Trip to OST office @ central London

Yesterday, I went to OSTmodern office. It was an amazing trip. OSTmodern is a vendor for BBC. They are basically mobile apps development company. Their office is located at central london near Old Street.

The trip was memorable. I went their office for two days. It was basically for testing the mobile apps they have developed.

For reaching there, I had to take picaddily line from Hounslow East to King's Cross Station. From there, I had to take nothern line to Old street. From Old Street it was a five minutes walk.

I went the office on saturday as well. There were only 3 people in the office. We really enjoyed working on saturday and discussion random things.

We also had the dinner at the office itself. Company had arranged for our dinners. It was really a memorable experience.

Watching movie Tamasha

Today I watched the movie Tamasha. It was a really nice movie. I really enjoyed it. This movie is based on the concept of work for your passion.

And this is the reason why I liked this movie more. Because it is my Passion to create something related to passion. I know bit confusing but its not.

My goal is to create a platform where everyone can get to work on their passions. I was everyone to work for their passion.

And this movie ignited my inner enthusiasm more to achieve this with greater determination.

Ice skating at London eye

Today on 4th Dec, 2015 we went for ice skating at London eye. We were total 6 people including Kalyani, Amit and Myself. We went there directly from office. The ice skating is arranged every winter.

It was a wonderful experience. It was the third time I was doing the ice skating so I was doing bit better as compared to before.

We really enjoyed the experience. :)

New Home in Rayners Lane

So Finally, we have found a new home in Rayners Lane. It is a brand new 2 BHK flat in an awesome society. I am going to share this flat with a couple who works in the same office as mine.

We have started the process of the renting last week. And we are going to shift in this property on 12th of December 2015. Here is a quick video of my new home :)

The Chilling Winter

It was extremely chilling day today. Outside temperature went to as low as -1 degrees. Day temperature was around 4 - 5 degrees.

UK Welcomes Modi - Trip to Wembley Stadium

Today I went to attend one of the greatest address of Modi in foreign land, the Modi's Wembley London event. I registered online for the event but somehow didnt got the ticket. So I was unable to enter the Wembley stadium but I went there and saw the spectacular view from outside.

I saw the Modi's speech live on youtube. Once I reach there, the fireworks were about to start. I saw the fireworks, it was amazing. The crowd was chanting Modi.. Modi.. Everyone seems so happy. It was really a great event. I was lucky to be there at that time.

The Room Problem

I was in my office and suddenly I got a call from my room owner. He called me and said I have to vacate my room tomorrow. I was like surprised, what happended all of a sudden. I said I will talk to you in the evening.

I was worried, what going to be next. While I was on the way to my home, I got a next message saying the issue is sorted out, You dont need to vacate the room now. I was bit of relieved.

To understand what happended here, I will give you a little bit of background. My Owner is not actually owner of the property. He is actually a tenant who has subletted the room to me.

More to this, he hasnt informed the owner about me living in his property because the owner does not wants a bachelor to live in his room. Obviously I wasnt aware of all this.

To make matter worse, the owner was living in the property next to our home. And he also had a food shop on the high street.

One day it happened to me that I went to that food shop. I purchased some food and all of sudden the owner asked me, do you live at 46, tiverton road?

I wasnt aware that he is the owner. I said yes. He asked me how much are you paying as rent. I said 500 something.

That's it. I am not sure what happened next. Probably the owner called his tenent (to whom I subletted the room) and asked to vacate my room.

Finally after some discussion between those two, the owner agreed to sort out the issue after meeting me.

Next day morning, he came to my room, saw my room, asked for my passport and visa etc. and after that went away without making any big issue.

So finally the room problem was sorted :)

Applying Visa for my Mom

Today I have initiated process for applying VISA for my mother. She is coming to UK in Jan 2016 and will stay here for couple of months.

I have booked her ticket from India to UK. I am going to India on 9th of Jan and will be travelling back to London on 23rd of Jan. She will be travelling along with me.

I haven't booked her return tickets as my family will be visiting here later in April and I am planning to book their tickets all along.

Since I am sponsoring their trips so I have to show all the documents:

Below is the list of documents required:
My Documents
- Invitation letter
- Pay Slips of last 3 months
- Bank Statement of last 3 months
- Passport Copy
- Visa Copy (BRP Card)
- Tenancy Agreement
- Employment Agreement (Optional)

Their documents:
- Accommodation Proof (Hotel Accommodation)
- Travel Proof (Air Tickets or Confirmation Email)
- Passport
- Property Ownership Document/ FD Bank Account Document/ Bank Statement (In English)
- Cover letter
- Online VISA Application Form
- Appointment Letter
- Recent Photograph

• 
  

Update: Finally my mom got visa today on 9th Dec 2015

Shifted to My New Home

Finally today, on 3rd of October, I have shifted to my new home in Hounslow East. It is a nice double room in a Victorian House. I am enjoying my stay here.

