First Solo Personal Trip

*** DRAFT VERSION, WRITING IN PROGRESS, UNDER CONSTRUCTION ***

Prewarning – this will run into pages for you to read. So take your time to read, if have. J

October 2015 – There was an article about Postcrossing in one of the newspapers. I liked the concept of sending postcards around the world and I thought of giving it a try. Sent a few and received a few in return.

Meanwhile I got to know about a few more Postcrossers in Bangalore.

May 2016 – An exhibition on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the postcards received was held at the Rangoli Art centre, MG Road, Bangalore.

This is where I met many wonderful friends such as Som, Prashant, AD, KEshav, Col sir etc. As we met, we got to know more about each other and some of us remained thick friends

Som, who became a very close friend, had then formed a group known as Surprise Swap on facebook. The rule was simple. You need send cards, as many as you like, to people in the group based on their likes and preferences and you would also get too. Simple isn’t it?

November 2017 – Some of the wonderful ladies in the group decided to come up with an idea to meet in Paris on July 21^st, 2018. The event was open to all the members in the group. I too wanted to go, but I was unsure of going for I needed company and expenses were another thing.

March 2018 – Som and myself after our regular catchup at the GPO decided to head out to Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore.

It is here that Som ignited the Paris trip. He said, let’s go to Paris for the meeting? Won’t it be wonderful?

As I had earlier thoughts of going, I immediately said yes, let’s go! Why not? Let’s plan something?

I had a hunch that Som would back out in no time and as it so happened, in less than 24 hours he said wouldn’t be able tomake it due to personal reasons. But, by then I had decided that I shall now go at any cost. Rain or shine, will go. Even if means going on my own, I shall go. Even if it means going solo, I shall go. Even it means being expensive and taking loans etc, I shall still go.

PS: The thing here is once I have made up my mind, if I want anything strongly I will go for it and get it come what may. One point, the rule doesn’t apply to perhaps homo sapiens. I strongly believe that one should never try and control another person. We are all born with a free mind and we should be allowed to remain so. Perhaps this is my most of the time my relationships have failed, I guess. It may also be that once they know me they prefer not knowing me and later start to distance from me.

April, May, June, July 2018 – In these three months I then started chalking out the travel plans in my head, on paper, spoke with friends, took their advice, experiences etc regarding the Paris trip. As I was getting a Schengen visa, this meant I could travel to at least 19 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands). So this is where the planning needed to be a bit meticulous. After a lot of talks and trials, I finally laid them out and started making reservations for the fight tickets, the hotels, the train tickets and finally booked the visa interview in June 2018.

So here is the plan I had in my mind

July 18^th – Leave for Paris from Bangalore

July 19^th – July 23^rd – Arrive in Paris, attend the meetup, see a bit of Paris and leave for Nice on 23^rd July.

July 24^th – July 26^th – Be in Nice and visit Monaco, and leave for Paris on 26^th July

July 27^th – Mont Saint Michel from Paris

July 28^th – Normandy from Paris

July 29^th – Aug 1^st – Leave for Brussels on 29^th July and leave for Bangalore on 1^st August.

So this meant nearly 2 weeks of leave. This could be a hassle for two weeks of leave for an international holiday is quite unheard for Indians. Maybe for others in foreign locations its a common thing to do, but for your average Indians, middle class working guys like me is rare. So I had to seek permission from my manager who willing obliged and granted me leaves between July 18^th and 2^nd August, as these were my travel dates. Once this was approved in the systems, I then had to get the required Employment Proof letter from my organisation which was required when submitted the application form for the Schengen  visa.

So after getting all the plans on the papers, and getting the reservations done, I then filled the Schengen Visa application form and got the appointment date for 26^th June, 2018. So I got all the required documentations in order and went to the centre on the appointed date. The following are the documents that needs to be submitted, incase you need any help for a tourist visa.

1.       Valid passport with at least 2-3 blank pages. Passport should have a longer validity period of at least more than 3 months after intended stay.

2.       The VISA application form, obviously. Ensure they are signed in Page 3, Column 37 and at the last section.

3.       2 photographs, passport size, Schengen type. When taking this at a studio, tell them it is for a Schengen visa application and they should know. Also it may help if you state the country you are applying for.

4.       Employment Proof letter that contains the name of the applicant, the travel dates, Details of the sponsor of the trip (in this case it would be self) and the purpose of the visit.

5.       Copies of the hotel reservations made, the train tickets, if travelling to other Schengen countries, get them included.

6.       Past three years of the IT returns. Can be the Form 16 or the ITR-V forms.

7.       At least 6 months of bank statement with company seal and signature. Ensure you have sufficient balance. This is to prove that you are capable of sponsoring the trip as this is a tourist visa application.

PS: If you’re planning to apply for a loan for the trip, please do plan much in advance. I was at the hook here for there was a few technical issues with the HDFC bank and the loan that was to be sanctioned on Friday for sanctioned only on Monday afternoon 1530 hrs and Tuesday early morning, 0800 hrs was my appointment time! So you know what to do?

8.       Three months of payslip

9.       The overseas medical insurance.

10.   Itinerary of the trip, a detailed one

11.   A covering letter stating the intention of the trip and the documents submitted.

12.   Copies of the old passport and also copies of the immigration seals if travelled overseas in the past. The application states only for US, UK,  and Canda visas, but if you have travelled to other countries then do submit the photocopies of it, it doesn’t hurt to provide them.

Heard that if you have travelled a bit and have valid US visas, then the chances of this Schengen visa being rejected is less. Anyway, why take risks? Just submit everything I‘d say.

And so as I submitted all the documents, the chap behind the counter window was super thrilled on seeing them. He remarked, “Sir, you’re the only one till now who has submitted all the documents perfectly, in order and nothing more is required. Wish there were more like you around. It would be so much enjoyable.” I just smiled as I did have some previous experience with these. Anyway, after that I was asked to go to another room for my biometircs where in I got framed for a photo that would eventually go into the visa page, gave my finger prints and verified the details and that’s it, Bob’s our uncle. You can now walkout and keep getting the updates via regular texts from them. One main thing I’d advice is verify the darned photo they would have taken. I didn’t do that and as a result, the one that made to the visa page makes me look like I’m the most wanted person in some heinous crime I may have committed. Or like I was taken to some dark alley and they threatened to blow me up or have this photo taken. Don’t believe me? See this for instance!

Anyway, finally on the 29th of June, towards the end of the day, I got a text stating that I could now collect the passport from the consulate. The VFS Centre is located in Global Tech Park, O’ Shaughnessy Road, Langford Town. Went on Monday, 3rd July 2018 to collect my passport. I was horrified to see my image on the visa page. So like I said before, you need to check the photo taken by them. Anwya, I was thrilled to get a 90 day visa, and this was valid until September end. So it meant, I could travel again if needed, if I could.

Finally the D-Day arrived. July 18^th!!!!

Day 01, July 18 – Worked from home on that day till about 5 PM and then I left for the airport by bus. The flight departure time was 2215, Etihad Airways, with a layover at Abu Dhabi. Decided to take the Airport bus as I wanted to be a bit cheap here! Boarded the bus at around 1730 as I didn’t want  to be late to the airport given that the route to the airport is a busy one and it was peak hours when I was travelling. Miraculously, I reached within 45 mins or so. When I looked for the Etihad counter for the check-in, found that it opens only at 1900 hrs and this meant waiting a bit patiently somewhere for the counters to open, and finish the formalities of getting the tickets.

Meanwhile, to kill time, started calling only the dear and dear ones, only the ones who needed to know (and if you got a call or a text from me, remember you mean a lot to me!) about my travel. Many were surprised to know that I’m travelling and was informing them at the eleventh hour. All were in a shock when I told them I am travelling for personal reason or rather this is a personal or leisure travel and not via company. And all needed smelling salts too when I told them that I was travelling solo. They were expecting to travel with some when it was a personal travel. Well, you know why people backed out. J

Anyway, after a while, the counters finally opened at 1900 hrs and after all the prelimnary checks, I got my tickets to Paris. The airline ground staff was surprised to see the weight of the bad I had checked in as it weighed only 12 kgs. Generally, for such travel people nearly hit or go beyond the permissible weight limit and I was nowhere near even half of the weight limit! Guess they don’t know me well, obviously. A small note, when I returned from UK in 2012, I came back with 3 suitcases each weighing about 25 kilos. In 2015, I came back with 2 suitcases of 23 kilos each, with one of them containing mostly chocolates. Anyway, after the check-in was done, I headed to security and once done I heaved a sigh of relief. Now the waiting game starts for the departure. Luckily, the duty free shops are always there to kill time. Unfortunately, Bangalore is still to grow to that level and hence, they are not much options available. One word of caution, if you have a layover, you may need to check with the staff if you are permitted to carry liquor from here or not. There are some airlines and countries that will not permit this. As I was taking the connecting flight to Paris in Abu Dhabi, I was not permitted, much to my dismay. Anyway, I made a mental note of the bottles I wanted to purchase on my return, pre-ordered them and then went around sniffling as I couldn’t take one now. Later to console, I went to eat something good and spotted a ‘restaurant’ offering biryani and beer. Took to it like a fish to water and attacked it immediately. After finishing the meal, and relaxing for a short while, I proceeded to the gates to board the aeroplane to Abu Dhabi. After what seemed like ages, the aeroplane finally took off for Abu Dhabi and this meant being holed up in the small one for the next 4 hours, enjoy the in flight entertainment system, the meals and pop off to sleep. As I couldn’t sleep much, watched Star Wars : The Last Jedi (again crying like I did on Dec 24^th, 2017 during specific scenes), and The Post. Finally what seemed like again ages, reached Abu Dhabi airport.

Day 02, July 19 – Finally reached Abu Dhabi airport,