at the counter asked for a "photo without a shadow" - obviously, this has not been posted as a requirement in either the VFS' web site or in the consulate's web site. In my case, the photo was rejected by the person in the counter at the consulate - The lady at the counter gave me a re-entry slip (for the guards in the front) & asked me to go obtain a new photo.

Luckily, in my case, VFS seems to have planned for the eventuality that the majority of the photos will not match the specs and do have a person inside the consulate who can provide this picture. I am not sure how long this will continue. If it doesn't, there are quite a few professional photographers nearby - if you have to come outside, ask either the guard or an auto driver directions to either the Kodak or Konica showroom. This is within walking distance - so, don't fall prey to the auto drivers.

Once the photo was cleared, the lady put my documents in a packet & asked me to consult with her colleagues - there are a few VFS folks milling around, supposedly guiding people. They are usually in such a frenzy that they can border on being rude. Ask them to read the note on top of your application twice and ask them to direct you to where you need to go - first time applicants seem to be getting directed to the next building for the interviews. Renewals or Re-evaluations (revals) for folks who have had a visa that has expired recently were examined within the first complex itself.

In my case, one VFS chap pointed me to the next building & a sensible lady looked at my app again and had me wait in the right queue.

After doing the musical chair and got to my turn, I got a polite US consulate officer. She asked me to produce my I-797 (Notice of Action), the full petition (I-129), an employer verification and pay-slips.

Of these, the I-797 & I-129 are listed in the US consulate web site as reqd documents. However, based on what the I-797 says in its body, that document is to be retained with the petitioner (your employer). So, you may have to ask your employer to provide you with the original so you can get your visa.

The I-129 is the petition itself - which tells the story of why you needed to be hired & contains the LCA and other documents.

The surprise for me was the "employer verification" - I have made it a habit of carrying a letter from my supervisor at work at all times. I challenged the officer saying that this was not on the web site, to which she agreed amiably that this was not "technically required" but, she wanted to see proof that I continue to remain employed & have a job to go back to, in the United States, which I thought was fair. I did have the letter & provided it to her and she issued my visa & bid me a good bye.

So, rule of thumb is to carry any document that proves that you continue to remain employed, have maintained your status lawfully. Other documents that I carried with me & have been asked to provide in the past were: copies of my tax returns from the past few years, bank statements, photos of my workplace (to prove there is a real office where other people work as well.)

I was told I will get my visa within a week by courier - that is a bit disconcerting as I have to leave this week. I assume that is their standard SLA, but expect to receive it sooner than that. I will post again to let folks know what happens.

Hope this is useful & please let me know any questions.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Shanghai Xintiandi + Xin Ji Shi + Vegetarian authentic chinese food

After staying in Shanghai with Charan for a week & complaining to Jack daily about how we didn't get any authentic Chinese food as we were vegetarians, Jack & Lulu took pity on us and took us out to Xintiandi and gave us a tour of the place, the french architecture.

If you don't have the luxury of a chinese speaking friend, don't despair. Xintiandi (pronounced Shin-tendi) is well-known with the cab drivers & the hotel concierge can easily send you off there. It is on the Puxi side of the river. However, this area is designed for the tourists & especially packed with american/ european fare. There are steakhouses, breweries, cafes and a few authentic chinese restaurants as well. I have heard good things about another Chinese restaurant in Xintiandi called "Southern Beauty" which I haven't been to yet.

Jack & Lulu said this was one of the good places to go to & so we did. They made us believe that Chinese food is truly vegetarian, at its heart. Historically, meat was only sparsely available and was consumed only by the rich. Hence, the average daily fare consisted of rice and vegetables - it isn't true anymore.

One of the things I find immensely useful in Chinese restaurants is the picture menu. Xin Ji Shi does have a few pictures in their menu .. but, unfortunately, not all of the above are well represented in the menu. From left to right, we had a tofu dish with mushrooms in a sweet sauce and garnished with salty peanuts, a tofu dish with coriander leaves & spices (not my favorite), lotus root stuffed with sticky rice, steamed and sliced - this was just wonderful and then, a stir fry of a combination of different vegetables including bamboo shoots that was mildly spicy and very tasty. Not represented in the photographs, Xin Ji Shi serve an "onion bread" that is oozing with oil (as most shanghainese foods are), but is just simply fabulous.

Chinese foods are served family style, as in the bowl is set in the center of the table and each person starts poking at it with their chopsticks - the ability to use chopsticks helps. If not, good luck asking for forks. A good idea would be to ask your concierge to write down the above menu in chinese and also to write down how to ask for forks in chinese.

would certainly recommend Xin Ji Shi for a taste of authentic Chinese food, yet very vegetarian. Let me know if you find it.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

shanghai + the blue frog + veggie burger

Continuing the section on "being vegetarian in shanghai", here is the second post - we had dinner at The Blue Frog, which I guess serves as a pub in the evenings for the "american fare"starved. The menu resembles what you'd find in a reasonable american grille - burgers & the kind. The atmosphere resembles the same. There is one Blue Frog near the Super Brand Mall and another in the vicinity of Carrefour in Biyun Road near the Jinqiao commercial center.