Trip to Amsterday

Yesterday (on 23th Sep 2015), I had an awesome trip to Amsterday. It was a day trip so I left from London early morning and came back to London at late night.

It was an amazing experience travelling through canal of Amsterdam, Trams on the Road and walking in the roads along with canals.

My Trip started with leaving from London at around 5 AM in the morning. I reached London heathrow airport at around 5.30 AM. My flight was from Gatwick airport which is quite far from Heathrow airport. I had to get a National express bus from Heathrow to Gatwick airport.

At around 6.30 AM, I reached Gatwick airport. My Easy jet flight was at 8.00 AM from there. It took around half an hour for security check and other procedures. After that, I had some quick snacks and get ready for boarding the flight.



At 8.00 AM the flight departed for Amsterday. It was a small 45 minutes flight from Gatwick to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. I reached Schiphol around 9.00 AM UK time. However, Europe is 1 hour ahead on UK time so it was 10 AM in Amsterdam.


Just outside the Airport there is an I Amsterdam symbol. It is basically an icon of the city. There I took few photos.














After spending half an hour there, I headed towards canal tour. There were so many canal tour operators. I book a small canal boat. It was a one hour ride on canal which go across the central Amsterdam.

Canal boat ride is the best was to see the beautiful city and buildings of Amsterdam. We took the boat at 12.40 and it was a one hour ride. The experience was just amazing. We saw lots of beautiful places and buildings.

Just as the boat ride finished, the rain started. We then headed towards Anne Frank museum. We took a tram to reach WestrMrkt from where it is very close. However, to our bad luck, the museum was closed that day due to some reasons.

We then headed towards Flower market. We took the tram from Amsterdam Centraal towards Flower market. Flower market is world famous for Tulips. If exports tulip bulbs all across the world.

We spent around one hour in the flower marked. We purchased some tulip bulbs and also some iconic items of Amsterdam. Till that time, heavy rains started. Then we headed towards Van gaugh museum.

By the time we reached Van Gaugh museum, it was already too late. We didnt got entry in the museum however we saw the gardens outside the museum. It was very beautiful and there was another I amsterdam symbol. There we again took lots of pictures.

We also had a very beautiful walk alongside the canals of Amsterdam and took some pictures in the city and bridges. The overall experience was just awesome. Amsterdam is full of canals and bridges. And there were bicycles all over the city.

At 7.30PM we started our return journey towards London. We took the Tram to the Amsterdam Centraal Station. From Amsterdam Centraal, We had our train to Schiphol Airport. By 8 PM we were at Schiphol Airport. Our Flight was at 9.15 PM due to land at 9.30 PM at Gatwick airport

We had also booked our bus from Gatwick airport to Heathrow at 10.30PM.

After having some shopping at airport, we passed through security checks and reached our gate by 9.15 PM however, due to some reasons, our flight got delayed by 15 mins. So it departed around 9.45 PM.

We were worried that if flight becomes too late then we may miss our bus booked from Gatwick to Heathrow.

Anyways, finally we boarded the flight to Gatwick. The flight was bound to North terminal of Gatwick airport. After around 1 hour of flight time, the Pilot announced for landing. We were descending towards the airport suddenly the plane took a sudden speed and started heading upward.

Soon, pilot announced that due to some landing permissions by ATC at gatwick, we will land after some time. And then Pilot started taking a round around the gatwick airport. By that time it was already 9.45 PM. And we were worried about our Bus which was scheduled to depart at 10.30 PM from Gatwick North Terminal.

Finally at 9.50 PM we landed at Airport but to our surprise it was Gatwick south terminal as opposed to North terminal where it was scheduled to land. And we had to go through Immigration and all. We were thinking that we gonna miss our bus at 10.30.

Somehow after immigration, we immediately took a shuttle from South terminal to North terminal. After few minutes we reached North terminal but now we were not sure where is the bus stop for our bus. By the time it was already 10.25PM

Soon, we somehow managed to reached the Bus stop. We saw the bus was already standing there. Finally we got the bus to Heathrow.

From heathrow, we took the Train to our home and we reached around 11.30 PM.
It was an amazing and memorable trip.

Trip to Thorpe Park

Yesterday on 19th Sep, 2015 we had an amazing trip to Thorpe Park. Thorpe Park is a theme park near London. It has amazing rides and fun activities.

We left from our homes around 8.30 AM and reached Thorpe park around 9.30 AM. It was a amazingly bright sunny day. We have taken our tickets and entered the park.

First ride we had was the Swarm Ride. It was a mind blowing ride. Only pictures can tell you how it was. The experience was just awesome.

Next we went to Stealth Ride. It is a spectacular ride. It goes for 0 to 80 miles per hour in just 2.3 seconds. And then It goes to a height of upto 230 feet.

