Passport...part three

I realized today that I never finished this ongoing entry. So, here is the rest of the story.
On July 19th Suzy and I got up early and headed to the bus station. This time we had to travel from Muss00r!e so we had an extra leg to our trip. We took a bus from here is D.D. Once there we had to go to the main ISBT(bus station) and get a bus to D3lhi. The trip there was uneventful, no bus crashes or anything.
    Once we arrived in D3lhi we found the metro and took it to C@naught Place. We had decided that since we were in D3lhi we would go to Papa John’s for dinner. Oh! It was so good!! We’ve tried Pizza Hut and Dominos here too and I think that Papa John’s is the closest to the pizza from the States.
After dinner we walked to the train station to find a hotel in the bazar there. They tried to get us to take an air conditioned room for twice the price of one without, but it really wasn’t that hot and we were only going to be there for one night. We settled in and went to sleep.
The next morning we took an auto to the embassy to pick up my new passport. We were old pros at this by now. While we waited there was an American couple who were filing for new passports. We talked to them a bit and found out that they had been getting on a train for D.D. when her purse was stolen! Both their passport and their money were in it. So, here they were. They ended up being able to get passports that day because they were going to be heading back to the States later that week.
We left there to go to the FRRO to apply for a new visa. When we got there we had to wait in a HUGE line!! We must have waited maybe an hour and a half. But there were all kinds of people who just went in. I was slightly confused, so I went up and checked it out while Suzy stayed in line. But, it was just the people from Afghan who were going in because they had a separate line. So, back to my spot I went.
When it was finally my turn I went to the reception desk gave them my new passport, the documents they gave me at the embassy, copy of my old one and visa, and the police report. The man looked at it, wrote a number on the top of a form, told me to fill it out and go to counter five.
I filled out the form, attached my passport photo and went to counter five. I was really confused at first because counter five was not clearly marked. I tried to ask a few people but they all told me different numbers. So, I stood in one line for a bit when a guy told me I was in the wrong line, this one was for the Afghans. So, to the next counter I went. It ended up being counter five. The lady there looked at my documents and form then told me I needed copies of my new passport. I asked her where I could get them and she just point to the door. I was a little bit flustered and asked her again, “Where can I get copies made?” And again she just pointed to the door while saying I need copies. Grrr.
So, Suzy and I began to weave our way though all the people to the door. On the way out we saw our friends from the embassy. We told them they would probably need to get copies also so they sent their driver to get copies while they waited in line.
We asked one of the guards outside where we could get copies and he gave us directions. Once I’d made my copies(more than I really needed for the FRRO) we went back and I got in line at counter five. She looked at my copies wrote something on one of them and told me to take it to another counter.
I went to that counter and no one was there. So, I tried to talk to the lady at the next desk but she said to wait till this person came back. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the lady at the other desk made a phone call and then asked to see my papers. I gave them to her and she shuffled through them a bit then told me to leave them (with my new passport) in a pile on this other desk and to come back at four. I was a bit uneasy about leaving the passport I had just got that morning, but didn’t really have a choice.
Suzy and I went to lunch and came back at four. I went to the desk I had left all my documents at and asked if my visa was ready. The lady shuffled though the stack till she found my papers, looked at them and said no, it was not ready yet. She wrote something on the paper and told me to go to the reception desk. I walked over there to find on one there and a sign above that said reception was open until two. But I waited anyway. And while I waited our friends showed up. They also were told to come back at four. Finally someone came and looked at my papers. He wrote something on them and sent me to counter five.
To counter five I went. They lady looked at my papers asked me when I was planning on leaving !nd!a and I told her 180 days from May 13th. She wrote on my papers and sent back to the desk where I’d left my papers before. When I got there the lady looked at what counter five had written and said she had not completed it. I told her she was not sure when 180 days from May 13th was, so this lady thought for a bit and just picked a day in November. Ha! Then she sent me back to counter five. At counter five the women finished writing what she had started before, put a stamp in my passport with some numbers and sent me back to the other counter. This lady then proceeded to sign in some areas, and told me to take one stack of papers back to counter five. I took them, gave them to the lady and she shuffled through them and just set them aside. I waited, but she didn’t tell me anything, so finally I asked if there was anything else and she said no. So, Suzy and I headed out the door with my new passport and temporary visa!
We got some dinner and then headed back to D.D. and then to Muss00r!e. I’ll have to wait till we got to N3pal in October/November to get another ten year visa since they do not issue them in !nd!a.
And that is the end of my passport adventures. Sorry this one was so long, but if you did take the time to read it all I give you kuddo points!! And I’m sure you got a good laugh because of all the red tape.