#US visa appointment wait time down 75%

[puneetimmigration]

US Visa Appointment Wait Time for Indians sees a 75% Reduction!

Know latest news about US Visa Appointment Wait Time for Indians, with remarkable 75% reduction. Ensuring a smoother visa application process.

[andrewdz]

200 Favorite Tracks of 2017

A list of my favorite tunes I heard in 2017. Link to the Spotify playlist at the bottom.

1. Variations on an Aria - People Like You

2. In Undertow - Alvvays

3. Slip Away - Perfume Genius

4. Mythological Beauty - Big Thief

5. The World’s Best American Band - White Reaper

6. Living in the City - Hurray for the Riff Raff

7. Heart Basel - The Drums

8. Cut to the Feeling - Carly Rae Jepsen

9. 5 Flucloxacillin - Los Campesinos!

10. Near to the Wild Heart of Life - Japandroids

11. Fear & Force - Vagabon

12. Follow My Voice - Julie Byrne

13. Shark Smile - Big Thief

14. SGL - Now, Now

15. Footscray Station - Camp Cope

16. Bike Dream - Rostam

17. Hard Times - Paramore

18. (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano - Sampha

19. Drew Barrymore - SZA

20. No Halo - Sorority Noise

21. Mourning Sound - Grizzly Bear

22. Holding On - The War on Drugs

23. FEAR. - Kendrick Lamar

24. Silver Velvet - The Courtneys

25. Suck - Priests

26. Slomo - Slowdive

27. You Need a Visa - People Like You

28. Motion Sickness - Phoebe Bridgers

29. I Broke Up in Amarante - Los Campesinos!

30. Blood Under my Belt - The Drums

31. Pa’lante - Hurray for the Riff Raff

32. Told You So - Miguel

33. Evening Prayer - Jens Lekman

34. reindeer games - Oso Oso

35. June - Tigers Jaw

36. Judy French - White Reaper

37. Midnight to Morning - Japandroids

38. Brickwall - Fred Thomas

39. He’s Fine - The Secret Sisters

40. Pure Comedy - Father John Misty

41. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness - The National

42. Lovelife - Phoenix

43. Otherside - Perfume Genius

44. Cold Apartment - Vagabon

45. Hungry Ghost - Hurray for the Riff Raff

46. Falling - Forever

47. The Man - The Killers

48. oh baby - LCD Soundsystem

49. Ruby - Charly Bliss

50. With You Tonight - Summer Moon

51. The Future - The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

52. Deadly Valentine - Charlotte Gainsbourg

53. Fear and Trembling - Gangs of Youth

54. Do You Know Me by Heart - Cameron Avery

55. Hang on Me - St. Vincent

56. Shadows - Future Islands feat. Debbie Harry 

57. get there (when you’re there) - Oso Oso

58. Tour - The Courtneys

59. Bobby - (Sandy) Alex G

60. Halfway Home - Broken Social Scene

61. The Weekend - SZA

62. Macabre - Land of Talk

63. Say I Didn’t - Vic Mensa

64. Blood on Me - Sampha

65. Car - Sorority Noise

66. Any Party - Feist

67. Hung Empty - Los Campesinos!

68. Standing in the Middle of the Field - Cut Copy

69. Dangerous - The xx

70. Hot Thoughts - Spoon

71. What Can I Do if the Fire Goes Out? - Gangs of Youth

72. Idle Worship - Paramore

73. Guilty Party - The National

74. JJ - Priests

75. Wreath - Perfume Genius

76. Strangers Kiss - Alex Cameron feat Angel Olsen

77. 2 Cool 2 Care - Anna Burch

78. Haunted - Sharaya Summers

79. No Fixed Destination - Cut Copy

80. The Opener - Camp Cope

81. Cleaning House - Vagabon

82. Tonya Harding (In Eb Major) - Sufjan Stevens

83. Little Dark Age - MGMT

84. Scare U - Charly Bliss

85. Moment - King Henry feat Rhye

86. (I Just Died) Like an Aviator - Matthew Ryan

87. Mind Hijacker’s Curse - Chad VanGaalen

88. Told You So - Paramore

89. End of Heartache - Moon Diagrams

90. Someone - Anna of the North

91. Los Ageless - St. Vincent

92. Lying With You - Charlotte Gainsbourg

93. Without Love - Alice Glass

94. I Used to Be Small - Wild Pink

95. Lazarus Online - Wolf Parade

96. Last Thing on Your Mind - H. Hawkline

97. Total Entertainment Forever - Father John Misty

98. To Know Your Mission - Jens Lekman

99. Alan - Perfume Genius

100. Forget About Life - Alvvays

101. the walk - Oso Oso

102. Chateau - Angus & Julia Stone

103. FEEL. - Kendrick Lamar

104. The One to Wait - CCFX

105. Morning Dove - Julie Byrne

106. LOVE. - Kendrick Lamar feat ZACARI.

107. Percolator - Charly Bliss