After that we went for a small Banana ride. It was a funny small ride mainly for children.

Next we went for Tidal wave. It is also an amazing ride with lots of water splashes. It made us really really wet. The below video will tell you exactly how wet it makes you :)

After that, we went to Dashing car. At around 5 PM the rides were closed. We spend some time playing some funny games inside the park. At around 6 PM, we left from left the park for our homes.

We had our dinner at Tabla restaurant in Hounslow. And finally reached home around 10 PM. Overall it was a really great and memorable day.

Here is the link to all photos.

Searching for Room Again

Last week, got news that some relatives of my owner are coming to stay here in London for around 6 month. As a result I have to vacate my room. With this, I have to start hunting for my new home again.

I was spent almost my entire weekend searching for homes in London. My current room was a pretty good one so I am looking for a similar one but it is very difficult to get all the combinations in one place.

Some rooms are good but there is no good food options nearby. Some rooms have good food options nearby but they were not good.. :(

So the hunt is still going on... Let see, when I gonna get a new good one.. :)

Trip to Paris

The most awaited trip to Paris started today. This is the first time I am travelling to Europe. I am really excited about it..

[29th August 2015]
It was a three days tours via Star Tours.  Our bus was from Southall at 5. 00 Am.  I got up at 3 am and got ready by 4 am.  I got a bus from Hounslow to Southall at 4. 15 am and I reached Southall by 4. 50 Am.

At Southall,  we get into our bus.  Ours was Bus no.  9.  After some setup,  we departed at around 5. 20 Am.

After around 3 hours of journey,  at 8. 30 Am,  we reached the port from where we have to take the ferry.  Somehow it took more than expected and we were waiting for ferry for about 1 hour.  At 9. 30 Am we got into ferry.

The experience in ferry was just amazing.  It was a large ferry which carried several vehicles along with our Bus to cross the channel.  After one and half hour of ferry journey,  at around 11 Am we reached calais port of France.

From there it was another 3 hours journey to Paris.  Also when we reach France from UK, we have to forward our clock by 1 hour as there is a 1 hour difference in two time zones.

So it was already 12 Pm and we have to travel for 3 hours more.  In addition,  our tour guide said that there is an accident in the way so they are going to take alternate route and it gonna take more time.

Finally around 5 Pm we reached Paris.  Paris is a beautiful city with so many museums and sight seeing.  Soon we were near the iconic Eiffel tower.  Its beauty is incredible. 

We took a ferry near Eiffel tower to see the beautiful palaces and bridges near Eiffel tower.  It was really beautiful day.  Weather was sunny and it bit hot.  Temperature was around 30-35 degrees.

It was half an hour boat ride and we took lots of pictures near Eiffel tower.  After that we got back into the bus and header towards restaurants for dinner.

The dinner was also very nice.  After 1 hour,  at 7 Pm we departed from restaurant towards our hotels.

Our hotel is Novotel hotel.  Its a very nice hotel with all modern facilities.  Right now I am enjoying my stay in Novotel hotel.

Tomorrow we are going to Disney land. We have to leave our hotel by 9am. Plan is to spend full day at Disney land and then see sparkling Eiffel tower at night.

[30th August 2015]
Today we had an awesome day at Disneyland Paris.  Disneyland is an awesome Disney themed amusement Park.  It is mainly for small children's but it has something for almost everyone.

We left from our hotel at around 9 am in the morning.  After around 1 and half hour of journey,  we reached Disney land.  Disney land is divided in two parts,  one is Disneyland Park and other is Disneyland studio. 

Both are big enough that they take at least one day to cover one part.  We decided to go to Disneyland Park.  The Park itself is then further divided into 6 parts called Fantasy land,  adventure land,  USA Street, etc..  A children's train runs around the park and takes you from one part to another and so on....

There are so many rides and things to do in the Disneyland Park.  We had loads of photo sessions and went on few of the rides.  Its really big and takes loads of time to complete...  One day is barely enough to complete the park..

I first went for the Star tours...  It is a virtual tour to a moon of a Planet called Endura. The experience was just awesome..  Next I went to Indiana Jones rides...  It is a roller coaster ride..  It was also amazing...

Finally third ride was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  It was the best rides among all. However there was long queues but it was worth waiting. The experience was just too good.

At 6. 30 we left from the Disneyland and headed towards restaurant for dinner.  At 7. 30 we reached restaurant.  The dinner was awesome.  It was pure Indian food in an Indian Restaurant called Bhutan..

After that we went to Paris city center for Paris city tour at night.  We saw some of the famous streets of Paris.  We also saw Eiffel tower.  It beauty just increases manifolds in night. 

At every hour,  the whole Eiffel tower sparkles with the lighting of more than 20, 000 bulbs.  We saw the Eiffel tower sparkling at 10 Pm.  The view was just spectacular. We took some pictures there and then headed towards our next destination.