We found two vegetarian dishes at the Blue Frog - a veggie burger that claims there is a falafel in between two buns and a pasta. The pasta is something you'd order only if you are forced to - of course, the table has some ketchup & the Mexican Maggi. You can get some Tabasco as well, on request. The garlic bread that accompanied the pasta made it taste a lot better.

The veggie burger does not have a falafel inside, by any means. It does a vegetarian patty between two buns and comes with all the fixings a burger should. The patty has moderate flavor, or lack thereof. A genorous portion of ketchup & Tabasco adds some taste to it. The fries were reasonably good though

..

If you crave a vegetarian burger and wish to take a break from the chinese food, the Blue frog is a good choice.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Passport renewal, additional pages + Chennai Regional Passport Office + Tatkal

Decided to blog this, as I searched the web in vain on instructions or experiences of people who tried to get an additional booklet (or renew their passport) at the chennai regional passport office. I needed to have my passport back a little quickly in order to have my visa stamped, all done within 10 days (an ambitious project, right at the inception). I find that the process is relatively simplified, for a government organization .. but, if you tout an accent and are used to dealing with simpler procedures in other geographies such as the USA, you might be a bit surprised.

As any Indian Central Government office, the RPO makes changes to rules & the employees make up rules that vary/ change by day and also depends on whether you know someone there and/ or have used the help of a travel agent/ tout!! So advice #1: See if you can find a responsible/ believable (hopefully not too exhorbitant) travel agent who can help. If you do have the luxury of time, you can do this on your own & to the credit of the folks at the RPO, you can get this right in the day.

I chose to apply using Tatkal - which they promise will ensure that your applications gets processed within 3 days. I did get my PP back in 3 days.

For a minor dose of information that deceivingly looks complete, refer to: http://passport.nic.in/ - it does have about 80% of what is reqd at the office. Ok, here are the next steps for applying for renewal or additional pages via the Tatkal procedure. The process for a new passport is very different, quite a bit longer and requires additional documents - I am unfortunately unable to help with that:

1. Some parts of the tatkal proceedure are mentioned at: http://passport.gov.in/cpv/TatkalScheme.htm- some of the following are not as apparent
   


2. For tatkal, you need to register online at: https://passport.gov.in/pms/Information.jsp - This will give you an appointment date - this is important. You can only show up on this date. However, disregard the time that is provided to you as the time of your appointment (more below)
   


3. If you are trying to get additional pages, these aren't being issued anymore - instead, they issue a new passport & the procedure is as follows. However, you do have to prove that you have run out of pages & are hence attempting to renew your passport


4. After you fill out the form in Step 2 above, a pre-filled application form is presented as the output. Print this application form out.


5. You need to now assemble your supporting documents:
   
   
   
   1. you are required to produce any 3 out of the 13 suggested documents to provide proof of identification, photo & address. One of this needs to be a photo ID & one of them needs to be among the primary documents (a through h) mentioned in the list (as of Jan 2010) below:
   
   
   2. 
      

      
      

      
      

      The list:
      

      
      

      
      

      
      
   
   
   3. 
      

      
      

      
      

      (a) Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC);

      
      

      (b) Service Identity Card issued by State/Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, local bodies or Public Limited Companies;

      
      

      (c) SC/ST/ OBC Certificates;

      
      

      (d) Freedom Fighter Identity Cards;

      
      

      (e) Arms Licenses;

      
      

      (f) Property Documents such as Pattas, Registered Deeds etc.;

      
      

      (g) Rations Cards;

      
      

      (h) Pension Documents such as ex-servicemen’s Pension Book/Pension Payment order, ex-servicemen’s Widow/Dependent Certificates, Old Age Pension Order, Widow Pension Order;

      
      

      (i) Railway Identity Cards;

      
      

      (j) Income Tax Identity (PAN) Cards;

      
      

      (k) Bank/ Kisan/Post Office Passbooks;

      
      

      (l) Student Identity Cards issued by Recognized Educational Institutions;

      
      

      (m) Driving Licenses; and

      
      

      (n) Birth Certificates issued under the RBD Act.

      
      

      
      

      
      
   
   
   4. Produce an affidavit on a Rs. 20 stamp paper (called Annexure i) - the format to be cut & paste can be found at:http://passport.gov.in/cpv/ANNEXUREI_std.htm - take it to a notary (easy to find) for notarization - need to sign this affidavit in front of the notary. Very important step that I missed: get a notarial certificate from the notary (that states that you swore & signed the affidavit before him) - otherwise, you will be swearing later. You won't get this certificate unless you ask for it from the notary. You do need to take a photocopy of the affidavit & provide it to the notary for their records.
   
   
   5. If you wanted additional pages, a photo copy of all pages of your passport - self attest each of them as well. I am not sure if you need this if you are just trying to renew your passport - take them with you any way.
   
