Travel Logistics - Money

Our plan to manage money on the road was really quite simple.

We had a joint account with Charles Schwab, which has a great international debit card where all ATM fees are reimbursed. We love banking with Schwab. We used our Schwab ATM card in nearly every city in South America and faced absolutely NO issues. Having a card with ATM fees would have changed things significantly and this post would be a lot longer!

The card was once swallowed by the ATM machine in Yurimaguas, Peru and we had to go to the bank the next morning to retrieve it. It was swallowed again in Uyuni, Bolivia and we did not get it back. Schwab froze the card for us, but we were still able to use mine. We maintained a small running balance in our checking account so that if our card were ever to be misused, we dont loose all our travel savings.

Travel Logistics - Packing List

In an earlier post, I wrote about the backpacks we took with us on this trip. We've often been asked how we packed for four months. Packing for four months is really no different from packing from 1 month or for 10 months. You're likely to get really bored with your clothes, but hey! what are shops for? I went shopping in Santiago and picked up a few things when I got really bored of what I was wearing.

Instead of a his and her packing list, I am going to write this list by category. We were still packing up our house until the previous day, so we really didn't have a lot of time to pack our bags well.

Protecting Against Loss During Long Term Travel (and What Travel Insurance to buy)

I wrote about getting robbed in Calama, Chile here and here. A recent comment from a reader reminded me to write this post about how to protect yourself from theft.

In a nutshell, its nearly impossible to make your travel 100% theft-proof. But you can plan so that its nothing more than an unfortunate inconvenience.

I may be the most careful, paranoid person in the world, but someone out there is smarter and is making a living out of stealing. That guy is hard to beat, unfortunately. Swami and I went through a period of retrospection during those countless bus rides immediately after the theft, where we'd keep telling each other "Never again will I do this...." or "Next time, lets not forget to scan that document...". I wanted to compile some of those lessons learned here, for when you need them, you really really need them.

Here are some tips to ensure that if a theft does occur, you get back on track quickly.

Buy Travel Insurance

Like I said before, we are incredibly glad we got trip insurance. There are plenty of companies and plans out there to choose from, but we purchased ours from worldnomads. They ended up being great to deal with and covered our losses up to the limits specified in the policy, just as they promised. The insurance we bought covered the following:

• Things we lost - laptop, DSLR camera, lenses, tablet, other electronic accessories
• Trip interruption - food and hotel costs for the days it to took to recover our travel documents, eg. passport, green card etc.
• Airfare - one of us had to reschedule our flights, so the insurance covered some part of the cancelled fare/new fare.
• Documents - passport application fees and Transportation letter fees

Keep policy number and phone number very handy!

Keep online copies of all important documents

When you lose a passport or green card, embassies will require a lot of documentation to replace them. Its best to have them handy on portable hard drives and/or online storage. Here are things to have VERY handy:

• Passport - copy of ALL pages. Not just front or back page. We had only the front and back page and could not prove to the US embassy on what date we left the country last. We also had to prove to the Chilean police when we entered the country. We also lost all our visa stamps!
• Other ID's - drivers license, voter ID, student ID etc. Secondary IDs are sometimes asked.
• Financial documents - bank and credit card statements. Easy to get online, but you may not have a fast internet connection to accomplish all your online needs. I was planning to use my credit card statement to show I was at LA airport on a given date to prove my residence in the US, as supporting documentation.
• Visas of resident country - In our case scanned copy of US green card. We had green cards, but we also had all our green card application documents on online storage. Very useful.
• Entry/Exit stamps - When traveling abroad, whenever your passport is stamped, please take a picture with your smartphone/tablet/camera and email to yourself. You will thank yourself later. We wish we did this with our Colombia entry stamps as the US embassy asked for this.
• Other travel and identification documents - vaccinations, yellow fever certificate (required for Bolivia), copies of tickets, important receipts etc. Marriage certificate if you are married.
• BOARDING PASS - most important! Boarding pass stubs are very important documents to store until you are done with your trip. Just a clear picture with a smartphone will do. The US embassy wanted either this or our entry/exit stamps. We had neither and had to frantically figure out other ways to prove our exit dates.