108. Escape Plan - Tigers Jaw

109. Dreams Tonite - Alvvays

110. Elvis is in the Freezer - Ratboys

111. The Bus Song - Jay Some

112. New yYork - St. Vincent

113. If We Were Vampires - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

114. Mystery of Love - Sufjan Stevens

115. Minnesota - The Courtneys

116. Valley Boy - Wolf Parade

117. Never Been Wrong - Waxahatchee

118. Don’t Delete the Kisses - Wolf Alice

119. Sugar for the Pill - Slowdive

120. Appointments - Julien Baker

121. Tinseltown Swimming in Blood - Destroyer

122. Mostly Blue - Welllness

123. Thumbnail - People Like You

124. Fortress - Queens of the Stone Age

125. I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner) - Japandroids

126. Plimsoll Punks - Alvvays

127. 1 Billion Dogs - Jay Some

128. Mallwalkers - Fred Thomas

129. How We Met, the Long Version - Jens Lekman

130. out of the blue - Oso Oso

131. Valley - Perfume Genius

132. Guardian - Tigers Jaw

133. Smoke Signals - Phoebe Bridgers

134. Country Song - The Courtneys

135. Friendship (Is a Small Boat in a Storm) - Chicano Batman

136. Black Diamonds - Big Thief

137. HUMBLE. - Kendrick Lamar

138. Would You Rather - Phoebe Bridgers

139. Renato Dall’Ara (2008) - Los Campesinos!

140. Telefono - Phoenix

141. Tin Can - Kevin Morby

142. Thinking of a Place - The War on Drugs

143. the cool - Oso Oso

144. Funeral - Phoebe Bridgers

145. Rollin’ Like a Stoner - Vic Mensa

146. I Wanna Have You - Sweet Spirit

147. No Ti Amo - Lucky Soul

148. Powerful Man - (Sandy) Alex G

149. Something to Remember Me By - The Horrors

150. Good With God - Old 97′s feat Brandi Carlile

151. Hope the High Rode - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

152. Friend Zone - Thundercat

153. You’re Dreaming - Wolf Parade

154. I Wish I Didn’t Miss You - Feist

155. Last of My Kind - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

156. Just Like Love - Perfume Genius

157. Lelia 20 - Priests

158. Let Me Down Easy - Gang of Youths

159. North Star - Future Islands

160. Name for You - The Shins

161. Right Now - HAIM

162. Haley - Big Thief

163. Whiteout Conditions - The New Pornographers

164. Easy - Sky Ferreira

165. 123 - Girlpool

166. Head of the Horse - The Drums

167. Wish You Could See Me Now - Jessica Lea Mayfield

168. DNA. - Kendrick Lamar

169. Wizard of Loneliness - Wild Pink

170. Happy Birthday, Johnny - St. Vincent

171. Don’t Bother Calling - Moses Sumney

172. Pain - The War on Drugs

173. The Way You Used to Do - Queens of the Stone Age

174. Run for Cover - The Killers

175. Dillon and Her Son - The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

176. Up to Me - Sera Cahoone

177. The Embers - Vagabon

178. Melting Grid - Julie Byrne

179. Rest - Charlotte Gainsboury

180. If Before I Wake - The Districts

181. Can I Sit Next To You - Spoon

182. Replica - The xx

183. Where It At? - Trombone Shorty

184. Dance With Me - Cameron Avery

185. The Baker - People Like You

186. Ran - Future Islands

187. Sleepwalker - Julie Byrne

188. Stars Last Me A Lifetime - Cut Copy

189. Sportstar - (Sandy) Alex G

190. The Mighty - Sweet Spirit

191. Comfort - Petal 

192. WhisperIlllistentohearit - Spoon

193. City Music - Kevin Morby

194. Shotgun - Spoon

195. Preludes - Craig Finn

196. You Could Be Wrong - Bully

197. Daisies - White Reaper

198. Carin at the Liquor Store - The National

199. Future Politics - Austra

200. Fred Thomas - Open Letter to Forever

https://open.spotify.com/user/futuredizzy/playlist/3BqpUaquATwE377ieH0voM

[lotusdentaltravel]

6 tips to plan your dental vacation in Vietnam

Travel arrangement for your dental vacation in Vietnam

Due to the thriving development of dental tourism in Vietnam, more and more dental tourists from developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand travel to Vietnam for dental care. Understanding the difficulty of planning a dental vacation, Lotus Dental Travel has summarized a step-by-step guide to walk you through every detail of your dental vacation planning process.After following these explicit steps, you can make a perfect plan for your dental vacation.

Plan ahead: Treatment schedule and travel time

First of all, you need to plan your appointments with your dentists in Vietnam. Once you have your treatment plan, you can start planning your dental vacation in Vietnam. 

You should expect how long your stay is and if you want to expand your treatment time to explore more about Vietnam. There is an easy way to find out the answer. Making a list of tourist attractions that you desire to visit and then, note down your itinerary. Vietnam has plenty of beautiful tourist attractions such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, etc. You may want to combine them with your dental vacation. If you want to discover Vietnamese culture and art, you may want to put Ha Noi and Da Nang on your list. These two beautiful and charming cities are the most visited sites in Vietnam, not only because of their ancient beauty but also by the richness and diversity of Vietnamese street cuisine. If you are a sunshine seeker, Nha Trang must be on top of your list. Its pristine beaches and fresh seafood will give you once-in-a-life-time experiences. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh city is the best place for those who love noises and modern life with the hustling pace of life. 

Most dental tourism destinations in Vietnam have various interesting outdoor and indoor activities that you could enjoy: sightseeing, sports, spa, and wellness, etc. 

Monetary arrangement

Take one or more debit cards or credit cards (for the treatment) so you don’t have to worry about carrying cash around and in case one credit card won’t work. It might be a little more expensive to use cards on your trips because each transaction would require you to pay a little extra money due to the exchange rate. 

However, for some high-cost treatments, it might be more economic to bring cash because it could save you lots of money.  If bringing foreign currencies or traveler’s cheques, this can be converted to VND cash at local banks on any working days from Monday to Friday. Or you can exchange at Jewelry shops for the best rate. Each individual, upon entry or exit through Vietnamese international border gates by valid passports, can carry cash up to USD5,000 (or other equivalent foreign currency) or VND5 million without the need to declare to the immigration office or customs office. Foreign currencies with the amounts exceeding USD5,000 – (or equivalent) must be declared on arrival. Read Vietnam Custom regulations of currency import to know more details.

Mastercard, VISA, American Express are the most popular accepted in Vietnam. However, you need to inform your credit card company the estimated amounts and transactions that will be processed in Vietnam prior to travel as many credit card companies (especially US, Europe, and Australia) do require overseas activation for security fraud. The daily currency exchange rates from VND to your home currency are determined by your credit card companies. Exchange rates may vary for different credit cards and banks. Certain banks do charge service fees or other charges for overseas credit card transactional use that you may like to check prior to its use overseas.

Passport and visa arrangements

There’s no medical tourism visa in Vietnam so you could register for a tourist visa. For a trip under 15 days, citizens from Europe, such as Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, UK, don’t need to apply for a visa. 

However, if you are from Australia, New Zealand, the US or Canada, you need to apply for a visa. The single-entry stamping fee is US$25, a multiple-entry stamping fee is US$50. The process is straightforward: you fill out an online application form and pay the agency the fee (around US$20). You’ll then receive by email a VOA approval letter signed by Vietnamese immigration that you print out and show on arrival, where you pay your visa stamping fee in US dollars, cash only. Make sure you have your non-expired passport for at least six months and two blank pages for visa stamp.

Flight booking

Tourists from Australia, there are direct flights to Ho Chi Minh city. From Russia, China, Korea, there are direct flights to Nha Trang. If you depart from Hongkong and Singapore, there’re direct flights to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang. 

There are many airlines with different prices and services in Vietnam, namely Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airway, etc. Vietnam Airlines, the first airline in Vietnam, has the best quality in the business with a wide range of both international and domestic airlines. Meanwhile, Vietjet air is the first airline to offer cheap flight tickets.

Vietjet Air is widely used to travel domestically which covers all the most visited ones in Vietnam. You should check the weight limit for your luggage if you do not want to pay for the extra weight. To save up your time, Flights – Google is the most convenient booking platform where you can search and compare flight ticket prices all around the world, so you can choose the best-suited flight tickets. 

Avoid delay in booking

For complicated procedures the doctor should finalize your treatment plan at least 1 month prior to the first appointment. Once you get a hold of the treatment plan, book your flights as soon as possible. Last minute booking could cost you a fortune.

Check cancellation policy and travel insurance

Make sure you know what you’re covered from if there’s a reason you can’t make it to your flight.

