Re: Any1 going to DebConf15 from India?

[Amey Abhyankar <sco1984@gmail.com>]

On 17 June 2015 at 20:03, Faheem Mitha <faheem@faheem.info> wrote:

>Would that be your first time at a Debconf?

Yes. Attending DebConf14 [@Portland,USA] was an extremely expensive affair to me. Germany seems some how accessible to me.

How ever, I do watch & also encourage fellow Debian users to watch recorded sessions from previous Debconf's.  :-)

In fact I have downloaded several recorded sessions on my HDD for showing it to enterprise business users/space where I promote Debian.

>Isn't it usually cheaper to buy an air ticket ahead of time?

Yes true. But these days it's unpredictable. I observed, once the date comes closer more flights are visible at lower prices some times. The price I mentioned is for 'Mumbai-Frankfurt-Mumbai' route.

>I see. That is quite expensive, but less than I expected. Does that 15-20 Euro include both accomodation as well as food? If so, it seems cheap.

24~32 Euro for accommodation at dormitory. Just saw at hostel site = http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/heidelberg%20international10/Portrait .

Also refer = http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20150513.092832.ba8951ca.en.html

>I see. I suppose that is required for entry into Germany. You didn't mention the cost of a German visa. How much is that?

i)You'll apply for Shengen business visa for this. VFS is the authorized agency in India to process Schengen visa's. VFS Germany Mumbai URL = "" href="http://www.vfs-germany.co.in/mumbai/index.html">http://www.vfs-germany.co.in/mumbai/index.html

Schengen visa fee as of today = 4300 INR [Excluding VFS fee as what I remember. VFS charges 700+ processing fee + 500~600 courier charges if you want Passport at your door step.]

ii) You also need conference invitation letter before submitting your application for business visa to VFS Germany.

I hope this information helps.

Regards,

Amey.

On Wed, 17 Jun 2015, Amey Abhyankar wrote:

On 17 June 2015 at 18:44, Faheem Mitha <faheem@faheem.info> wrote:

Hi Amey,

On Wed, 17 Jun 2015, Amey Abhyankar wrote:

Hello,

Any1 from India attending DebConf15?

I am strongly planning to attend DebConf15 despite the fact my travel
grant request is refused. ^_^

Would that be your first time at a Debconf?

Just waiting for air fare to go down. If at all it goes down, will be
heading to Heidelberg for DebConf15 in August.

Isn't it usually cheaper to buy an air ticket ahead of time?

That sounds like it would be quite expensive. Can you tell us how much
(approxumately) the costs are?

i)As of now air fare is high i.e. 42~44k rupees for round trip. :-/
Main concern. :-(

ii) Accommodation is available at reasonable cost at the venue as per
the conference page which looks fine. 15~20 Euro per night x 7 days.

iii) Travel cost from Frankfurt to Heidelberg and back by train as of
now is 40 Euro as per the update from Martin.

I assume, rough cost with this budget would be 60,000~65,000 rupees.  :-/

I see. That is quite expensive, but less than I expected. Does that 15-20 Euro include both accomodation as well as food? If so, it seems cheap.

I got conference invitation letter [for visa purpose] from Rene some time back.

I see. I suppose that is required for entry into Germany. You didn't mention the cost of a German visa. How much is that?

And where are you located?

Pune city  :-)

Ok. Thanks for the information.

         Regards, Faheem Mitha