The deceptive tricks of backpackers travel insurance

I write this as a warning to be careful! Insurance is the business of selling you confidence while avoiding all responsibility through the careful use of small print terms. Unfortunately being careful means having to read your policy document in full. It is not enough to assume that most of the terms are reasonable, I have found a few which had the potential to directly impact me. I am from the UK, and so this is relevant to UK retail policies. If you see cheap 'backpackers insurance' check the following:

Is there a requirement for a return flight ticket?
Many insurance companies specify this, or some other proof of intent to return to the UK. Not all backpackers will have return flights booked, who can know where they will be in 6-18 months? Even if they accept other forms of proof, do they give a full list?
Some of the companies now warn you of this requirement before purchase. I suspect the ombudsman had something to say about selling 18 month backpacker insurance with a hidden term to avoid covering most 18 month backpackers.

What is their definition of UK resident?
I recently had to buy travel insurance shortly after returning to the UK. I was surprised to discover that most policies excluded me! The reason was, deeply buried in terms and definitions, that I had spent more than 3 or 6 months in the last year out of the country. If you are a backpacker coming back to the UK between trips, or even taking a short holiday in the year after completing your trip, you must watch out for this! You can find reasonable terms, but cheap products on price comparison websites are highly restrictive.

Don't think you are covered to ride a scooter, unless you have a UK motorcycle license. Even if your policy mentions motorbikes, it generally also specifies that you need the correct UK license. Depending on the wording that means either a motorcycle license or an in-date CBT.

There are many other nasty little terms within policy documents, but I have written about these before. Read your document well. As a note, in the UK you have 14 days? to change your mind after buying insurance. Even after this period, if either of the first two terms apply to you and the website didn't make them clear I would still kick up a fuss and try and get your money back.

Is there any hope?
There are decent companies but you will have to pay more money for them. I use 'True Traveller' for my travel insurance. Their terms seem reasonable, and to avoid mistakes they highlight requirements for residency, return, motorcycle license, and trekking limits during the buying process.

How to get a 6 month/1 year Indian tourist visa in the UK 2018-2019

A few years ago India introduced e-VISAs, which are now for up to 2 months. This seems to be enough for some, but for long stay backpackers I would recommend the real thing.

From the UK the standard seems to be a 12 month tourist VISA (you have to re-enter if you want to stay over 180 days, Nepal makes a nice overland detour)
There is also a 3 year tourist VISA listed on the website, but this costs more and needs an appointment to get.

I'm writing this because I couldn't find many recent guides. For old hands:
They seem to give 1 year by default (even if you ask for 6 months)
My VISA only took 7 days by post (Nov 2018) out of the maximum 3 weeks.
You now post the application to the Hounslow application centre (Nov 2018)

The cost for 1Y was something like £120 + £13 post + £8 photos

How to apply

Indian VISA applications are subcontracted to VFS. The vfsglobal.com/india/uk website is the official place to begin, and yes the website is confusing! It is possible to apply by post for the 1 year tourist visa (At least Nov 2018). Though various places make it sound like you need an appointment, if you click through enough pages post is specified.

To begin follow the link from the VFS website to the online application form. This is a complex multi-page form that can go wrong in many ways!
Keep the information handy and if it goes wrong just start again from the beginning. You will need:
Mission: UK London works for postal
Passport details
Places you plan on going- Delhi and Goa are fine, don't mention anywhere which needs permits
Employer details (or last employer if you've quit to travel) if you work in anything that sounds like journalism or media best find a new career! (Special restrictions)
Contact in India: use your first hotel
Contact in UK: use a parent or friend

At the end it asks for photo upload. I have heard some people use this and it works. The website makes it seem required, but in my experience it is not! I click skip and use 2 physical photographs with the paper copy (there is an extensive guide on the website note these are NOT standard passport size)

At the end of this you can print (download) your completed form. Then take the option to 'book appointment' which takes you through to the Indian high commission website. One of the options here allows you to pay for your application, during which you specify the application method (post or appointment), and if you select post it directs you to the Hounslow centre (Nov 2018).
If you select return by self postage you can use a royal mail special delivery envelope included with the application.
Alternatively you can do it by appointment, which you have to book.
The photo is again optional
Pay for it by card.

