India advice - entering the country with tools, test meters etc and customs officials

[edexlab]

Evening gents
I've a short term job in mid May in Bangalore should only be a few weeks

And I'm looking for advice from people who have worked in India
Innoculations , medical, malaria ,food issues and insurance etc all in hand

Any general advice would be very welcome

I'm particularly concerned about
issues like entering the country with tools, test meters etc and customs officials who I've heard are as corrupt as any politician and worse!, either trying to confiscate items they think are worth paying a backhanderbackh for

And any other scams anyone has encountered

 

[Richard Burns]

Not worked or been to India but the FCO advice is occasionally useful for travel warnings.

 

[SparkyChick]

When you say medical, do you mean you're taking your own sterile stuff like hypodermic needles etc.?

If not, I'd look to take a selection of needles and such like, just in case. Advice I received when I went to Russia in the 90s.

 

[Pete999]

Worked in both India Pakistan:
Don't eat the salad
Take plenty of Imodium
Take plenty of re-hydration solution
Go to the Drs and get ALL required jabs for where you are traveling to
DON'T drink the water
Don't drink the tea from the Char Wallah on site
Watch out for pick pockets/beggars even young children, don't give them anything,even if their disabilities are bad, they are normally employed as part of a gang so be careful.
If you are staying in a Hotel DON'T leave valuables about
Go to the Local Markets with some of your mates

I know a lot of this is common sense but believe me it's very easy to get the runs, sickness etc. I have as I said worked in India a lot, nice place, some nice people BUT BE CAREFUL.

 

[Midwest]

For inoculations and medical advice the FCO medical travel advice (Travel Health Pro), will always refer you back to your local GP or health professional, 4 -6 weeks before you travel.

I've heard they do a mind blasting curry (Ricky)

 

[Pete999]

Evening gents
I've a short term job in mid May in Bangalore should only be a few weeks

And I'm looking for advice from people who have worked in India
Innoculations , medical, malaria ,food issues and insurance etc all in hand

Any general advice would be very welcome

I'm particularly concerned about
issues like entering the country with tools, test meters etc and customs officials who I've heard are as corrupt as any politician and worse!, either trying to confiscate items they think are worth paying a backhanderbackh for

And any other scams anyone has encountered

How long is your VISA for? , don't want to go there and find the job is longer than you think and then find your visa is out of time

 

[edexlab]

Not sure how long the visa is for to be honest, job is supervising locals building our equipment, although we'll be working , hopefully we'll get a good bunch of blokes.......
Can be a false economy sometimes as foreigners can be lazy ,rough with the equipment etc
Jobs usually take us around three to four weeks to complete onsite using our own staff but this'll be my first supervised self build, this situation is quite common for our installs in places like India as the labour is so cheap and the customers see our quite for labour and have a minor heart attack! and usually insist on doing it with a Brit Electrician and mechanical guy overseeing things

But they usually ask for visa for around 6 months in most places as sometimes things are altered after a few weeks of operating and someone goes back etc
so I expect they'll make sure things are covered for this.

 

[Pete999]

Not sure how long the visa is for to be honest, job is supervising locals building our equipment, although we'll be working , hopefully we'll get a good bunch of blokes.......
Can be a false economy sometimes as foreigners can be lazy ,rough with the equipment etc
Jobs usually take us around three to four weeks to complete onsite using our own staff but this'll be my first supervised self build, this situation is quite common for our installs in places like India as the labour is so cheap and the customers see our quite for labour and have a minor heart attack! and usually insist on doing it with a Brit Electrician and mechanical guy overseeing things

But they usually ask for visa for around 6 months in most places as sometimes things are altered after a few weeks of operating and someone goes back etc
so I expect they'll make sure things are covered for this.

Good luck

 

[edexlab]

Re medical I just meant I've had jabs etc read up on things like malaria etc
Hygiene wise we go to some rough parts of China and I've worked in Egypt so I'm aware of the issues there, although I know India will be quite a bit worse!

I always take a small medical pack with hypodermic needles and sutures etc ,Mrs has access to these at work and they throw them out a month before expiry, so she'll sort that out, however should anything happen the firm will make sure we go to a decent hospital of which there are a few in Bangalore

 

[edexlab]

Yes should be interesting !

The only good foreigners I've worked alongside were Spanish and German electricians and also a Chinese crew who didn't speak a word of English but were all good blokes and did a good job,especially considering they were instructed by lots of pointing and hand motions lol

 

[edexlab]

What did you do there Pete?

I'm looking forward to this trip but got to say I don't think I'd be interested in going to Pakistan nowadays!!!

 

[7029 dave]

Don't put your tools in the over head cabin, in the hold.

 

[edexlab]

I think it's been quite a while since that was allowed lol

 

[7029 dave]

I think it's been quite a while since that was allowed lol

I was only having a crack fella.

 

[Pete999]

What did you do there Pete?

I'm looking forward to this trip but got to say I don't think I'd be interested in going to Pakistan nowadays!!!

