Actions only. Depart Mon 21 September, 01:15.
Passport in Chennai. Blocks forex card and the flight. Express 2–3 working days, regular 4–7, plus courier both ways. Six working days left.
Return date undecided. Gates housing, insurance, and the return ticket.
ICP undecided. Decides SF vs South Bay. Decides where you live for ten weeks.
Thanksgiving Thu 26 Nov. Close everything by Tue 24 Nov.
Get three facts: submission date, express or regular, collection date.
Withdrawing loses the visa fee, keeps the US trip.
Passport number from a scan is enough.
immd.gov.hk — free, minutes, details only.
Nothing else matters if the calendar is empty on arrival.
Ask each day: has it been submitted to the consulate, is it express or regular, what is the collection date. Typed notes save in this browser only.
15h20m HKG: ₹62,466, 33h55m total, lands 22:40. — 3h35m HKG: ₹87,246, 22h10m, lands 10:55. Same CX 624 out of BLR either way.
₹4,900 under Google on the identical flight.
10–40% upfront, balance within 45 days or before travel, no extra cost. Confirms the seat. Price Lock only holds a number for 1–7 days.
Corporate fares may carry reduced or zero cancellation. Verify it covers US long-haul — documented free-cancellation sectors are short-haul only.
Fare gives 23kg checked, 7kg cabin. Tight for ten weeks.
Round trip ≈ two one-ways on this route, so booking short to extend later saves nothing and risks a change into Thanksgiving week.
Land 09:50, back by 22:30. Airport Express to Central, 24 min. Bag goes through to SFO.
No bank issues under LRS on a photocopy. Passport must be back.
Immediate at branch on documents. Existing customers may self-issue in ~5 min.
Same-day doorstep in Bangalore, 7 days a week, order before 1 PM.
US hotels and car rentals place pre-auth holds that forex cards fail.
20% above a per-year threshold, creditable against income tax. Threshold revised recently — ask, do not assume.
Minimum $100,000 plus evacuation. Policy must span the full stay.
Return ticket, company letter, proof of funds, accommodation, meeting invitations.
A short return ticket does not cap your stay — the I-94 does. Saying two weeks while planning ten is misrepresentation.
Original labelled packaging plus a doctor’s letter.
Confirm hob, fridge, utensils in writing before any deposit.
Dry spices, dals and lentils, ready-mix powders, khakhra and thepla, branded pickles, packaged snacks, tea, dry sweets like laddu and kaju katli. Must be commercially sealed and labelled.
Fresh produce, any meat in any form, fresh dairy, seeds.
Non-declaration is fined even when the item was allowed.
A&D is Inner Richmond. From Potrero Hill this is a weekly deliberate run, not a walk.
Jain catering in SF. A standing weekly order covers the meeting-heavy weeks you will not cook.
Amber India, Chaat Corner, Besharam do Jain on request — ask in advance, every time.
Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara. Jain Center of Northern California is in Milpitas, 2,200+ families. 22nd St Caltrain gets you there.
Onion, garlic and root vegetables are in nearly everything. Shared fryers are standard.
How to run customer interviews that do not produce false validation. Short. Read it on the Hong Kong leg.
Founder-led sales before you hire anyone. Free online.
Positioning: competitive alternatives, differentiated value, market category.
gtmunbound.com — written for exactly this trip.
Run 10–15 discovery calls per ICP. Ask about workflows and priorities, not your product. Capture how buyers describe the pain in their own words.
YC is 560 20th St, Dogpatch. 10–15 min walk downhill. 22nd St Caltrain to South Bay, T-Line to downtown.
Safest are Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks, Presidio, Sea Cliff — but all are 35–45 min from YC.
Sign the long sublet once you know where meetings actually cluster. Budget $3,000–5,000/month furnished.
Good rooms waitlist. Check SF Tech Week dates — usually early October.
With the decision maker on each, ranked by buying signal. The long pole.
SF downtown, Peninsula or South Bay — never a mix in one day.