Last week or so was so very hectic. We went to Canada for our visa stamping. We were suppose to go to India and get that done but circumstances changed and we went to Canada. And guess what we were amid one of the coldest Canadian winters. A winter even Canada had not seen for last 6 years, and we got to witness it. Continuous snow all days we were there. Our appointment was at the Ottawa visa office. I have concluded that I have had enough with the US visa process and people, hence not to complain. This experience did not make me change my opinion. The biggest relief were the Canadians, who are a friendly lot. The Canadian immigration officers, a total contrast to the US counterparts, simply make your day soon as you land in their country (reminds me of New Zealand actually, else they are usually hostile towards you, aren't they?).
I landed in Toronto, spent a day and took a greyhound bus to Ottawa to meet my husband. By that time the cold had taken over me and I had a fever and cough and cold. The US visa interview was routine, my husband was asked routine questions. I stood beside him, and the visa officer almost did not even look or ask me any questions. One exciting thing at Ottawa was the stay at the hostel, The Jail, they called it and it was an old jail converted to a hostel. Most of the things were intact including the jail doors (gates) and so on, interesting! The visa process apparently now has changed, in the sense they take 2 more extra days to return the passports, as they have added an extra step for fraud check, so my husband had to extend his stay and we headed back to Toronto ( 4 1/2 drive from Ottawa) to stay at a friend's. All I did was eat and sleep and recovered from my fever.
Finally we collected our passports again in Ottawa and we decided to take the bus to Boston. My husband had lost his return ticket, due to the extended stay and since he got his in a deal and this was the cheapest and quickest way to get back home. The bus journey was postponed by 12 hours again because of snow, our bus journey started from Ottawa and we landed in Montreal and took a break for the night there and then started for Boston the next day. And finally a trip planned for 6 days ended up being 9 days. On our way back from Montreal we saw some real scenic views all through Vermont. It was surprising how beautiful it actually was in winter.
Though the cold wasn't that great, Canada as a country seems to be a great place to live, at least my first impressions have been very good. People are friendly and warm.
I landed in Toronto, spent a day and took a greyhound bus to Ottawa to meet my husband. By that time the cold had taken over me and I had a fever and cough and cold. The US visa interview was routine, my husband was asked routine questions. I stood beside him, and the visa officer almost did not even look or ask me any questions. One exciting thing at Ottawa was the stay at the hostel, The Jail, they called it and it was an old jail converted to a hostel. Most of the things were intact including the jail doors (gates) and so on, interesting! The visa process apparently now has changed, in the sense they take 2 more extra days to return the passports, as they have added an extra step for fraud check, so my husband had to extend his stay and we headed back to Toronto ( 4 1/2 drive from Ottawa) to stay at a friend's. All I did was eat and sleep and recovered from my fever.
Finally we collected our passports again in Ottawa and we decided to take the bus to Boston. My husband had lost his return ticket, due to the extended stay and since he got his in a deal and this was the cheapest and quickest way to get back home. The bus journey was postponed by 12 hours again because of snow, our bus journey started from Ottawa and we landed in Montreal and took a break for the night there and then started for Boston the next day. And finally a trip planned for 6 days ended up being 9 days. On our way back from Montreal we saw some real scenic views all through Vermont. It was surprising how beautiful it actually was in winter.
Though the cold wasn't that great, Canada as a country seems to be a great place to live, at least my first impressions have been very good. People are friendly and warm.
1 comment:
all's well that ends well i supposed. I liked vermont a lot too. I only went there once. Try to go there in fall. its quite pretty. the lodge out there feels like outback, charming refreshing and nice.
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