Vietnam government doesn’t require international tourists to purchase travel insurance, but you should purchase one to protect yourself from situations such as flight cancellation or accidents.

You could also learn more about some dental tourism insurance policies, which may cover some risks of your travel, treatment and retreatment. Some travel insurance providers such as Go Insurance offer dental tourism packages for dental tourists. Dental tourism insurance covers trip cancellation, emergency overseas dental treatment, additional transport and accommodation, return travel and accommodation remedical dental treatment.

Ground transportation arrangements

You could ask the dental clinic receptionist or patient coordinator from a dental travel facilitator in Vietnam to book for local transportation for you. Some clinics also offer airport pickup and a dropoff for international patients. 

There are popular booking platforms in Vietnam such as Grab, GoViet, and Be, which are used widely like Uber in the US. You can book a car or motorbike taxi via these apps for short waiting time and a cheaper price in comparison to a traditional taxi. However, as people just need to register an account to become the drivers on these platforms, they are not under the strict control of any competent group. Therefore, we still highly recommend you a traditional taxi to avoid unexpected incidents.

Accommodation

Most dental tourists opt for 4-star and 5-star hotels. For 5-star experience in Vietnam, expect to pay about $75 – $100 per day at a minimum. Meanwhile, most 4-star hotels have prices range from $50 to $70, and three-star hotels that are acceptable would be around $30-$50 per night.  Do a small comparison between top-quality hotels in Asian countries, you will see those in Vietnam are potential candidates for the best quality hotels with affordable prices.

For long treatment procedures such as All-on-4, you could book apartments (Airbnb, Agoda, Luxstay), which could save you lots of travel expenses. Normally, you can discount at different levels: 31%, 55%, to name but a few. Besides, online reviews are very helpful for decision making and could totally increase the social proof for accommodation. Different review-platforms have their own methodology of collecting reviews. Some are very strict in terms of review verification, meanwhile, some are quite “easy-going”. Find yourself trustworthy review-platform such as Tripadvisor.

For the sake of customers, Lotus Dental Travel helps you reserve superior-quality rooms hotel and resort. There are state-of-art hotels as listed below, we suggest you consider them and choose the one that wins your heart. 

Ha Noi

Lotte Hotel Hanoi (5-star)

Apricot Hotel (5-star)

Hanoi La Siesta Hotel Trendy (4 stars)

Da Nang

Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa (5-star)

Hotel Royal Hoi An – MGallery (5-star)

Pavilion Hotel (4-star)

Ho Chi Minh City

Hotel Nikko Saigon (5-star)

Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint (5-star)

EdenStar Saigon Hotel & Spa (4-star)

Nha Trang

Vinpearl Resort & Spa Nha Trang Bay (5-star)

Hotel & Spa Sheraton (5-star)

Havana Nha Trang Hotel (4-star)

  The post 6 tips to plan your dental vacation in Vietnam appeared first on Dental.

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[janiklandre-blog]

Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017

10:10 a.m. rainy day  Woke at 5 a.m., and took a bath. Everything consumes more time than it used to - most Americans take showers - when I moved to 341 East 6th after the loft fire in 1978 there only was a bathtub in the kitchen and I started taking baths - realizing I much prefer it to a shower. After the 2000 fire there I moved to this here - I call it Poverty Palace - it is a palace, but a strange palace. Functional is what I call it - like coming mornings to this here computer room with 14 computers and I am alone here. Actually - less distraction than when I am in my own apartment. Only the computer is a bit strange also. - Just saved again. On East 6th Street - a tenement built in the 19th century - good chance by German craftsman - went to a talk the other day regarding a book of photographs - East Village - excellent, I bought it - came a bit late - unusual for me, interesting speaker - as I arrived saying how large the German population was in this neighborhood - I assume many came after 1848 - a failed revolt in Germany - Heine had to leave - and here most famously Carl Schurz - and you can still see lettering for the Schuetzen Verein - rifle men - a library, a clinic - then an excursion boat sank early in the 20th century, many killed and the Germans moved to East 86th street - the Bremenhaus etc. and many sympathisers of Hitler. A choir, Lutheran church - all history I would have enjoyed following, had I been able to get the little teaching job in German - that I could have gotten easily in 1962 when we returned to New York from Geneva and I did have the U.C..- quickly saved, something weird - U.C.L.A. masters - languages after sputnik financed by defense funds - no problem getting job in small college - missed my chance, studied sociology that I loved but my ex husband insisted I must earn some money - thought I could get better job with Columbia Ph.D. - came 1968, no more defense funds, languages no longer obligatory, humanities unnecessary - and I went to paint walls - had fun, made good money - got fed up, did bookkeeping for a Turkish Jew, Maurice Nahum in the Empire State Building - he had beautiful eyes, wanted to make me apartner - he was selling used pinball machines tio South East Asia - sadly admitted my lack of interest, put me for a few weeks on the books and for a while I collected $35 a week unemployment - $140 a month - our rent in the 1800 sq foot loft $200 (now $6000) - Paco put me up to getting food stamps as head of the family also for my sons who ate with us - he had the shack in East Hampton - I took the train on Thursdays, he was there with S.B., eating birds - I came with food stamps and we headed for gristedes and bought steak and S.B. taught me to dive into the waves and we would swim far out. I also learned to submit to the will of the ocean. At parties S.B. and I sat in a corner - Paco never introduced us. We did not care - went for a long walk - I was supplying the old car Robert G.turned down to me - an oldsmobile station wagon, vista cruiser - everything electrical had failed - windows, gas gage --when I was not there they ran out of gas and waited for me with my $75 a Week Maurice paid me for 15 hours - and always left and said you can go when you are done - always after an hour or less, not the three he paid me for, $5 an hour. Was tutoring ?Eisenberg in German - another measly sum, an occasional translation - great friends, we were creating our own events - now rents sky high and no one has barely time toi say hello. Unplanned writing. I was going to begin with how - alas - how stupid so many nice people are - they all voted for Trump - and I also considered Hitler the result of utter stupidity. I am not alone - Einstein said something to the effect how far behind our brains are to all the marvels modern technology has given us. Stupidity is terribly dangerous - look at Germany in May 1945 - but now we have the added danger of the atom bomb - scary. Intelligent people have commented on my intelligence and told me that it makes me a woman of value - French Christine's - mlle de Segonzac, high French aristocracy - she is ill in Paris and has given up computer - to her I was of very marginal value - well thanks to God there are some truly intelligent people who appreciate me - understand my changing moods. Recently have been very saddened by C.B. Stephen W., wherever he may be - the suspicion is Bank Street, where also L.P. lives and we are tracking him down these days - a brilliant and beautiful guy, who truly appreciated me and I said to him: I know you are using me, and you know it too, but as long as I was being used by a man 25 years younger than me and getting taken into a group his age - luckily remnants still around, like Jimmy the Greek, Seth T., Eric R. - especially Laura Z. - super intelligent - these people appreciate me. Yes, I can get nasty, I can get aggressive - after for weeks I've turned my anger inward and have been melancholy - intelligent people understand that - and Stephen and I could insult each other and laugh about it. The ignorant write me off - and while I do make the mistake of getting attached to them - attachment causes suffering the Buddhists say - I suffer from my attachment to people who have sought me out because they sense my intelligence and my value. Still, when they treat me shabbily I do suffer and of course they do not understand. I can be the sweetest of the sweet and the nastiest of the nasty. Stephen always said, nasty people live longer. It's 11. I am getting hungry. Good riddance was the term I was looking for - my brilliant friend Ella Lingens - born 1912 I believe, she died some years ago - called most women "Gaenschen" - little geese - and they all vote for Trump! - and they voted for Hitler beguilded by his words and they dump me from one day to the next - and I was attached to them, even loved them - and do feel sorrow. I have saved after every three sententences, still, I'll send while it is here -- yesterday - yes, I'm struggling with transition to blog and hope Molly will come on Thursday and help - I wrote - went for lunch to senior center, Sirowitz - a lot of sad old - a cheeseburger I could not eat, nice view from the window - to venieros spending $5.50 on fancy mousse, - trying toi make espresso in my little one shot gizmo with coffee years old - reading NYT - taking the sun on the roof in a warm corner - printer here needs cartridge, sometimes next week I was told - sending stuff to copy shop - $1 a page - to my bar, Scratcher, have looked at it for 17 years, it opened 22 years ago, only drinks, no food, $5 for bourbon and ginger ale, lovely bar tender, nyu B.A. and M.F.A. in writing - published poet parents had moved around, after jobs, many Americans do, mobility is lauded - families broken up, she says she can at best be adjunct prof - lousy work - makes good money tending bar, also works other bar - leaves on feb 27 for a year in Australia - Aussies give one year visa to beautiful, brilliant young people - smart Aussies - C.B playing games with cell phones, calling, ending after two rings, then her message I cannot take voice mail - text - no answer to texts - I've told her, meet me in my bar - she drinks. And so it goes. Made appointment with Park Ave doctor = pay up front $275 for first visit, they will bill medicare and send me check for what the get from medicare - will take a while and probably be $100 or so -American medicine. Smart doctor. Recommended by L.P.  better send while it's there