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Passport Renewal Process and Appointment Day Process

 I planned to renew my passport recently (May 2022).  If you want to renew your passport, register here and fill in the online application. Once you completed filling in all the fields, you can upload your documents. Also, you can make online payment through the Passport Seva Kendra portal. Final step of online application process is to book a date to visit the nearest PSK (Passport Seva Kendra) Center. Once you book the slot, you will get a batch number (example, Batch: 24) with reporting time and appointment time. You should be at the center at the reporting time (let us consider reporting time as 3:15pm). In all probability, you will be called in at appointment time (15 minutes after reporting time,  say, 3:30pm).  The first step is to receive a Token number. This is the number which will be called in future steps (Counter-A, B, C). In this first step, your documents will be quickly verified. Any missing document will be notified. If any specific document is miss...
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Visiting Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal

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 We visited Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal in Nov 2021. This is the preferred time of the year to visit as the weather is suitable between October and January. Rest of the year, this region will be very hot and will be tiring to walk in hot sun. Badami is roughly 450 Kms from Bangalore. Options to reach there is via train (night train) or by road. If we start early morning at 5am, we could reach Badami by 2pm depending on traffic and weather conditions. Breakfast option is near Tumkur. After Tumkur, there are very few food options. One could plan accordingly based on time of the day. Route from Bangalore to Badami
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Barcelona Visit

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Barcelona is a fantastic place to visit if you want to experience European architecture and culture. Best time to visit the city is from December to Feb. After Feb, it gets warmer. Summers are really hot. I visited Barcelona in January and it was very pleasant between 10-20 degree Celsius. Note: To visit Spain, you will need Schengen visa for Spain. Follow the visa process to apply for a travel visa. From my experience, it was a very laborious process with lots of documents to submit including 6 months bank statements and last 3 years income tax returns filed receipts. Casa Battlo Casa Battlo - This is museum located in the heart of the city that was built by Antoni Gaudi. It is recommended to buy tickets online and plan your visit. Hop-on Hop-off Bus Bicycle rentals Fira Metro Station Park Guell This is a beautiful park designed by Antoni Gaudi between 1912 and 1926. Location is slightly away from the center of the city. But, you can take Metro and reach...
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Visiting Gujarat

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Visiting Gujarat for tourism is a great thing to do. If you want to enjoy food and culture of India, Gujarat is one of the finest destinations. I visited with my family to Gujarat in December 2019. It was a 8-day trip starting from Ahmedabad. Here are few things that we did and I would recommend people who plan to visit Gujarat. Here is the route that we took: Ahmedabad -> Rann of Kutch -> Dwarka -> Porbandar -> Somnath -> Ahmedabad After completing this circuit, we stayed back in Ahmedabad for 2 days to complete Statue of Unity on one day and, Sun Temple, Modhera and Rani Ki Vav on another day. Rann of Kutch We started off from Ahmedabad to Rann of Kutch. This place is 8-9 hrs drive from Ahmedabad. Roads were decent, but, for repair work all along the way. This repair work got us stuck in a massive traffic jam for couple of hours as we approached Bhuj. Tips for Bhuj: 1. Start from Ahmedabad as early as possible - Say, 6am. That way you will reach Rann of Kut...
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Ladakh Trip Day-8

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Friday, Jun 21 2019 Pangong to Leh A bridge on the way. DRDO - World's highest Terrestrial Research Center. We had to pass through Chang La Pass to reach Leh-Manali Highway. We got stuck near the pass for an hour as there were a huge pile of army trucks moving. Civilian vehicles were put on hold. Army movement on Chang La Pass Thukpa We started from Pangong at 8am. By the time we crossed Chang La Pass, it was noon. We stopped for lunch a hour before reaching Leh. Thukpa was my lunch. It tastes similar to noodles, but, very plain, bland, and soupy. Drive on Chang La Pass was tiring. Oxygen levels were low and we got tired waiting in the car for an hour. We munched biscuits as we were feeling tired and hungry. On the budget side, cost of cab to cover Nubra and Pangong was Rs.20,000 (we were total 5), i.e., Rs.4,000 per person. Room/camp cost in Nubra and Pangong was Rs.1500 person per night. After reaching Leh at 3pm, we planned to rest for the day. F...
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Ladakh Trip Day-7

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Thursday, June 20 2019 Nubra to Pangong Tso (Lake) Drive from Nubra to Pangong took us about 6hrs. Clear waters of Ladakh Road blockage due to landslide. Dirt road is getting cleared here. Local Tea shop serving lunch Maggi for lunch on the way to Pangong On our way to Pangong Marshy land Wild horses seen in the plains We reached Pangong by 4:30pm. First view of Pangong was breathtaking. Pangong - First view Pangong Lake with campsites Pangong Lake is a salt water lake. Eastern part of the lake belongs to China. Accommodation: There are plenty of accommodations in the form of log houses and camps/tents. It is recommended to pick something that will keep you warm in the night. For me, the night was freezing cold. Similar to my stay in Tso Moriri, headache caught me late in the night. Best time of the year to visit this lake: July to September Note: When we went, we saw lots of camps that were close to the water body being demolished by ...
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Ladakh Trip Day-6

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Wednesday, June 19 2019 The driver was supposed to pick us up from the hotel at 9am. Due to brake repair, we were informed that he will arrive an hour late. That driver had completed a long a tiring drive previous night driving another set of tourists from Pangong Lake to Leh. As we were waiting and walking near the reception of our hotel, one person who seemed to be lost walked in. After inquiry, I got to know that he was looking for us. Without knowing his name and he not knowing my complete name, we were all set to start off to Nubra Valley via Khardung La (world's highest motorable road at 18,000 feet. With all the hurry in boarding the vehicle, I forgot to pick my camera battery that I had kept for charging in the room. For next 2 days, I was left with no shooting pictures on my DSLR camera. I had to satisfy myself to my smartphone camera. Leh to Hunder (Nubra Valley) Khardung La (Pass) is an hour away from Leh. When we approached this pass, it started to snow. There ...
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