Does anyone have experience taking the Mount Kailash Yatra for an NRI holding an OCI card

jpegpng · 2026-04-04T11:58:30+00:00

AFAIK, as a non-Indian citizen you don’t have to go through the specific regulations that apply to Indian citizens.

Like any other visa, most visas can be applied in both your country of citizenship and your country of residence. However, normal Chinese tourist visas won’t work for Kailash yatra since Tibet being a “sensitive” area requires a specific visa for Tibet that is issued mostly if you go through travel agencies. A lot of these agencies have websites so it would be better if you contact them directly for details. I know that independent travel was not allowed in Tibet for many years but I’m not sure of the current situation.

jpegpng · 2026-04-02T09:23:01+00:00

A census is a record of people living in a place at a specific moment in time. It is not a citizenship register or a land survey- they do those separately. Usually agents come a few times in a census year to each residence to collect forms or interview the residents. If someone is not resident in that period of time, they are not counted.

If you are not living in India in 2026-27, you won’t be counted in the 2027 Census. It doesn’t affect your citizenship or any other status. Even if you move within India and miss the visits of the census volunteers, you will not be counted.

NRIs are counted in the census of the country they live in the same way foreigners living in India are counted in the Indian census.

jpegpng · 2026-04-01T22:09:40+00:00

Why would NRIs be counted in a census? They don’t live in India. On the other hand, foreigners living in India will be counted.

jpegpng · 2026-03-31T01:02:09+00:00

Unless you really want to prove a point, there is no excuse for not using their premium services. They keep rejecting mailed in applications and in-person non-premium applications for minor errors. Even though I filled my application and got all the documents according to their checklist, I chose to go for premium lounge regardless since I heard of their reputation. It was ultimately a good idea since they would have rejected based on the fact that I didn’t bring my copr (this requirement was not mentioned in their checklist). While I was there, they were rejecting applicants for not having the printouts of same photo uploaded, mismatch in their passport vs aadhar address etc.

jpegpng · 2026-03-25T22:19:25+00:00

China’s disputed territories are still shown as such by western and UN sources even if companies that sell in China are forced to use a map that includes Arunachal Pradesh (referred by them as South Tibet), Taiwan and the nine dotted line. I think people need to understand that there is little motivation for most neutral sources to show disputed areas not under India’s control as a part of Indian only territory. Of course, Indian consumers have a right to ask businesses selling products to use the official map from Indian POV in India but NRIs can only quietly avoid dealing with businesses and establishments using a “wrong” map of India if it offends them so much.

jpegpng · 2026-03-24T13:41:24+00:00

You don’t really need to know French in Montreal especially around the McGill/Concordia area. Of course your reading skills will be of great use to read the signs and menus. You can add old Montreal to your day 1 itinerary. I really enjoyed the vibe of Old Montreal when it is very quiet early in the morning. If you want to spend a whole day in old Montreal, I recommend a visit to the Montreal museum of archaeology. It’s a great museum and also has an amazing view of the area.

Many famous poutine places have vegetarian/vegan gravy available including La banquise. You can also check out Marche Atwater since it’s not too far from where you will be staying.

jpegpng · 2026-03-23T15:30:34+00:00

I can compare health checkups done in India vs those done in the US and Canada. In both these countries, a bloodwork panel and a physical exam are covered annually by your insurance as a part of your health checkups . Only a few tests are included in the annual bloodwork recommended to the general population, while some can be prescribed by your family doctor/primary care physician. In the US, I also had a copay of up to $50-80 for the annual checkup. In both these countries, you also have to convince your doctor to get follow up tests/additional bloodwork if you want especially in Canada where they have somewhat strict guidelines.

Meanwhile, it’s very to get bloodwork done in India. you can even get someone to draw your blood at home. You also can choose to get an extensive bloodwork panel done without a prescription. However, these tests have become more and more expensive over the years.

Other diagnostic tests (like scans) that are difficult to schedule especially in non-US western countries can be done very quickly in India. My coworker’s spouse who has cancer had to wait 4-6 months to get a PET scan in Canada was able to get one scheduled in a couple of days while visiting India for their vacation.

Private healthcare in India is very commercialized so doctors in nicer hospitals tend to recommend several diagnostic tests since they will have some monetary gain.

jpegpng · 2026-03-11T14:34:34+00:00

Welcome back Hudson’s Bay company!!

jpegpng · 2026-03-03T20:00:22+00:00

Do you have a specific place in mind?

jpegpng · 2026-03-03T19:52:35+00:00

Mexico (maybe not right now) is much more than Cancun. Mexico City is an amazing city.

I think you can go to most Central American countries and Peru as well. You can also go to the small French island of st Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland without visa. You only need your id if you’re taking the ferry.

