Have just had a troubling letter from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
Because of very complicated Covid-19 protocols for tourists in China it would not be practical to pull in at Shanghai. This is quite frustrating because I had spent considerable time preparing my own and Albina's visa aplications for that one day in China. It goes into 8 pages and included details of our parents, what other visas would be on our passports, details of what charities we belong to (they do not like NGOs in China) and even details of my Polish passport, despite the fact that I would be using my UK passport for the trip.
It also means that we will be by-passing China, which I had really hoped to include in the list of the 40 or so countries I have visited so far. Instead we would spend an extra day in Singapore. I wonder if that means that we will no longer be passing through Taiwan Straits and missing sighting all those Chinese and U.S. warships in confrontation? That would have been interesting.
Fred. Olsen also said that our India trip would be under threat. This is because there is no online e-visa application system for visas for UK citizens. That would have been really bad as Albina and I would be missing out on Mumbai, Agra and Kerala. If that happens they would compensate us with Phuket in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, both of which we have already visited. They were holding out the hope that because of the latest trade talks more skilled Indian citizens would be allowed to come to the UK legally. In thast event the e-visa facility would be restored for Brits.
As it is, I was prepared for this as I have completed our Indian visa applications online and have booked a visit at the Indian visa clearance centre in Hounslow for next Wednesday. I do not understand why others could not do the same. If Mumbai and Agra do get dropped I will claim for compensation.
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