Portable hard drives in different bags

Swami did a very clever thing by getting us each a portable hard drive and backing them up regularly. By doing this, we only lost about a week's worth of pictures on our DSLR, as our laptop was lost too. Thankfully our compact camera preserved our memories from Torres Del Paine. I highly recommend carrying portable hard drives and/or pen drives placed in different bags with some backup data.

Keep a handy list of information in your travel notebook

Dont have a travel notebook? Its better to start one and keep things like 

• frequent flyer numbers, 
• membership numbers and 
• coded passport numbers etc. 
• Numbers to your credit card and debit card institution. Our stolen backpack had a bunch of cards that had to be cancelled and we didnt have access to these numbers.
• Insurance policy number and their phone number

Cheaper and fewer gadgets

We love technology and went overboard on the expensive toys we carried. A macbook pro, a very good Nikon DSLR and a wide angle lens, a tablet, a compact camera...the list goes on. Next time I travel, I will exclusively be using a netbook or a used old laptop just for this purpose. The MBP was meant for storing large amounts of data and video/photo editing which doesnt happen as often as one would like. Infact, I am still updating the blog a year after we completed, so the MBP was not mandatory at all! I am no travel blogger or full time writer. My blog and picture editing can wait until I return from the trip. 

Protecting in layers

Some things are very painful to lose. Passports and documents like green cards. Our passport was really easy to get, but the green card process is much much more complex. And its just a card which we could have protected easily. We have a hidden wallet, but we did not use it at that time. Having fewer critical things to protect is easier than watching a heavy backpack with gadgets. I didnt lose my hand bag and I could have kept the passports in it! You dont need one of those weird wallets, but just make sure that what needs maximum protection is lightweight and close to the body.

Carry less

A lot of what we lost was unnecessary for the purpose of travel. We simply got carried away. If we had lighter, fewer packs (one big pack, one small pack, etc), caring is much easier. You lose less, cant really refute that!

If you have had a similar experience, I'd be really eager to hear about your lessons learned.

Protect your data

• Password protect all devices. 
• Encode all important documentation in a folder preferably. 
• Change all email passwords and bank passwords immediately
• Sign up for a service that tracks devices/automatically purges information (or just bring a chromebook!)

Bolivia Visa for Indian Citizens (from Santiago, Chile) AND Visa on Arrival for Indian Citizens

Indian citizens/ passport holders will be pleasantly surprised to discover that Bolivia is a very easy country to enter. If you are an Indian passport holder like us, you will know the pain of independent travel which is taken for granted by other backpackers. I hope that this post will encourage you to visit the beautiful country of Bolivia.  The next time we travel to South America, we will definitely visit Bolivia, if only to endorse their hassle free visa policy.

Bolivia has visa on arrival for a fee (please verify the latest fee by calling La Paz airport) AND offers a FREE visa at its consulates world wide.

We obtained our Bolivia visa at the embassy in Santiago, Chile not once but TWICE. Once before our passports were stolen and once more with our new passports. On both occasions, our experience at the Bolivian embassy was quick, pleasant and smooth.

Documents Required

Documents produced during our first visit:

·         Completed application form

·         Copy of yellow fever certificate

·         Copy of most recent bank statement

·         Cost = Free!! (remember, Americans pay $140)

·         Overall time taken: 20 minutes

·         Questions asked: None

This was the most incredibly hassle free visa experience in our life. I couldn't believe my eyes when the consul guy just proceeded to stamp my passport within minutes of producing our document, and with a smile. We were told that extension is possible in Bolivia and is easy to do.

Losing the visa and getting it again

Unfortunately, fate would soon have its way with us and we would end up using our most important belongings in Calama, Chile. We had to return to Santiago to receive a new passport from the Indian embassy. So we went to the Bolivian embassy once again. This time, we told the consul officer about our loss and were greeted with disbelief. He pointed us to a young Bolivian lady present there and said to us "It will take her two months to get a new passport if she loses hers. You guys are lucky."

We were able to provide most of our documents, except the yellow fever certificate, which was also stolen. These guys were awesome though - they patiently dug through their records and found our previous visa and made us several copies of our yellow fever certificates.

Bolivia Visa on Arrival at the border (overland between San Pedro de Atacama and Uyuni) - a different experience

Bolivia does offer visa on arrival for Indians, but for a fee. If you are landing at La Paz airport, this is a great option. But if you are overlanding, getting it from a consulate is really easy and preferable any day.

I traveled with an Indian guy from Chile to Bolivia near San Pedro de Atacama. So I wanted to write about his visa on arrival experience to enter Bolivia. I already had a Bolivia visa from Santiago, so my case was very straight forward.

This person was only going to Bolivia on a four day guided tour and was returning to Chile at the end of it, so this experience may not apply to everyone. We all booked the tour in San Pedro and I was going to continue to stay in Bolivia. All the tour operators in San Pedro will tell you that you can get visa at the border and show you a chart that says how much the visa costs. According to the chart, it costs $30 for us. So, at the border, this Indian guy was told that they cannot issue the visa there and that he would have to get it at Uyuni (the nearest city to the border). They did not stamp his passport. At Uyuni, he goes to the Migracion office and asks them for visa. They say that he can pay the fee and they only give him a stamped tourist card for 4 days. They don't stamp his passport. They take the $30 and there is absolutely no receipt for it. At the end of four days, they let him get out without another stamp. We all think that this is a quick way to make an undocumented $30 and that this has happened before. Spanish was a big problem here and no one spoke English, so I guess if he insisted and knew how to, he would have had a proper visa on his passport at the border or at Uyuni. This border is nothing more than a small shed in the middle of nowhere, so I am not surprised that they did not have the facilities to issue a visa.

So yes, Bolivia VOA at border is definitely possible. However,

• Please be sure you get your passport & your tourist card (a little form you fill out at the entrance) stamped and a receipt for your fee. Be persistent!
• We have been asked elsewhere in Bolivia by Migracion people to show our passports (they do random checks in hotels) and they look for all these stamps.
• Write out some important statements in Spanish to use at the border (important)
• If you are part of a tour group, ensure you communicate this to your tour guide at the destination. They will be an important resource in helping you with communication.

Quilotoa Loop - How to do it?

Some information about the Quilotoa Loop and how to go about doing it. There are many ways to do it. Here, with this plan, you can do it even if you do not want to trek, but just want a very different experience.

Nearest big city is Latacunga. From the terrace of Hostal Tiana, you can get a clear view of the Cotopaxi. Latacunga has a vibrant market and plenty of 'peluquerias'. 

Quito to Latacunga:

From Quito's Terminal Quitumba - its the last stop on the troll bus on circuits C2 and C4. Buses are color coded and 25 c a ride. Wait for empty trole. 1.50 ticket + 0.20 terminal fee. Really swanky bus terminal. Looks better than many airports sans long security lines. Ticket counter 20/21 have tickets for Latacunga. 1.5 hr bus ride. Hostal Tiana very cute place to stay. Bunks are really spacious and have reading lamps.

Quilotoa:

• Bus from Latacunga departs at 11 AM. Terminal #16 Vivero bus.
• Bus costs $2.50 per person and there is a bus later in the afternoon. There is also a minivan that leaves for Latacunga around 3 PM.
• Around 1.30 PM to 2.30 PM, there is a bus that goes to Chugchillan from Quilotoa. Need to wait from 1.30 pm on the street.
• Latacunga to Quilotoa bus timings - 10, 11.30, 2 and 3.30
• Hostal Chukirawa @ $10/person including breakfast and dinner. Clean rooms. 

Chugchillan:

• Mama Hilda hostel - food + stay @ $30/2 people. There are other hostels too.
• Lovely hostel with great hosts
• Milk truck leaves at 8.30-9.30 AM in the morning to Sigchos. Or early AM bus ~ 4.30 AM. $2/person.
• Bus ride to Chugchillan @ $1

Sigchos:

• Bus from Latacunga to Sigchos @ $1.80/person. Easily available from the bus terminal. 
• We walked into a nice restaurant at Sigchos and requested them to make me a vegetarian meal. $3.60 for 2.

How much does backpacking in South America cost for a couple?

Whenever the topic of long term travel comes up, a lot of people are curious about how much it costs. Long term travel has the reputation of being really expensive, versus say, living at one place for the same duration of time. However, we found out that compared to living at one place, paying rent and utilities and eating out, its not that much more expensive. It could even cost the same or less, depending on your lifestyle! The big difference, however, is the fact that you are earning a steady income while at home and unless you are a really talented writer or one of those people with really flexible remote consulting jobs, your income on the road takes a hit.

