[Proxima]

Thank you, Finnyep. Any thoughts on the Point of Entry? Will it be Detroit itself?

What's the best to tell the officer? I'm going as a Business Analyst for 2 months.

[finneyp]

Proxima, I am yet to travel to US, so can't advice on that!

Moralfibre recently traveled to US, PM him, else our US Bhpians will be online shortly, they'll surely help you!

Bon voyage & have a nice time in the Yankee-land!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Thank you, Finnyep. Any thoughts on the Point of Entry? Will it be Detroit itself?

You will be provided an I-94 form which needs to be duly filled out. It contains some basic details like your passport number, date of birth, point of contact in the USA, etc.

What's the best to tell the officer? I'm going as a Business Analyst for 2 months.

You should have your invitation letter handy with you. And the trump card at the port of entry is your return ticket. Tell him whatever purpose your invitation letter states and mention that you have a return ticket for xx date. You are good to go. Do NOT say that you are there for work and looking forward to live in the USA. You have to hint that you will be returning as soon as your training / client meetings / business purpose is fulfilled. Usually they stamp an advance date of a month on your passport on the page facing your Visa if you are lucky or even otherwise I think. A small portion of the I-94 form you fill is also stamped and just placed in your passport. Make sure you NEVER lose it. Thats your only proof of entry and it needs to be submitted back at check in when you return.

Travel as light as possible. Carry an international credit card. Drink hard on board (thats only for me ).

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Thank you, Finnyep. Any thoughts on the Point of Entry? Will it be Detroit itself?

What's the best to tell the officer? I'm going as a Business Analyst for 2 months.

well Moralfibre has covered most of it. One suggestion, do carry a couple of extra change of clothes in the cabin baggage, incase Air France loses your baggage . It happened to me but fortunately I was prepared for it and got the bags after a day.

Find out the charges on the international cc, usually they charge some percent (2.5% i think) per transaction and do keep copies of your card and all docs including passport in your carry baggage just in case.
Buy a travel pouch, like a samsonite,small one which u can wear around ur neck and put most of money inside is with the pouch inside ur shirt . Better safe than sorry . Have a great trip.

[Proxima]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Proxima, I am yet to travel to US, so can't advice on that!

Moralfibre recently traveled to US, PM him, else our US Bhpians will be online shortly, they'll surely help you!

Bon voyage & have a nice time in the Yankee-land!

Originally Posted by moralfibre

You will be provided an I-94 form which needs to be duly filled out. It contains some basic details like your passport number, date of birth, point of contact in the USA, etc.



You should have your invitation letter handy with you. And the trump card at the port of entry is your return ticket. Tell him whatever purpose your invitation letter states and mention that you have a return ticket for xx date. You are good to go. Do NOT say that you are there for work and looking forward to live in the USA. You have to hint that you will be returning as soon as your training / client meetings / business purpose is fulfilled. Usually they stamp an advance date of a month on your passport on the page facing your Visa if you are lucky or even otherwise I think. A small portion of the I-94 form you fill is also stamped and just placed in your passport. Make sure you NEVER lose it. Thats your only proof of entry and it needs to be submitted back at check in when you return.

Travel as light as possible. Carry an international credit card. Drink hard on board (thats only for me ).

Originally Posted by sammyboy

well Moralfibre has covered most of it. One suggestion, do carry a couple of extra change of clothes in the cabin baggage, incase Air France loses your baggage . It happened to me but fortunately I was prepared for it and got the bags after a day.

Find out the charges on the international cc, usually they charge some percent (2.5% i think) per transaction and do keep copies of your card and all docs including passport in your carry baggage just in case.
Buy a travel pouch, like a samsonite,small one which u can wear around ur neck and put most of money inside is with the pouch inside ur shirt . Better safe than sorry . Have a great trip.

Wow! Thank you so much!

Will my credit cards (ICICI Mastercard (Gold), Citibank Mastercard(Jet Airways)) work in the US? Or is there a separate international card? I guess it is too late to apply for a card and get it before Saturday.

They will be giving me some Forex in hand and the rest by means of some "card". Guess with the Bank of America. I will also get Insurance plus return tickets.

Thanks for the wishes.

[iraghava]

AFAIK all credit cards are internationally valid unless it is mentioned otherwise on the card itself.

[Thad E Ginathom]

You should check with your bank that the card will be accepted for payments made abroad.

I'd be surprised if the answer was anything but 'yes' --- but worth making sure.

[Proxima]

Thank you all. I will try and click some snaps of some interesting cars I see and post them here.

[appuchan]

Just returned from a 3 days trip to "down under", Sydney. Went by Thai Airways for the first time as the usual Singapore Air tickets were not available. They have a good service between BKK and SYD. However the service between BLR and BKK was quite poor. Flight was delayed by 90 mins, no drinking water in waiting room, no "walk-in" vestibule facility provided for boarding aircraft, we were taken in a bus across some city roads to reach the aircraft parked far away, waited in aricraft for another half hour, and no water provided till it took offl, sub-standard food (also fights between staff and passengers for insufficient veg food), poorly trained cabin crew with bad and highly accented English (even captain), no inflight entertainment, many announcements made only in Thai language, pretty rough landing in BLR... etc. They seem to have designated this route as "budget" category and the staff,service and amenities reflect the same.

Would not recommend Thai for this segment at least. However the SYD segments were jam-packed with good service, seating arrangements and food.

Regarding English accent they spoke, I never could get hold of the point when they changed language from Thai to English during most announcements! It takes some patient listening to even understand that they are speaking English.

[sanjaykk]

As if Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) did not have enough problems!

Rumours of a ‘ghost’ take off at BIAL

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by appuchan

...poorly trained cabin crew with bad and highly accented English (even captain)...

I have never been able to figure out why:
1. The captain in any airlines almost always speaks very fast and utter gibberish - read incomprehensible
2. The very first thing he announces is the altitude that he will be flying to. I mean, what difference will it make to me, or to my flying experience whether the plane cruises at 36,000 ft or 38,000 ft?

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

I have never been able to figure out why:
1. The captain in any airlines almost always speaks very fast and utter gibberish - read incomprehensible
2. The very first thing he announces is the altitude that he will be flying to. I mean, what difference will it make to me, or to my flying experience whether the plane cruises at 36,000 ft or 38,000 ft?

Well, the announcements are made as per aviation rules, mostly some basic information like altitude, speed, ETA etc. Some may explain it in little more detail like the flight path, weather conditions, choice of food served, name of cabin crew etc. Yes, most of the time we will here only ummm, eeeh, etc

[spadival]

I heard Thai has a weight limit of 40kgs for checked baggage. But I booked in Qantas because it was the cheapest and they have a direct Mumbai-Sydney flight with no stopovers. Lets see how it goes, I will be travelling next week.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

1. The captain in any airlines almost always speaks very fast and utter gibberish - read incomprehensible
2. The very first thing he announces is the altitude that he will be flying to. I mean, what difference will it make to me...

Not always! I was flying to the Tokyo (Narita) and we had to circle around for about half-an-hour because of congestion issues. The Captain gave an interesting commentary. Something like: "In about half a minute we will bank towards the right, and passengers can see the sunset over Mt. Fuji". It was good, and made the wait much less boring.

Off course, the airline was Singapore.

[finneyp]

Guys, Avoid Thai Airways if you are traveling in Economy class!

Poor leg space! Folks with 6" and above height will find the seat very cramped!
And checked-in Baggage allowance is normal 20kgs too.
But, their in-flight service is good!