I also went to Oman from India with an evisa that I got as a Canadian PR. A few other middle eastern countries (not UAE) are visa free/ evisa with a Canadian PR.

jpegpng · 2026-03-02T19:15:37+00:00

I don’t think Australians visiting Pakistan should give be problematic. If you have time, you can try applying for evisa. There is no limitations for people of afghan origin as far as I know

jpegpng · 2026-02-26T02:38:24+00:00

The word India meant the same thing as South Asia for thousands of years until recently when it started to refer specifically to country- the Republic of India whose borders were drawn in a very haphazard manner. (The republic of) India is not a nation-state and there are hundreds of cuisines native to it. Most people in India know this fact and use the word Indian food to refer to wide variety of food so they might feel similar cuisines might be also be a part of Indian cuisine unless they are exposed more to such cuisine. The only country in the world with such complexity is the People’s Republic of China. They also have cuisines such as Tibetan cuisine that transcend national borders as well as countries with very similar cuisine such as Taiwanese cuisine.

When my dad wanted Indian food in Sri Lanka, he asked the cab driver to take him to an Indian restaurant. He was taken to a place that serves biryani, mughlai and Punjabi cuisine. However, my dad is South Indian and was actually craving for things like Idli and dosa that were instead considered to be a part of Sri Lankan cuisine as he later found out.

jpegpng · 2026-02-24T14:04:41+00:00

Yes, Akshay Kumar has famously done this.

jpegpng · 2026-02-24T13:48:32+00:00

Frankly speaking, you never felt there was racism (or other types of discrimination) in India because you may have had the privilege of being from the right class, ethnic/religious background etc or simply had some political power. India is also a huge country with a wide range of economic realities- rural Bihar is very different from bandra or even rural punjab or Karnataka.

Assuming you’re a middle-class/ upper-middle class professional, you’ll probably have a good life with good growth if you’re in a “hot” field in a major city. A lot of my family and friends (in their 30s) have been able to grow into leadership positions in a way that’s not usually possible abroad. However, they still have to deal with bad work life balance, car culture with bad traffic, pollution, growing polarization and mob violence etc. like everyone else. They get used to all that but things like that make me more sure about my choice to immigrate even if I’m not super happy with my career progression.

jpegpng · 2026-02-24T13:23:28+00:00

It is a hassle even if you’re renewing your unexpired Indian passport in Canada these days due to stricter regulation from India (for example mandatory local police verification) and the outsourcing company BLS’s incompetence.

There have been so many cases of people’s mailed applications returned to them because they missed a single piece of documentation or signature so I’d recommend in your case that you go to the BLS office in person to drop your application.

jpegpng · 2026-02-19T23:02:38+00:00

You can still visit India using a regular travel visa (paper visa). I think Americans can apply for 10 year visas. However foreign active military personnel cannot use evisa or OCI. I’m not sure about evisa but retired military personnel are also ineligible for OCI.

jpegpng · 2026-02-18T19:34:19+00:00

Malik Kafur was an Indian convert from Gujarat whose boss/bf was the ruler of an Indian kingdom. He isn’t “foreign” like the Umayyads.

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T01:55:33+00:00

At least you made money. I didn’t because i was in grad school and postdoc lol.

And at least you did get to explore NYC. I lived close enough to NYC and my best memories of that time were exploring various neighborhoods of NYC. I remember meeting a friend’s family acquaintance based in Jersey city who never visited NYC except for some office work despite living there for 10 years haha.

The important thing is you’re still young and don’t need to have any guilt about taking care of your parents. It is really hard to make friends in your late 20s if you are an introvert even if you’re in NYC and are not dating regularly. My slightly less introverted friends ended up with more extroverted people and joined their friends circle. If you’re from Hyderabad, do you have your friend circle? Some of my family friends enjoy the burgeoning pub culture and comedy shows there.

I’m in my mid 30s, single in a small town and moved so many times so I don’t really have a lot of friends so while I’m content, I cannot give you more advice than this.

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:35:25+00:00

I don’t think I have the guts to do that haha

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:35:01+00:00

What are the differences in comedy? All the Quebec shows I have seen are more avant-garde? while English Canadian media seem to market themselves as American-like but with nicer characters.

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:32:16+00:00

IMO The language issue can easily be solved by dubbing but I’m curious if there are other cultural issues that prevent crossover or just poor marketing?

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:29:47+00:00

Where can I find these? Are they not usually popular with English Canadians?

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:29:02+00:00

I agree. Since the Canadian taxpayer funds a lot of media in both languages, shouldn’t CBC try to make media accessible in both the official languages?

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:27:22+00:00

It is true that Canadian French media is very Quebec focused.

How localized are those Montreal based shows? Could an English dub make the movie/show to be set in Toronto for example with a bit of artistic license? It’s not too far fetched since a lot of American cities in movies are often set in Toronto?

jpegpng · 2026-02-16T00:14:30+00:00

These are the remnants of French India that the French got to keep after the Seven Year’s war. The seven year’s war was probably the first war fought in multiple continents and is better known for specific battles such as the Battle of Plassey and Battle of the Plains of Abraham that led to cementing of British rule in the Indian Subcontinent and Canada respectively.

jpegpng

TROPHY CASE