I thought I'd dispel some myths about how long term travel is not so far reaching after all, by sharing some real numbers about how much our four-month-south-america trip actually cost. Here is a high level overview:

From the time we started our trip at the airport in the USA, including the airfare and travel insurance, we spent a total of $13952 over a period of 133 days. I have dissected the cost in a couple of different ways below and all figures are for two people and in USD in the year 2011-2012.

Cost By Category

Airfares (both to and fro and within South America) - 2,947
Food (includes groceries) - 2,143
Trip insurance (the best money we ever spent)  - 756
Post-Loss - replacement passports, replacement American visas, new airfares as we had to reschedule old flights - 1,575
Miscellaneous - 437
Shopping - 347
Sightseeing - (also includes the cost for 14 nights of stay due to various trips and treks) - 1,637
Stay - (Does not include stays incorporated as a part of multi day trips with stay-included fares) - 1,974
Transportation (non-plane and includes several overnight buses and one overnight train) - 1,747
Visas - 390
Grand Total - 13,952

If we hadn't lost our backpack in Calama, Chile, we would have saved at least $1575. We also lot a lost more in sheer value of goods lost. This cost is only for TRIP INTERRUPTION, which is the extra amount we spent only for identification documents and rescheduled air fares. I am not even counting the money spent in food and shelter or transportation to two different embassies.

Cost By Country (ONLY includes categories: food, miscellaneous, shopping, sightseeing, stay and transportation)

Bolivia - 693 in 24 days @ $29/day
Chile - 2,703 in 30 days @ $90/day
Colombia - 1,630 in 26 days @ $63/day
Ecuador - 1,183 in 22 days @ $54/day
Peru - 1,886 in 31days @ $61/day
Total for basic travel expenses - 8095 in 133 days @ $61/day

Lowest Hotel rate per night - $4 for a very clean lake view basic room on the shores of Isla Del Sol, Bolivia

Highest hotel rate per night - $81 at La Casa De Mireya in San Pedro De Atacama, Chile

Average hotel rate per night - $21

Average hotel rate per night if we didn't stay in Chile - $17

Number of ATM withdrawals - 49

Amount in ATM fees - $78 (all refunded back to us thanks to an excellent debit card)

Since we lost our stuff our morale was a bit on the lower side and we were really busy collecting documentation for replacing our belongings, we were less diligent about tracking our expenses in Bolivia. Even if I padded my expenses in Bolivia by a generous 10%, the cost per day will still only go up to ~ $33/day and thats for two people.

How did we travel?

These numbers dont mean a lot unless they impart some sense of how we travel. For lodging, we usually chose hostels or small family run guesthouses. In expensive cities, we went with bunk beds and while mostly we had private rooms. In Bolivia and Peru, we almost always had a private room with a private/shared bathroom.

We cooked a lot at hostels, got groceries such as bread, fruit, vegetables, rice and pasta. However, whenever we spotted a vegetarian restaurant, we had at least one meal there. We heavily favored Hare Krishna restaurants in the cities for their reasonably priced, vegan friendly, set lunches. In Bolivia, we ate a lot at markets as you could coffee, bread, juice and api (corn meal porridge) at really low prices.

Transportation - almost always public buses/metros and collectivos. We took taxis when we had to go to bus stand or airport to go to a different city. Long distance buses were mostly semi cama or sometimes cama (fully reclined seats).

Sightseeing - apart from the jungle trips and treks, we mostly organized our own tours. We took public buses to places of attraction and did our own 'sightseeing'. However, sometimes we'd book a tour from the hostel if its convenient and includes transport and fees.

Travel Logistics - Backpacks and Luggage

Months before, no years before, our adventure commenced, I obsessed over what to take with us - we bought our backpacks 3 years before we actually left. We ended up using it quite well by taking it with us everywhere we went. However, the reality is that our views and perspectives change so much over a period of time, I have decided that what pack to take and what to put in it are not worth agonizing over.