Then we saw some of the famous buildings and museums of Paris.  Paris is also very old city,  same as London with some of the buildings as old as from 17th century.

We saw Lucre museum from outside.  It is world's biggest museum and houses one of the most famous paintings of the  world.  The Monalisa.
It is said that it takes at least one week of time if you want to see the Luvre museum properly.

Paris has most number of museums in the world.  There are approximately 104 or 105 museums. 

At around 10. 30 our tour for the day ended we headed back towards our hotels.  At 11. 30 we reached our hotels.  Right now I am having rest at my hotel and preparing for tomorrow tour. 
Time to sleep now..  :)

[31st August 2015] 

Today we went to see the Eiffel tower. Yes again but this time from closer. We left from our hotels around 8.30 am in the morning. If was around 1 and half hour drive from the hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day. 

We reached Champ de Mars around 10 AM. It is the place where Eiffel tower is located. The view was just spectacular. I was much much bigger than what I thought and imagined ever. It was amazing. We took some selfies over there and then went to get the tickets for the top floor. 

There were huge queues. Approx more than 1000 peoples were there in the queue waiting for their terms. After around one hour, we get chance to get our tickets and enter the basement of the tower. From there we have to get our lifts for the top floor.

Eiffel tower is divided into several platforms. The first floor is the lowest floor. Next stop is the second floor from where the view is just awesome. And the last one is the top floor. The view from there cannot be described in words.. :)

We took the lift and our first destination was the second floor. The lift was pretty fast still it took around 4-5 mins to reach the second floor. There we had some photographs and then went for the top floor.

Again after 4-5 min of lift ride, we reached the top floor. Eiffel tower is 301 meter high. The view from top is just amazing. It was a clear beautiful sunny day so the view was much better. We had loads of photographs over there.

After spending one hour over there, we started returning to our bus. While returning, we took some more pictures and also purchased some Eiffel tower small statues from the souvenir shops.

Then we started our return journey towards London.

On the way, we had lunch in a french restaurant. It was very difficult to get desired food in french restaurant as you dont know french and they dont know english and the food also doesnt look familiar :). Anyways, somehow we managed to get food. It was long journey ahead. Around 7-8 hours.

From Paris, we had to travel back to Calais which was approx 300 KM from Paris. After 5 hours of journey, we reached Calais around 6 PM in the evening. At Calais, we experienced something amazing which we never experienced before.

We were told that we will go from Calais France to Dover which is in UK via Euro Train Shuttle. It is a special train which travel through Euro tunnel which is a under sea Tunnel from Calais France to Dover UK. 

What's more interesting was that our whole Bus was going to Board the Train. We saw, our Bus entered the Train Bogie and then the train doors were locked. It was just amazing experience to see the Bus being boarded on the train.

After around half hour of journey, we reached UK. At UK, our bus boarded off the Train and then started journey towards London. After further 2-3 hours of journey, we finally reached Southall london, our drop point.

From there we booked a Cab to our home in Hounslow. It was great three days spent in Paris. Overall, It was a more memorable journey.  Au revoir

Trip to Kingston upon Thames

Yesterday we went to Kingston upon Thames. We were total 3 people, Akshatha, her roommate and me. Kingston upon thames is a nice riverside walk with nice gardens and boats and awesome view.

We left from our homes around 1.00 PM. We were initially planning to go to Brighton but since it was very long journey and we were already late hence we have decided to go to Kingston upon Thames.

We took the tube from hounslow to South ealing. From there we took a bus 65 towards Kingston. It was extremely hot that day and bus was extremely full. Suddenly something happended that we never expected. The bus trye got burst and we all had to get off the bus.

Then we walked for few minutes to reach the next bus stop. After 15 minutes of wait we got another bus however that bus was already so full that we were unable to manage to get inside the bus. That bus also left and we were still waiting at the bus stop for the next bus.

To our surprise 65 was the only bus that goes to our destination. We had no option but to wait. After another 15-20 min of wait we saw another bus no. 65 coming. This bus was also full but this time we didnt want to take any risk. We somehow managed to get inside the bus.

That bus took us to Richmond but again terminated there. We left that bus and took another 65 bus to finally reach our destination, Kingston. We finally reached kingston around 4 PM. It was really a long journey.

There we had some Pizzas and cold drinks. After that we started walking towards Kingston upon Thames. It is a nice riverside walk with nice view, gardens, restaurants and boats.

We walked alongside the river. Took loads of pictures and also plucked some fresh fruits along the river side. There were so many boats in the river. The view was just spectacular. Some people were also fishing in the river. We stayed for sometime to watch the people fishing...

Then around 6 PM we started our return journey. We took a train from Kingston towards St. margarets station. From there we took H37 bus towards hounslow. At hounslow we had dinner at Tabla Indian Restaurant.

