Flights & travel dates & arrival protocol
Group G leaves Calgary April 30 and will arrive in Delhi very late May 1 or early morning May 2. You may not arrive May 3. The pattern is the same for Group H, which leaves Calgary May 8 and arrives very late in the day May 9 or early morning May 10. You may not arrive May 11. We need everyone to be in Delhi on the dates noted.
Members of Group H might choose to travel to India before and take some time to travel in India prior to the start of the field school. If you are planning to do so ensure you do not travel alone.
Return dates will vary based on additional travel plans some or all of you will have, but we need you all back in Calgary no later than June 13, 2018 and we start the final week of the field school back on campus, which runs June 14 – 21, 2018. Plan to be at school for large parts of each day from June 14 through the weekend and until the Showcase day on Thursday, June 21, 2018. The final week on campus requires the same attention from you as the weeks in India.
Each field-schooler makes his or her own flight arrangements ensuring s/he arrives on the days noted. You are encouraged to connect with your field school peers and to travel to India in small groups with other field schoolers, for both support and travel company. It takes about 24 hours, a dozen time zone changes, and two lengthy flights. Each small group will be picked up at the airport by our travel agency and brought to our hotel. It doesn’t matter which major carrier you use. In the past some students have connected to Delhi through Japan or China on Air Nippon or Air China, at a reasonable cost. The majority have flown east and connected through Europe on a range of airlines including Jet Airways, Air Canada, KLM, Lufthansa, United etc. Some flights routed through Toronto. Take some time this fall to investigate the various options open to you, and share your ‘finds’ with other field schoolers.
When should I buy my plane ticket and travel insurance for India?
We recommend you wait until after our winter reading-break in February to buy a ticket, but if you wish to proceed earlier, that too is fine. When you do purchase a ticket, we strongly recommend taking the trip cancellation/interruption insurance as a precaution should there be unforeseen problems. You will also require travel medical insurance for your entire stay in India and/or a second country you travel to before or after. It should only be a few dollars a day at most. Airline arranged travel insurance is often more costly than insurance you arrange yourself directly through companies like Blue Cross, AMA or through a website such as kanetix.ca. Your family may also have insurance that can be extended to cover travel. So check before you buy. But note that full medical insurance is required, and you will need to complete a form for MRU confirming that you have insurance.
What about passport and visa(s)?
You will require a valid Canadian passport with an expiration date falling after January 1st, 2019. India visas are valid for six months and your passport has to be valid beyond that limit. If your current passport expires anytime in 2018 you should have it renewed by January 2018 before our travel dates in May. We require your passport number for our travel agent for train bookings.
You will also require a visa to visit India, and you may also require a visa for other countries you plan to visit around our time in India. Print off a few copies of your visa and passport and any other critical documentation.
How do I obtain a Visa?
With a visit to Canada in April 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi India relaxed the process for Canadians wishing to obtain a visa. Tourism visas are good for 60 days and now permit double entry.
Because it is impossible for us to know the length of visa you will require, and whether or not you will need a double entry option, we will provide a brief synopsis of your options for obtaining a visa in this guide and for referencing, but we will also discuss this issue during our pre-planning meetings.
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html This is the official Indian government site that issues tourist e-visas. We have had good luck using this service for e-visas. You may apply up to 120 days in advance of your arrival in India. When applying, you will need to state a contact name and address in India. Please use: Naresh Mahra at Exotic Tours, 65-A ,Ompro Towers Upper Ground Floor, Kalu Sarai,
New Delhi-110016 (INDIA)
Tel:+91-11-26850823
moa@exotictours.in
2018 Field Schoolers got their electronic tourism visas in 2 or 3 days. When approved, go back into the website and print off a proper PDF of your tourism visa which includes your photo. You will need this to gain entry to the country.
https://blsindia-canada.com/touristvisa.php – this service accepts hard copy application forms by mail by courier or in person at its Calgary NE office, address Unit 928 – 5075 , Falconridge Blvd North East Calgary, AB- T3J 3K9, ph: 403 351 5428. To apply in person you need complete the visa application form, submit it, print it and take the copy with your passport, possibly 1 more identification piece, and your debit card to the Calgary office. (Please review instructions independently prior to going.) Or you mail it according to instructions the service provides online, which requires that you mail your passport to Vancouver.
https://india.visahq.ca/ – this service has been used by previous field schoolers as well.
Best advice is to%(color-orange) familiarize yourself with the visa process%, which requires additional information from travelers with family connections to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and a number of other Asian countries, and we can discuss in the months ahead, the best option for each of you.
Travel & health insurance
All participants are required to confirm, by completing a required MRU insurance form, that they have arranged to have comprehensive out-of-country health insurance for trip including the dates of the field school, and for any other travel days you undertake before or after the field school.