You need to post:

Printed form, signed on both pages, with photo attached (I think the website specifies you need a second photo clipped on, though when I've submitted in person they only need 1 of the photos!)

A copy of the declaration document from the VFS website, with your name and signature.

For peace of mind I include the receipt from the HC website for visa payment.

The return envelope. You need to get a silver royal mail special delivery envelope. Write your home address on it, buy a special delivery stamp and attach. The Stamp costs £6.50. Take a note of the tracking number!
(A passport is less than 100g, the basic special delivery stamp)

The outgoing envelope, put everything inside another silver special delivery envelope.
Post to the Hounslow centre (This was Nov 2018, check the website for the correct location, it's really well hidden) using special delivery again.

Wait...
I don't book my outgoing flight until I'm holding the VISA, but if you do book flights in advance apply with enough time. My application took a week but the website specifies up to 3 weeks by post, appointment may be safer.

Good luck, see you in India! If you see anything which differs let me know

I enjoyed South India, and have had good experiences in the Himalayas and the North East (except Manali in season, ugh.)

Mizoram

I came to love Mizoram, a state in North East India, when I visited in 2017 and 2018. It's one of the friendliest spots in India once you scratch the surface, but I thought I would post my first impressions from over a year ago to record the memory.

Mizoram is one of the less visited states in India. This is a bit of an understatement, the policeman at the border looked slightly confused and asked "Is this a passport?". The state is in the Northeast, wrapped around the eastern side of Bangladesh and also bordering Myanmar. Access is difficult, it's right at the periphery of India. It has an airport if you are that sort of traveller, but there is no train line, and the main road into the state is a little bit rough around the edges.

I arrived after a 16 hour bus from Shillong into the capital Aizawl (pronounced eye-zol). As is typical for cities the hotels are a bit pricey, the hotel receptionist had clearly seen foreigners before and already knew that I wouldn't stay for Rs800 per night. Instead I settled in a filthy walled dorm over the road for less than half of this. There is a government built tourist lodge which is just about reasonable at Rs600 per night for a single, but as I discover to be a trend it was built inconveniently far from the city centre. The city itself is fairly pleasant, it really is balanced on a hillside, I get vertigo just walking around. Some of the buildings are two floors on one side and seven on the other! It's a bit cleaner than India, most businesses have rubbish bins outside. I slightly prefer it to Shillong, but maybe Dharamsala is another comparison.

It's about this point I notice something doesn't quite match up from the guidebook spiel, not that there is much of it. The tiresome lonely planet gives barely a page to the state, and wikitravel only a few words. From this I was set to expect a high level of spoken English, and a friendly welcoming atmosphere. I find instead only a little rusty English, and widespread slightly suspicious glance. Often when I am spoken to it takes me a while to realise it was English. The sentence will be much more colloquial and better constructed than I was expecting, but half of the sounds will be missing or unpronounced. Sort of like a British person really. When I enter some shops I'm watched, really watched, followed around every inch of the store. It's as if someone has been spreading the word foreigners are thieves, criminals and so on. I'm not the only one to notice this. While reading another travelers sickly-smug blog post about traveling between fairytale villages in Mizoram I notice the same story. After a few villages, a colder reaction, and only a gesture towards the government guest house.

I decide Aizawl isn't a place to sit around and head out to Champhai, a large town in the east not far from Myanmar. Owing to the state of the roads it's a 10 hour Jeep (15 kph average speed). This town is also spread over a hillside, with a similar routine. The cheap hotel in town won't accept foreigners, the locals recommend Chawngthu, but this is a bit pricey at Rs800. I find Hotel Holiday home offers a reasonable room and price, and settle in. There is also a government lodge for Rs400/single, but as usual it's a fair walk out of town.

It's pleasant in Champhai, I can't fully explain why. The streets are mostly clean, many of the houses are decorated with flowers and shrubs. The traffic is light, and there is a little bit more social warmth. I'm invited into a few houses and have short conversations until the English is used up. On a good day I walk around the town, the boundary roads to the north and west give views of the hills and valleys around. The only issue I've found is the near absence of anything after the evening church service. I get my dinner through the hotel, I think it's expected here.