It was really a memorable day... We really enjoyed it.. :)

Applying for Schengen Visa

Schengen visa is required for travel to European countries like France, Germany, Switzerland etc.

Getting Schengen visa is very easy if you have valid UK Visa.
If you want schengen visa for upto 6 months, then always apply from French embassy.

Following documents are required for applying schengen visa..
- Return Tickets
- Accommodation Proof
- Travel Insurance (sample)
- Employment Letter (sample)
- Visa reference letter (If possible) (sample)
- Fully filled application form (sample)
- ID Photo less than 3 months old
- Bank statement for 3 months
- Passport with Valid UK Visa

Always carry a xerox copy of all these document along with original documents.

Below is the complete process for Schengen visa application.
1. Collect all the above documents

2. Go to TLS contact website and login or register:
https://www.tlscontact.com/gb2fr/login.php

3. Once you are in the website, fill up the application form with exact details
If you want, you can download the blank application form from here

4. Book and Confirm the appointment

5. Visit the TLS Contact office on the date of appointment

6. Submit the documents, Give the biometrics and Pay the Visa fees.

7. That's it, if everything is OK, you will get your visa in 3-4 days.

Send off Party for Tabbu

Yesterday (On 26th July, Sunday) we went for Tabbu's send off party. Tabbu is Akshatha's flatmate. She is going back to India next week. We were total 7 people including me, Akshatha, her sister, Juhi, Niranjan and Dhanesh.

We had several plans like paddling bus etc but due to heavy rains all the plans were cancelled. Finally we have decided to show a video that I have created in a big screen in some hotel.

We have booked a restaurant called Jetlag sports bar in central london. It has lots of big screens. We reached there around 4 PM in the evening. After some snacks and drinks we played the video. Everyone like the video. Then we asked tabbu to speak something about all of us.

After that we played few games like Pool and Foos ball. Everyone enjoyed it a lot. It was a memorable experience.

Here is the link to the video:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwUMuufo_a06anY5YnRhOFpUVm8

Trip to Durdledoor

Yesterday we went to Durdledoor.  It is a small place near London with scenic beauty and beaches. 

We were around 13-14 people. We left from Hounslow around 7am in the morning. We have to reach Southall at around 8am. The bus was at 8.30 am from there.

We left at 8.30 am from Southall for durdledoor. The total journey was of 2.5 hours but due to heavy traffic, it took us more than 3 hours.

At around 12pm we reached durdledoor. It is a very nice beach in the Dorset region of UK. It has a very nice door shaped arc and limestone cliffs.

The beauty from the top of the cliff was just mind blowing. We took lots of photos of the beach from the top. Then we went down the cliff towards the beach.

Nightout at London.... Experiencing London Nightlife..

Yesterday on 18th July, 2015 we went for experiencing London nightlife. It was a perfect night out. We were total 9 peoples. We left from our home around 7.30 PM. After around 1 hour of travel, we reached London bridge. The view was just spectacular. It was light raining outside but it stopped after sometime. The weather was was not too cold not too hot, it was just perfect.

London bridge is very close to the iconic Tower bridge the very well known icon of London. We started walking from London bridge towards Tower bridge.  After few meters of walk, we started taking selfies and pictures.

In the meantime, we saw something, we eagerly wanted to see. The Tower brige gate was opening. It happens once in day or week at a particular time. The tower bridge gate opens to allow crossing of ships and cruises. It was an awesome view.

After that, we reached on top of Tower brige. We took few more photos over there. Till that time, everyone started feeling hungry. It was around 11 pm and most of the restaurants were closed by that time.

Then we decided to go to China town, a very famous chinese eatery area. We took a bus from Tower of bridge towards Piccadily circus. China town is close to Piccadily circus. The view was just amazing at Piccadily circus. It was around 12 AM Midnight but the crowd was like it is 7 PM in the evening. There were loads of people and everyone was enjoying.

After around 15 minutes of walk from Piccadily circus, we reached China town. We went in a dumpling specific hotel. We had dumplings and noodles there. The food was very nice. We took some more selfies and Pictures in the hotel...

After that, we went to London eye and Big Ben. Again took loads of pictures and selfies. By that time, it was around 2 AM. Everyone was feeling extremely sleepy. But the experience was just awesome.

Then we took bus N9 towards our homes. After 1 hour of travel, we reached hounslow, our homes. I reached home at around 4.30 AM. But the overall experience was just awesome. It was a perfect nightout.

Amazing trip to Isle of Wight

Yesterday on 27th June 2015 (Saturday), we went for an amazing trip to isle of Wight. We were total 18 people. It was a one day trip. We left from our home around 5.30am and reached hounslow around 6:30 Am. Trip started at around 7 a.m.

We reached the ferry around 10 am.  The bus boarded the ferry to cross the water channel and reach the isle of Wight.  It was an awesome experience.

We had our breakfast in the ferry and then had some photo sessions on the upper deck.