   
   6. Now, obtain 3 passport photos - stick them on the application - has to be stuck & not stapled or otherwise tethered, don't sign across the photo (even if everybody else asks you to)
   
   
   7. Look through the application & complete it - some parts need to be hand filled.
      
   
   
   8. Sign the application
      
   
   
   
   


6. Take two photo copies of all supporting documents - each of these need to be self-attested


7. Ensure that you take the originals of the supporting documents with you as well
   


8. The RPO likes the application to be a packet - one set of the photocopies of the supporting documents need to be inserted between pages 3 & 4 of the application and the other set between the two "personal particulars" forms (that is printed out as part of the application form above). Keep the original affidavit with the first set - although I am not sure of where the affidavit should go really. You may get as lucky as I did. Staple them together in the form of a book - unfortunately, I have seen people getting sent back from the counter as the packet was not in the right order!!!
   


9. DD - the RPO does require payment to be made in Tatkal - this seems to change .. a suggestion is to go to the RPO the day before & ask the folks that stand in line how they plan to make the payment - ask a couple of folks at least .. the touts generally seen around the RPO were conspicuously absent when I went there as a result of recent clean-ups that were done. these folks are good source of info and are usually helpful if you plead with them


10. Now, you are ready for the day. On the day, after the regular ablutions, make up, etc, plan to arrive a bit early at the RPO. I'd suggest about 8-8:30 AM is a reasonable choice. I was adviced to disregard the time provided when I registered online. No one seemed to notice the time at the RPO either.
    


11. Procedure at the RPO:
    
    
    
    1. If you flinch in the sun, I'd recommend the umpire's hat, fans, sun glasses, assistant to hold the umbrella etc - you will be slightly discomforted in Chennai's blazing glory
    
    
    2. The watchmen are usually helpful and point you in the right direction if you ask them where the Tatkal line is. If you arrive around 8 AM, there should be 50-75 folks ahead of you, sufficient in number to tell you if you have missed anything
    
    
    3. The token issual starts around 9:30 AM. They are issued up to a certain time & to all that arrives early in the morning. My understanding was that tokens are issued until about noon, each day.
    
    
    4. Around 9:30 AM, the queue/ line usually proceeds to the first floor, where the packet is examined for the right thickness, presence of photos & staples announcing that the packet is complete. You are therefore issued a token to then stand in the next line.
       
    
    
    5. The token usually has an alphabet & a number - there were 5 counters operational at the time of this writing.
    
    
    6. The counters are in the second floor - and you follow the line up to the second floor, enter the room with the counter (isn't as easy as it sounds) - while the token system is supposed to regulate the flow of folks in to this room, it doesn't .. so, it does feel like a pallavan bus ride to a Hindu Temple on a New Year's day. Use your elbows & umbrellas to the best advantage - it is now that you may feel like you want to open your accented mouth & let out a tirade about how it is so much easier elsewhere - don't.
    
    
    7. The counter room did have chairs in front of them & it appears as if people are sitting according to the numerical order - chances are they aren't. try and slowly move up close to the counter of your designation - put your checkers skill to advantage here
    
    
    8. Rush up when your number is called & present your documents at the counter - if your luck holds, you are all set & will be asked to go to the other counter to pay using your DD.
       
    
    
    9. In my case, as I had a previous passport & was attempting to get additional pages, I was asked to go stand in another line in one of the two small rooms within that room to get the history of all my previous interactions with the RPO - the clerk there looked my case history & printed out pages of all my previous requests, including ECNR stamping, address changes, etc and stapled this to my application
    
    
    10. When you are asked to do this, you don't need to stand in line to be called again. Go directly to the counter, use your elbows & thrust the doc back at the slightest chance you get. pleading with those next in line helps.
        
    
    
    11. When I presented this renewed packet, it was found that my second passport was issued after my marriage, but, without including my spouse's name in the passport - this caused a ruckus and I was directed to go to the other smaller room & talk to the superintendent there, who in turn asked me why I hid this. When I told him it was a mistake, he nodded & tacked on a Rs. 500 penalty and asked me to go back to the counter. Repeat step 10 above.
    
    
    12. The clerk at the counter nodded now & put the case in to a file and sent me to the cashier -
        
    
    
    13. Stand in the 3rd line for the day, present the DD & the documents at the cashier - they print out a receipt that has your tracking number as well, which you can track online. You have now completed your task.
    
    
    
    


12. Other general things:
    
    
    
    1. At the time of this writing, there is an "Axis bank" branch right around the corner - so, if you missed/ misplaced the DD, I am told you can obtain it there
    
    
    2. It will serve you or the other folks in the line well for you to care a stick of gum and a stapler .. just in case you have to re-arrange your packet, etc
    
    
    3. Take some extra photos, just in case you do forget & sign on top of your photo
    
    
    4. Remember that the RPO strictly prohibits delivery of the PP to anyone other than the one it belongs to - so, your mother may not be able to collect it from the postman ..
    
    
    
    

I do hope someone finds this & it is useful to them. Do let me know how things change over time.

Google analytics

 

 

 

 

 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend