The Joy of Travelling... part 1

Stuck in Delhi Arrivals Lounge...

I guess this is one of those things that makes travelling worthwhile... One of those things that I will laugh about as I tell people about it when I'm finally home (I guess I'm kinda missing out on that treat as I'm telling you right now, but at least you get to call me a dumb-ass...)

To be fair things could be worse... but this doesn't bode well as the first leg of my asian adventure...

You see... it isn't possible to get a visa on arrival in India! I know! Who knew?? I certainly didn't! The first hint I had was a few minutes after I arrived and the guy was giving me a puzzled look when I told him I didn't have a visa. The fact that he immidiately called over some security guards also didn't inspire confidence...

At first it was looking like they were going to force me to fly back to Cyprus... This would have been... embarassing, to say the least... Also very counter productive... Setting me back to square one, and wasting over £350 and about 3 days!

I have managed to convince them that they can send me on to Kathmandu. So I am at the moment sat in an Executive lounge, that set me back much more then a hotel would have (though the drinks are free... I've resisted so far, but I can see this getting messy later on...) Did I mention that they couldn't get me on the flight today? So I am in this executive "luxury" for 24 hours, at least.

I was planning to go to Kathmandu eventually anyway, so in a sense I have saved myself a few days, spent a bit of extra money, and made a minor fool of myself... So it wasnt a total waste!

There are still some issues with paying for my airline ticket, namely that they are refusing to accept my Visa Debit cards, and the only ATM is on the wrong side of the security that seperates the airport from India. So look out for updates, and I'll try to keep you posted.

If this goes on much longer i'll be like that guy in the film where Tom Hanks is living in an airport for some reason...

To be continued...