After 45 mins of ferry trip,  we reached isle of Wight border.  From there again it a 1.5 hours journey to isle of Wight.

First we reach the needles an iconic spot of isle of Wight.  There we saw a glass factory.  We saw how they make glass items. 

Then we went of isle of Wight beach.  We took a ropeway to reach the beach.  The view was just amazing and so is the beach.  We took lots of photos there.

After that we reached Shanklin beach.  It was also a very beautiful beach. We had some lunch there and spent three hours there.  We played bowling and few other games there.  We also spent some time in the beach.

After that we returned home.  We played dumb charades in the bus. We reached home by 11.30pm.  Overall it was a wonderful journey. 

All trip photos are available here.

London Dobara - (London Part 2)

On 16th of June 2015, I reached London again, this time with a Long Term Visa. Right now I am staying at So Sienna apartments hammersmith but soon I need to find a room for myself.

3 Weeks in India

I reached Pune on 25th May morning. I was staying at hotel Formule 1 near hinjewadi. It was a nice hotel with all basic facilities. I stayed in the hotel till 10th June. On 10th June 2015, I checked out of hotel to go to my hometown Rewa, MP.

I reached my hometown on 11th June 2015. It was 20 hours journey from Pune. Finally on 11th night I reached my hometown. I was at my hometown after more than 1 year. Although I was at my hometown for less than 1 week but the feeling was beyond words.

Tomorrow, on 15th June, 2015, I have to leave from Rewa for Delhi. My flight is from Delhi on 16th june at 1PM.

Preparation for Visa Renewal and Journey Back to UK

After reaching Pune, next task was to start preparation for Visa renewal and Return journey to UK.
Process starts with submitting the Long Term Visa request in Peoplehub. This should be approved by anyone C7 and above, Chinmoy Bhagwat in my case.


Main Tasks were
1. Get the WP Approved
2. Get the COS
3. Get the Long Term VISA
4. Get relocated back from Offshore to Onsite
5. Get the Travel Tickets


Following things needs to be done as soon as I reach India:
1. Cancel the old COS and get the New COS from Chandra
2. Send the Boarding Pass and Exit stamped Visa to Chandra
3. Get the Old relocation request completed


Documents required for WP Initiation:
When you raise the VISA request, and when Chinmoy Bhagwat approves the request, then Ashwini or Jaysheela sends a list of Work permit document and WP checklists which needs to be filled and sent to them.
- WP Initiation Document
- Checklist
- Other support documents (e.g. TB Test, Photo details, FAQ etc.)

Time saving trick: In order to save time, you can fill and send the WP initiation document while you are at onsite location. (You need to know you exit from UK date)

You need to fill and send above documents.
In addition to this, you need to send following documents to them:
- Degree certificate scanned copy
- Passport scanned copies
- Signed Relocation Letter from Onsite to Offshore
- Return Travel Tickets 

Once you send the WP document and other supporting document, they send it for filing. It takes 3-4 days before they get back to you. After this is done, they will provide you the COS.

Apart from that, following two things are also required at the time of VISA interview.
So start working on them in parallel:
1. Last 12 months salary slip signed by Payroll (Make sure Salary slips are continuous)
2. TB Test report

Time saving trick: Start working on your 12 month salary slips while you are at onsite location. Make sure salary slips are continuous for 12 moths. As soon as you reach offshore, get your salary slips attested from Payroll department. Also get the TB test done as soon as possible.


TB Test:
You need to get TB Test report if you are travelling for more than 6 months to UK. For TB Test you need to go to Ruby Hall hospital if you are in Pune. Try to reach hospital early to get the reports faster.

Once, you reach there, you need to fill few forms and then get the X-Ray and other tests done.
Please make sure to carry following while going for TB Test:
- Passport Original and 2 Xerox Copies
- If you have VISA, carry VISA Xerox Copies
- Permanent address in India and UK Address
- Recent Photos (Gum to stick photos)
- Pen for filling forms

It generally takes 1-2 hours to complete the whole process. Reports are issued same day in the evening or next day.


Relocation From Offshore to Onsite:
You need to submit the relocation form in peoplehub from Offshore to Onsite. If you face any issue, you need to submit the joining form for the Pune location. Once this is approved, you will be able to submit the Relocation form. Relocation approval generally takes upto 1 week or more so start early to get everything completed on time.


Travel Request from Offshore to Onsite:
You need to raise the travel request from Offshore to Onsite. You need to ensure the relocation request is approved before you can submit the Travel request but you can initiate the travel request and fill the other fields.


Online VISA Application Form and Visa Interview:
You need to go to following website for online VISA application.
https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk.

While applying for short term VISA, you might have already registered in the website so you can use the same credentials again.  You can apply for a New VISA and fill all the details.  Just leave the COS details field blank as you may not have recieved it yet. You can fill it once you recieve the COS.

