Visa troubles and bigger troubles

After two hours filling in the on-line application, nearly £80 on the credit card and the best part of two days spent in the Indian visa agency I look at our passports with their new visas for India - and they are for the wrong period - barely covering two weeks of our planned six week stay! Back to the visa office:
'You have given me the wrong visa, I asked for six months I have only got three months'
'What is your occupation?' (my reply of 'management consultant' provokes no comment, or enlightenment)
'Well it is at their discretion whether they give three or six months'
'But I clearly asked for six months so it covered our planned dates in India, I gave the dates on the form'
'Oh they never look at the dates of travel..'

And so on to the supervisor.
'What is your occupation' (again that does not provide a reason for our plight)
'Well we can appeal to the High Commission but I warn you now we won't get an answer before you go'

So nothing for it but to start again, more form filling, trips to the visa office and another £80!

But this time it worked, we have the visas and they are for the right period! And they are multiple entry, in fact we can spend the next six months going into and out of India.

Which at the moment, with the dreadful events in Mumbai does not seem such a good idea. Added to the present occupation of Bangkok airport and things along our planned route seem a trifle troubled. I can see we will be visiting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office web site with its advice for travelers quite a lot during our trip.

Only two more visas to get. Jordan because we fly in but have no flight out (we expect to leave by boat for Egypt) and Egypt because we need a full visa to travel around the whole country and searching for that in the port of Aquaba might be a nuisance.

For other places we either don't need visas or our supply of dollars and passport photos will get us by at various airports and border crossings - as long as they don't want to know our occupations!