When we first selected our backpacks, we endlessly thought and considered between a hiking backpack (top loading) and a travel backpack (front loading). After hours of research, we finally bought the Eagle Creek Explorer LT (Men and Women's) at the price of $250 each. These packs are no longer produced, but they last to this day and are extremely practical and worth the money.

Somewhere along the way, we started enjoying multi day hikes as well and got ourselves hiking backpacks too, so we had a choice in what we could take with us on our trip.

Niru's main backpack - Eagle Creek Explorer LT Women's version; 50 Litres. Front loading travel pack. No longer under production. Comes with matching 15L day pack, which I did not take, much to my regret.
Niru's other bag - Ebags Piazza day bag. I also carry a foldable REI day pack in my bag. This is a great bag and is very useful for just around town. Can hold a small water bottle, a note book, a kindle and other essentials.
Swami's main backpack - Gregory Z55 top loading hiking backpack
Swami is also carrying an REI daypack and a small camera bag.

Hiking Backpack vs Travel Backpack while travel backpacking

You may agonize over this endlessly, but in reality, it will not matter what you take. It needs to be something that is comfortable to carry with wide hip belts and good quality shoulder belts. Travel backpacks are easier to pack, but with packing cubes organization is much easier. Hiking packs can take more things than a travel pack - as you tend to stuff more into them and they end up being heavier. They are also easier when your trip involves a multi day trek and you need to carry camping equipment. I carried a travel backpack and Swami carried a hiking backpack - neither of us regret our choice even though we did city travel and multi day hikes.

Daypack - what worked and what didn't

We made some not so great choices in this department. Swami's daypack + camera bag combo did not work for all the gadgets he was carrying (gadgets - a topic by itself). The camera bag shoulder strap dug into his shoulders and did not work well with his main pack. In Colombia we ended up getting another big day pack, which eventually got stolen.

I too found the REI day pack very difficult to pack and take on day trips. If I had to do this differently, I would just take the day pack that came with my eagle creek. Somewhere under 20 litres with pockets for small stuff and one big pocket for big stuff will work really well, especially when the day pack is the stand along luggage (for example: Inca Jungle Trek, where we only took a day pack).

Packing Cubes and other accessories

Packing cubes ROCK! These are our favorite travel accessories. We find the small size and long size ones to be very useful to stuff inside backpacks. I also carried one medium size packing cube in my backpack.

Size of Backpack

We saw a lot of folks carrying enormous backpacks. Ours was one of the smaller ones out there and was often remarked for its size. I found 50 litres to be quite big as I could carry quite a few things in it and found the weight bothersome. In Quito, we shipped quite a few things home and donated some of our clothes too. I found that I could easily have managed with a 40-45 litre backpack and a 15-20 litre daypack.

Where to stay in South America

We loved most of the hostels we stayed in South America. I added a page with a list of hostels we stayed in.

Our prerequisites:

• clean beds and bathrooms
• wifi
• kitchen to cook meals
• not a party hostel with teenagers and early 20 somethings

We would choose a dorm room or a private room depending on the price. In big cities, we tended to go towards dorm rooms (4-bed dorms), while in countries like Peru and Bolivia, we almost entirely stayed in private rooms.

You can find the list of hotels/hostels here.

It's finally happening!

For at least three years now, we've been telling our friends that we'll go on our RTW (round the world) trip. We were surely going on our journey, but it felt so far away at times. For the longest time, we really didn't have a concrete idea on when we would actually do it.

Sometime around August 2011, things started falling in place. We zeroed in on a quarter, and then a month, and then a week and finally a date. About two weeks ago, we finally bought our tickets.

We are heading to Colombia on December 4th from Los Angeles. As we cross things off our checklist, reality is sinking in slowly but surely.

In the past 2 weeks, we've made the following rather drastic moves:

• Informed our respective workplaces of our intention to quit
• Notified our landlord
• Bought our air tickets to Bogota, Colombia. (buying a one way ticket would make it more dramatic, but consulates wont like it, so we got a return ticket)
• Started consolidating our finances to a more travel-friendly account
• Obtained credit cards that dont charge a foreign transaction fee
• And going crazy with visa runs

In the next 25 days, we have: friends to say bye to, a house to vacate, belongings to purge, valuables to store and visas to get.