You have to fill the online application form. Once you complete filling the personal details, please do not confirm the application.  Just save the application and share the login credentials with them to verify.

They will verify the form and will make the visa fee payment and will confirm the appointment as well. Once they fix an appointment, please inform Traveldesk and submit all the documents to TravelDesk as per the check list.

The TravelDesk will arrange for covering letter, sponsorship letter and the DDs (for fast track payment only, the visa fee is paid online only fast track payment is made through dds) for you once the documents are submitted.

Visa Interview:
On the scheduled date, you need to go to VISA office for visa interview. Before VISA interview, make sure you carry all the relevant documents.  Following is the checklist of documents required:
- Passport (Original and Xerox)
- Degree Certificate (Original and Xerox)
- Latest Photos
- Printout of Online Visa form
- COS Document
- Last 12 months salary slips
- Salary slip authentication letter
- Sponsorship letter Fax from UK (Make sure Fax number is present in the sheet)
- VISA appointment confirmation printout
- Cover letter
- Appropriate DDs
- VFX Printout receipts incase DDs are not there.


After Visa Interview, it takes around 3 to 4 working days to get your Visa arrived. Once VISA is arrived, you need to send the scanned copies to Jayasheela and Travel desk team and get the confirm Flight and Hotel bookings done with the Travel desk team. Once this is done, you are ready to travel.

Time saving trick: Try to get your Visa interview date on Monday, Tuesday or Max Wednesday so that you can get your Visa by Friday or Max by Saturday and you can save the weekend time for travel to your hometown.


Travel to UK:
Below is the Checklist of documents to be carried while travelling to UK.

.         Passport stamped with the necessary visa (self and dependants)

·         COS document

·         Same photo specification used for the visa stamping

·         Deputation letter/transfer letter

·         Confirmed air ticket

·         Travel Insurance

·         Foreign Exchange

.         Marriage certificate for spouse travel and birth certificate for child’s travel

·         List of addresses and telephone numbers of Minds in UK

·         Chest X-ray and the Tuberculosis report obtained from the recognised hospital, the report should not be older than 6 months (applicable for self and dependants)

Other things to do:
You need to claim the expense for the Air Tickets booked from London to Pune. Even though the tickets were provided by company, you still need to claim the expense as expense to Air tickets were considered as an advance taken by you.


Once you reach London:
Once you reach London, you need to
1. Get the "Right to Work" check done and collect the BRP card.
2. Get your relocation done back to UK done
3. Get your expenses claimed and expense proof submitted .

Reached Pune India

Finally on 25th May 2015, at 7.30 AM in the morning, I reached Pune India. It was an Air India flight from London Heathrow Terminal 4 to Mumbai. I left from London on 25th May (Sunday) afternoon at 1.00 PM. It was total 8.5 hours flight.

I watched some good movies in flight like Chashme Baddoor and Dawate-e-ishq. The lunch and dinner was also good at flight. At local time 2.30 AM we reached Mumbai.

It took another 2 hours for security checks and immigration and I came out of airport at around 4.30 AM. It was really hot outside. Temperature was 35 degree C at 4.00 AM in the night. It was kinda suffocating.

Then I booked a Cab from Mumbai to Pune. We left mumbai at around 5 AM and after 2 and half hour journey, we reached Pune at 7.30 AM in morning. Overall it was a nice journey.

Trip to New Broadcasting House, Diwana Bhelpuri and The Wrong Train

Today we went to BBC New Broadcasting House and Diwana Bhelpuri house. We were total 7 people including Me, Akshatha, Deepika, Javaria, Martin, John and Amy.

We left from office at around 6 PM in the evening and took a central line train towards oxford circus. From there, it was a 10 Minutes walk to NBH. The New broadcasting house is an amazing building which creates and broadcasts lots of news and episodes over London and UK for BBC.

We saw the Live news reporting room, the news editing room, the India Desk and many other things there. After spending around 1 and half hours, we took a taxi to go to Diwana Bhelpuri house. It was a nice Indian restaurant.

We had lots of bhelpuri, Dosa, Panipuri and other Indian snacks there. After then at around 9.30 PM we headed back to our homes. It was a nice day out.

In the return journey, I caught a wrong train which was going to direction opption to that of my home.
I just realized after reaching the last stop of the train that I had caught the wrong train. But as it was the last stop, I just remained sat in the same train.. :)

After some time, the same train moved back towards my home station and after 1 hour journey, I reached my home at around 11 PM in the night. It was a wonderful day though....

Preparation for Return Journey

Today I am filling forms for return journey to India and Visa extension. Yes, its time to go back home. My visa is expiring on 29th May. After approx 9 months, I am going back to India this month end. But it will be for 3 - 4 weeks only. I have to come back to UK again with long term Visa.

