One thing I have not had to deal with during my wanderings through Central America and Europe (or ever in fact) is the wonderful process of applying for visas. It turns out that the visas I will need are going to require a bit of work so maybe its lucky I am planning this trip 2 years in advance! I have searched the forums on Lonely Planet as well as countless external links extensively over the past few months and believe this to be the current requirements:
India: I need to get a visa from the Indian High Commission in London before departure, the maximum length is 6 months. Indian visas are valid from the date of issue, not the date of entry to the country. This means I will have about 3 months in India when I get there and is another reason I will probably bypass Iran and Pakistan. It is not possible to get an Indian visa outside of my country of residence which rules out the idea of getting one in Turkey. I can probably get a second 6 month visa is Kathamandu, Nepal however I can not re enter India until I have spent at least 2 months out of the country. Officially an onward ticket out of India is required to enter the country, this rule is almost never enforced according to reports.
Nepal: Visa up to 90 days available at the border with India or in embassy in Delhi.
Thailand: No visa required for 30 day entry, however may get one as an onward ticket is required out of Thailand if arriving by air which I will be doing form India, I will have to find out which is cheaper, a visa or onward ticket! The second entry to Thailand will be by land via Cambodia, no visa is required but the maximum length of stay is 15 days so I will need another visa as this will not be long enough for Phuket and the beaches around that area, this visa will be purchased in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Laos: Visa up to 30 days available at border with Thailand
Vietnam: 30 day visa available, not at land borders but I can get it Vientiane, Laos beforehand.
Cambodia: 30 day visa available at border with Vietnam, extendible for a further 30 days.
Indonesia: 60 day visa available in Singapore, needs to be applied for through a travel agent. Visa extendible up to 4 times once in Indonesia 30 days each time.
No doubt at least one of these is either wrong or has changed since I wrote this, in all honesty if I get a second Indian visa and that all goes to plan I will feel pretty happy with that alone and if I end up having to book further flights so be it, I won't allow it to ruin my trip.
As you can probably tell with this as well as my budget, itinerary etc as well as things I have not even thought about yet insurance, jabs, equipment... there is a lot of planning still to be done and it will probably take 2 years in all honesty!
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