Busy, busy!

Colombia Tourist Visa For Indian Citizens (San Francisco Embassy)

When I first looked at the visa requirements for the Colombia tourist visa for Indian passport holders, I was baffled. They seemed to ask for two of each document. I ended up carrying a LOT of paper to San Francisco that day. Thankfully, I think they meant one for each applicant. We had gone to their office while waiting for our Peru visa, so we knew all the details beforehand and went thoroughly prepared.

We were in and out of the consulate in 20 minutes! The visa will be ready in one week, we were told by a very friendly lady who works there. She said she was the only one in the office right now, so its taking her time. We told her about our six-country plan and she agreed to try to expedite the process. She also told us that a lot of Indians have been visiting the consulate to get visas.

Documents we took for EACH applicant

• Application form
• original passport
• $95/person (apparently its $100 for non-Indians). Still steep!
• 2 photographs
• bank statements
• US visa copy
• Airline reservation (and date of exit from Colombia)
• Hotel reservation

The consulate is at 595 Market street. There is a chipotle and peets coffe shop (next building). Security guard will check your ID and let you in at the ground floor. There is a paid underground parking garage in the Red Cross building, at 2nd and Mission Street. From the garage, the consulate is a 5 minute walk away.

UPDATE:
After waiting for 3-4 business days, I was getting anxious not having heard from them. We called repeatedly, but were not able to reach them or get a status update. So exactly a week after submitting our docs, I showed up at the consulate and thankfully, the visas were ready. The same lady greeted me, and remembered who I was and didnt even ask for my receipt. Only one of us needed to go to get both passports.

On to Argentina now!

Peru Tourist Visa for Indian Citizens (From San Francisco Consulate)

I knew six friends who recently obtained Peru tourist visas. So armed with the knowledge of their experiences, we went to the Peru consulate around 9.45 AM. You pick a number as soon as you enter, but the number doesn't seem to bear any significance. Someone from the closed office area will walk to the waiting room and talk to you randomly.

It seems like we caught them on a busy morning, so after waiting for a while, they asked us to leave our documents and passports and come back at 1. I asked them if I could give them the passports later as I wanted to make color copies of all pages to drop off at the Chile consulate next door (more here) and the young guy who took our papers agreed.

We returned at 1 pm after lunch and had to wait for some more time. If the door to the office area opens, immediately stand up and walk towards it, and try to attract someone's attention. Eventually we were noticed and our application was picked up by an older lady who seemed senior. She also took a lot of help from Swami during our visit in the morning to fix her computer troubles (that didn't seem to win us any favor though).

The next hour and a half was like living in a slow motion picture on a very laid back island. The lady re-typed our application form on the computer and had a fit when we told her that we plan to stay in Peru for a month without any air tickets (in or out).

"You're going by bus? From Bolivia?" (with shocked expression)

"Yes, but from Ecuador", I said with resignation. Swami has trouble with Ecuador and Bolivia and interchanges them again and again and I just give up.

"Where are your tickets?"

"We dont have bus tickets yet. We plan to get them as we go. But look, we have air tickets in and out South America."

"But what about Peru?"

"Not for Peru. In to Bogota and out of Buenos Aires." Sigh! This was getting really tiring.

"This is Bogota, not Peru. What will you do in Peru for one month?"

"We'll hike the huayhuash circuit and the inca trail". Twice, I almost said.

"Dont you have a job? How will you afford four months?"

This is when we show our bank statement. She looks at a random figure on my salary statement which says $323.50 and goes "Thats all?" How on earth am I supposed to travel with $323.50? I show her the bank statement. Arent they supposed to be reading bank statements all the time?

Finally, after showing the money, she says "$60". I am just thrilled that its over.

Now we get finger printed, thumb impression-ed and photographed and finally step out of the consulate with our visas at 2.30 PM.

Documents to take for EACH applicant:

• Original passport
• Application Form
• Bank Statement
• (dont give unless asked) Pay statement . It might be mistaken for a bank statement and someone might think your 15 day salary is your bank balance. Or horror, they might think your 401K contribution is your bank balance. Keep it away.
• $30 per visa in cash
• copy of US visa
• hostel reservation (we booked for one day in Cuzco)
• airline reservation
• (not asked) photograph

Consulate is at 870 Market Street. Fedex is at 726 Market street for last minute tech/copy needs. Bank of America ATM is at the corner of Market and 4th street.  Form and visa requirements. 