The process starts with mailing to Chandrashekhar (our PF) about Visa expiry and Visa extension.
In return Chandru has sent me some documents which I have to fill and send back to him.

The documents includes
- Tier2 declaration-pg39-0414,
- Pbsdependant declaration-pg33-0714 &
- Tier2_Assessment Form-RAS052015

Apart from that, I need to also raise following requests:
- Relocation request,
- Visa request and
- Travel request (Can be done only after Relocation request is approved)

Most important thing is Visa request and Relocation request. Once relocation request has been done, then only I would be able to raise a travel request and get my tickets done.

There has been some problem with my last relocation request while travelling from India to London. That has been causing me trouble in raise a new relocation request for travel back from London to India.

[Friday 22nd May] So finally Relocation request is approved by Manager, Immigration, New Business PF and PSS teams. Finally my relocation letter is also uploaded in the system. Now only approval is pending from Travel team. After that, I will get my tickets and I have to submit my joining form within 3 days of my travel start date.

[Saturday 23rd May] Now my travel request got approved and got a mail for confirmation of tickets and accommodation. But again a twist in the story. I have raised travel request for return journey and they are saying it is safe to book one way tickets as Visa processing may take time so they are now asking me to cancel the previous travel request and raise a new request. Getting travel request approved may again proove a blocker :(
Lets see what happens next.

[Sunday 24th May] Finally they booked the one way ticket without getting the requests approved. They asked me to get the requests approved later in 2 days. I have got ticket for Sunday afternoon at 1.15 PM. I booked a cab from Hounslow to Heathrow. I reached Heathrow at around 11 AM. Checkin and security checks were very easy. Got into flight by 12.30 PM and started the journey back to India.

My Birthday Celebration

We were total 6 people, Niranjan, Akshatha, Dhanesh, Tabassum, Preethi and Me. We went to Tenpin bowling center Felthan. It was an amazing place. We played bowling game for around 1 hour. I won the game :). After that we played several other games. It was a very nice experience.

At around 7 PM in the evening, we left from Feltham towards Hounslow. There we have dinner and cake cutting at saraswathy restaurant. Kalyani also joined us later. Overall it was a very nice birthday celebration.

Uzma's Send Off

Today we had a small send off party for Uzma as she is leaving for India tomorrow.

We reached hounslow around 4PM in the evening. Uzma had to buy some stuff for India so she had some shopping and we accompanied her. She purchased some chocolates and gifts for her friends and family.

After that we went to a park nearby.  It was an awesome sunny day. We had taken some snaps there.

 

Then we purchased some hyderabadi birayani and headed towards Uzma's home.

There we had some random discussions and dinner. Then Uzma spoke something about all of us and then we all spoke something about Uzma :).

We gave her a cool nice photo frame as a send off gift to Uzma to make sure she remember us :)

Trip to Little Venice, Boat Ride and Camden Market

Today we went to Little Venice had an awesome boat ride and then visited Camden market. We were total 8 people including me, Niranjan, Dhanesh, Ravi, Ankit and his wife Sonal, Pranit and his wife.

Little Venice is a beautiful place near Paddington and Warvick avenue station. It has beautiful canal which has numerous boats in it. The view is just amazing. We had lots of photo sessions.

We also had an awesome boat ride from Paddington to Camden town. It was a 50 minutes ride. The view was amazing.

At Camden town, it was too crowded due to easter holidays. We had some good food there and went for street shopping. Camden market is one of the best market for street shopping.

On return journey we caught a bus to white city. We had an amazing day out.

Trip to Bath and Stonehenge

Yesterday we went to Bath and Stonehenge. We were total 9 people. Me, Niranjan, Dhanesh, Ankit and his wife, Pranit and his wife, Trupti and her husband. We have booked our tour with premium tours.

We reached the Victoria coach station at 8 AM in the morning. The departure time was 8.30AM. Our first stop was Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument build around 4000 years ago. It was amazing to see how our forefathers built such an amazing structure that stands even today, that too without any modern machinries.

We spent around 1 and half hours in stonehenge. Then we went to Bath. Bath is basically bathing place for ancient Romans.

On the way to Bath, our bus met a small accident. It collided with a mini bus and its side mirror was broken. Although it was a very small accident and no one was hurt but our tour was delayed for around half an hour.

We reached Bath around 1 PM. We went to McD for some lunch as there was no other good food option. After then we entered Roman baths, the main bath area. It was a very nice and beautiful place. We had a lots of photo sessions at bath.

At around 5 PM in the evening we left from Bath for London. We reached London at around 7.30 PM. The view on the way was amazing as so is the London city.



After that, we went to Piccadily circus and spent some time there.

Piccadily circus is also amazing place. The Big screen just outside piccadily circus tube station is just amazing.








From there we walked towards oxford circus and catch the tube to hounslow.

We had an awesome dinner in hounslow and then headed back to our homes.
It was an awesome trip :)