How to get out of India?

September 5, 2007 2:56 PM

I was stopped at the airport on my way home to Canada from Chennai, India. I'm stuck here trying to gather all the forms I need around the city. Any tips? or suggestions of things to do while I wait for forms (could be up to two weeks)?

I've been working here for four months on a university work-term and haven't made enough money to require a PAN card for income tax, although I need the receipt that I applied for one to receive my employment visa registration papers.

My employment visa is valid for another month.

My university classes (I have one year left) started on Tuesday, so every extra day I spend here is going to be tougher for me to catch up later (4th year Electronics Engineering).

posted by sirsteven to Travel & Transportation around India (5 answers total)

My husband is originally from Chennai, and I just visited over Christmas.

If you want to go shopping, go to Pondy Bazaar and T. Nagar downtown. There are a lot of great places there. Just be prepared for lots and lots of crowds!

You could also check out the beach - it's especially cool in the morning when people are out walking or doing yoga, etc.

If you can leave the city, I'd suggest going to
Mammallapuram/Mahabalipuram, which is a city to the south that has a lot of really great sculptures, including the 5 Rathas.

Try to see some of the older temples. They're amazing! Again, if you can travel, I recommend Thanjavur or Madurai.

There's also a really beautiful church near the coast (it's an all-white Catholic Church), but for the life of me I cannot remember the name.

I know it must really stink to be missing so much school, but if you can't leave, definitely explore the city and other parts of Tamil Nadu. It's pretty inexpensive to get around, and there are so many amazing places to see!
posted by emilyv at 3:21 PM on September 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't know India, but in many countries, a lot of border and visa issues can be dealt with slowly but cheaply on your own, or speedily and more costly by hiring some variant of an expediter -- someone who has connections, who knows where to get the right papers and stamps and handshakes, and who can bypass the line you would be stuck standing in. So if you have more money than time (as it sounds like you might), consider this option. Otherwise, there are few bureaucratic problems that can't be dealt with given enough patience and good humor, hard though that may be to sustain.
posted by Forktine at 3:42 PM on September 5, 2007

E-mail your professors, explain your situation and ask them if they can forward things from the classes to you.
posted by anaelith at 3:52 PM on September 5, 2007

I found the name of the church - it's called Santhome.
posted by emilyv at 7:06 PM on September 5, 2007

Be prepared to bribe your way through bureaucracy. My father's friend (president of a college in Pune) used to tell stories of patiently waiting for months, trying to do things the "usual" way. And then he got tired of it all, and paid the guards at the office in question. The payments were sometimes for things as simple as putting his file at the top of the pile. Which would speed things up considerably.
posted by Xere at 12:21 AM on September 6, 2007