Chile Tourist Visa for Indian Citizens

Please use this report as a guideline only. Always call the consulate/visit their website for exact requirements, and carry every piece of paperwork you possibly can. 

The Chilean consulate in San Francisco is a small office in the Flood Building at 870, Market Street. When we walked in, there was only one other person before us. I had already downloaded application form and tourist visa requirements from the website. At the consulate, the staff used the same document to verify our documents. Specifically, we were asked for the following documents:

• Color copies of ALL pages of passport. I took black and white copies for the blank pages, but color for everything else. This is because they dont keep the original passport. We didn't have our color copies of all pages (only had the main page). I had to run back to the FedEx office at 726 Market Street to take copies of our passports. 
• Proof of income (Bank statement, pay check, letter from Company)
• Proof of residence in the U.S.A. or VISA for a third country.
• Hotel reservation (Hotel’s name, address and telephone number. If staying with family or friends, please provide name, address and phone number).

We were not asked for airline reservations. But I'd call them to confirm or take them anyway. We had no flights in/out of Chile anyway.

After talking to the staff, we faced the following setbacks:

• We had only one copy of hotel reservations, while they wanted one for each application. The assistant there was very helpful, she offered to make us a copy.
• The visa will take 2-4 weeks to process. The papers have to be emailed to Chile and the visa will be mailed to the consulate in SF. Since this is the Christmas season, he said this was rush time. After the visa arrives at the SF office, we have to go there to get our passport stamped.
• You have to enter Chile within 90 days of visa issue. The visa is valid for 2 months from the date of entry. This will be a slight problem for us. For this reason, plan the Chile segment of your trip carefully. And also dont apply too early for visas. 

Updated to add:

After exactly 2 weeks, we received an email that our visas were approved. We were given a date and time to appear for the interview, which I was able to reschedule to an earlier date via email easily. In fact, I appeared an hour late for my stamping and there wasn't a problem. We were finger printed and were given more papers to carry with us for showing at port of entry. The cost is $60/person for a single entry visa and you'll be asked to make a deposit in the Bank of America which is in the next building and bring back the receipt. Some paperwork, signing and thumb printing and we were done in under 2 hours.

Tourist Visas To Travel In South America For Indian Citizens

Every Indian citizen who has traveled abroad is familiar with the travails of obtaining a visa to visit most countries in the world. This is true for South America too. When Swami and I first planned our trip, we were caught in the spirit of wanderlust inspired by scores of other travel bloggers. But of course, most of these travel bloggers came from 'western' countries, or countries whose citizens enjoy the freedom to travel to most places in the world without a visa. The reality came crashing down upon us in the last few weeks and I've been prowling the net for accounts by fellow Indians.

The deluge of paperwork, formalities, consular interviews that are more befitting a court of law, the time, money and effort spent in going to consulates can drive anyone insane. And to make things worse, the internet doesnt have a whole lot of information about other people's experiences. Its surely something to bemoan about, but we must consider ourselves fortunate to be able to travel this way in the first place, so we try to take it in stride and do the best we can.

As our date of travel approaches (Dec 4th, 2011), the need for prompt and efficient action is imminent where visas are concerned. Overnight, our living room starts to look like the command central of a records office.  Timing is key. If you get your visas too early, there may be a rule requiring that we enter within 90 days. If you get it too late, then you risk not getting the visa at all. How is one to plan an independent backpacking trip then? Can such a trip still be considered to be in the "its-all-up-in-the-air" variety?

The good news is, my searches on the internet for accounts by similar people have not been futile. There is a great thread on the lonely planet thorntree forums that sees active participation from highly spirited, perseverant and inspiring folks who dont give up in the face of absurd visa rules and regulations that require you to use up the trees! I have also come across some Indian travel bloggers.

So now, I will be adding to that pool of information. I went to SF today and visited the Peru, Chile and Colombian consulate in San Francisco (all blessedly within 5 blocks of each other - 2 in the same building on the same floor) and will publish detailed posts about my experiences at each consulate.