What Pakistan or India? Daft question really I worked for the FCO Services we did all the M&E work within the High Commissions, only worked with the locals in Pakistan, they were an OK bunch, asked by the Brit manager to try and teach the local sparkies that worked for the HC testing procedures, that was an experience and a half, they, were as I said a good bunch, but oh dear, bang testing was their way of doing things. was there fo about 10 weeks, only got the runs once, lasted a few days, couldn't work, lucky they had a Brit Medic in the HC.

 

[Pete999]

What did you do there Pete?

I'm looking forward to this trip but got to say I don't think I'd be interested in going to Pakistan nowadays!!!

Worked in the BHC

 

[Hellmooth]

What is it you're doing edexlab out of curiosity?

 

[edexlab]

Company I work for makes specialist equipment for the casting industry most clients are aerospace,
So we build, machines and systems here in uk and then usual install onsite

 

[mikhan]

very nice people always call you Sir,Nice weather if you get a chance to visit in Feb,March or Oct,Nov.
they don't know what is H&S at work? & never use PPE, always use wrong tools to get the job done.
Pete might have visited Murree very close to Islamabad ,Northern area very beautiful

 

[Pete999]

very nice people always call you Sir,Nice weather if you get a chance to visit in Feb,March or Oct,Nov.
they don't know what is H&S at work? & never use PPE, always use wrong tools to get the job done.
Pete might have visited Murree very close to Islamabad ,Northern area very beautiful

Yep went to the Murree hills once or twice good beer up there. Never could fathom why beer was allowed there though.

 

[edexlab]

H&S I know what to expect having been to China and Egypt, the US and Germany weren't as hot on it as I thought they'd be....
Going in 4 weeks so it'll be pretty warm where I'm going , looking forward to it!

I'm quite an attractive bloke! ...

For mozzies!...

Not looking forward to being eaten alive !
So I'm going to do the sensible thing there!

 

[Pete999]

H&S I know what to expect having been to China and Egypt, the US and Germany weren't as hot on it as I thought they'd be....
Going in 4 weeks so it'll be pretty warm where I'm going , looking forward to it!

I'm quite an attractive bloke! ...

For mozzies!...

Not looking forward to being eaten alive !
So I'm going to do the sensible thing there!

Don't forget Imodium and some sort of electrolyte

 

[edexlab]

Yes plenty of that too!

Did you come across any miracle cures for delhi belly while you were there?
A lot of people reccomend probiotics ...

some Indian friends said eat lots of natural yoghurt too so currently overdosing on the stuff now lol

 

[Pete999]

Yes plenty of that too!

Did you come across any miracle cures for delhi belly while you were there?
A lot of people reccomend probiotics ...

some Indian friends said eat lots of natural yoghurt too so currently overdosing on the stuff now lol

Yes natural yogurt, but if you watch what you eat and drink, you should be OK, don't under any circumstances drink the tea from the tea boys, made with condensed milk and God only knows where the water is from. I got the sheets on one trip, must have went to the bog all day, couldn't go out of the Hotel, wnet to the BHC club when I could walk again without clenching the bum cheeks together had some Brandy worked wonder, had a bit of a headache in the morning though, still no more sheets

 

[edexlab]

I remember having cramps for 5 days in Egypt luckily I could hold everything else in until I got back to the hotel , I decided the hotel restaurant evening meals were the problem ,
As soon as I stopped eating there never had another issue!

 

[Pete999]

Got the shyites in Tehran, mind you that was nothing to do with anything I ate, one scary place that is, especially if they think you are an American

 

[edexlab]

Yes not as popular as they think they are the Americans!

Been quizzed a few times by people thinking we're from the US

 

[Mike Johnson]

I was in Tehran during the reign of Shar Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, very civilised it was too, was the change for the better?

 

[Pete999]

I was in Tehran during the reign of Shar Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, very civilised it was too, was the change for the better?

No don't think so, I went there a total of 7 times post revolution.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I only went once post revolution and vowed never to go back, the change was so drastic it was upsetting to see so many wonderful heritage monuments and buildings destroyed, it was all the administration could do to save the Shahyad/Azadi Tower which I worked on.

 

[Pete999]

I only went once post revolution and vowed never to go back, the change was so drastic it was upsetting to see so many wonderful heritage monuments and buildings destroyed, it was all the administration could do to save the Shahyad/Azadi Tower which I worked on.

Where did you stay? I stayed in some Hotel way outside the city limits, the name eludes me now.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I stayed with the Chief Engineer of Iran Mehdi Safavi who worked for the Shar, who's niece was my next door neighbour in the UK, that's partly how the commission came our way, the Architect wanted a high profile Structural engineering company.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Sorry the above should have read, "high profile Structural engineering company, and Ove Arup's who I worked for fitted the bill"

 

[netblindpaul]

Company I work for makes specialist equipment for the casting industry most clients are aerospace,
So we build, machines and systems here in uk and then usual install onsite

If you are employed mate, then make sure that your employer has all this covered, full health cover, sterle kits, visas etc sorted, when I worked for a co. doing this it was all sorted for us, including a co. credit card for real issues, that they could up the limit on @ hq with just a phonecall. It's down to them to keep you safe. Now I'm self-employed and travelling, it's down to me, so it's jabs, best travel insurance I can get, global cover, and make sure everything is right. If the client won't pay, then I don't do. Simples.