2024 - Europe Tour - Preparations, Borivali to London via T2
The Europe trip was actually planned for 2020. At that time, the visa for England was also received in February. The covid started when the documents for Schengen visa were being collected . Of course all trips were postponed. By 2022, tours had not started or were running on a limited basis. After that Veena World started contacting us. We had two options. The first is to withdraw some of the amount paid for the booking, except for water. Another option is to join a tour that is now available by paying the difference at the increased price. In 2023 we were unable to go on the Europe tour as all of our schedules did not coincide with Veena World's available tour schedule.
Around late 2023, Veena World sent a message to Nirvani that it would no longer be possible to retain this amount. So we were left with the option of either using this amount for trips to India or planning trips to Europe immediately. We opted for the second option and opted for the "European Highlights" twelve day tour starting June 13th.
Usually in February after selecting the trip, preparation for England visa and Schengen visa started. Both visas require pretty much the same documents. This mainly includes the average amount available in your bank account in the last six months in the savings account, information about your fixed deposits, information about assets in your name, proof of your annual income if you are employed, a letter from your company confirming your leave for the duration of the trip, etc. Much of this information creates the feeling that it includes your private information. Importantly, this information is also available to intermediary staff until it reaches the attorneys of those countries. The question arises as to whether this is really necessary.
Apart from this, planning a visa through Veena World is a great experience. Veena World supports you a lot in this entire process. The application form filled by you is thoroughly scrutinized and sent to you for correction if there are any errors. Likewise, Veena World is of great assistance in advocating for the earliest visa interview date in England and Schengen countries to get you a visa interview date. Time and money are the two most important factors for every human being. Time is important for some and money for others! Trying to complete the entire process yourself might save you money, but you'll spend more time, and you'll miss out on the guidance of experienced people who have done thousands of visas. I don't mean it's a big complicated job. But it sure is a big headache! So I would say Veena World's involvement in this process has definitely been helpful for us.
We were called to Bandra, Kurla complex for England visa. We went to the office at Mahalakshmi for Schengen visa. Both places have a very well planned process. First all the documents you bring are scrutinized. Veena World had arranged the documents for us in the order in which the documents need to be submitted in this office. That saved a lot of hard work of the employees there. Once these documents are scrutinized, then your biometrics, payment of visa fees etc. are done. All this takes half an hour. After that all checks are done by a lawyer and your passport is delivered to your home by courier within a week. You also have the option of going to this office and accepting the passport. But we chose to accept the passports at home paying a little more than going to these two long places again in such hot weather.
In the last week of April, we received the passports with visas. So there was some kind of assurance. Now we were free to prepare for the trip. Veena World conducts several Zoom meetings to inform prospective travelers of Europe. It includes the following points.
- Amount of Pounds, Euros required to be carried on a trip
- How many bags to carry on a trip? What should be the number of checked in, cabin bags? Recommended things to carry in it.
- How to take care of your valuables in Europe We are often made aware of how serious a situation one may face if a passport is lost.
- In Europe, hotel rooms are very small in size. We also experienced this directly. In one hotel, after opening all three of our bags, the entire room was occupied.
- Here you can drink water from the public tap directly in the bottle you carry. Therefore, it is necessary to carry an empty bottle. This statement should not raise eyebrows.
- Guidance is given on whether it is necessary to carry dry food or not. As per my experience if you travel through companies like Veena, Kesari there is absolutely no need for dry food.
- How much should woolen clothes be taken?
- How to protect your valuables from thieves in many places in Europe.
Since traveling continuously for twelve days, clothing planning should be done according to one's own habits and preferences. Most airlines allow you to carry two checked in bags. We are very happy if you travel domestically with Veena or similar travel companies. These travel companies arrange for the hotel staff to assist you in carrying the bags from the hotel room to the travel bus. But as manpower is not easily available in foreign countries or it is expensive to provide such manpower, we have to carry our bags from the bus to the hotel room. So man two checking bags may not be the right option. Often these buses stop quite far from the hotel. In that case, carrying two checked bags and one cabin bag by yourself is not easy for most of the passengers. Therefore, it is very important to adopt the principle of "Travel Light Travel Smart".
You stay out of the house for twelve consecutive days. I've never seen a washing machine readily available in any of the hotels we've stayed in in Europe. Even if they are available, separate washing and drying machines can easily waste you an hour and a half to two hours altogether. Most of the time it was ten o'clock by the time we entered the room after dinner. The earliest alarm in the morning was three o'clock and the average was six o'clock. In all these cases it is quite difficult to wash clothes using the hotel laundry. So you must carry twelve days of clothes according to your habit. Now I don't think it's spacious to go deeper into this. I am digressing on this point by stating that there can be congregations that spend twelve days on only two jeans. If you're wondering if it's okay to see two colors of jeans in every photo on social media, there are various solutions.
Even if you start packing two weeks in advance. The actual packing takes place the day before the trip. All the check-in bags must have been locked and brought into the living room while sleeping that night. There is a type called a TSA lock for the lock. My understanding is that security systems have keys that can open TSA locks. So if they get suspicious, they open and inspect TSA-locked bags through those locks and reseal them. If you use a lock other than these, they have no choice but to break that lock. In my experience so far such locks were broken. But since it was an international trip from the US, they kept another lock in the bag for us. Anyway!
The moment you get a message or call from the taxi driver that the taxi you have called for the airport has arrived under the building, you should wait for two minutes and make sure that all your passports and the foreign currency you have taken are in which bags. Keep these two things in the same place as much as possible throughout the journey and do not be blind to neglecting these bags/wallets. Care should be taken to carry the passport with you while getting off the bus at every place. Now in terms of currency! Now you can take the currency in the form of cash or enable your credit, debit card for international transactions or get a forex card. Even if you consider it a good option to make purchases abroad by card, you must carry a minimum amount of cash with you as some shops may not accept it. In England only pounds are accepted. Euro is accepted in all other European countries. The exception to this among the countries we visited was Switzerland. The local currency is the Swiss Franc. So they pay you the balance in franc coins. Now franc notes and coins are two different types. If you bring foreign currency back to India and go to an accepting establishment, they will accept notes but not coins. Therefore, all franc coins must be used for purchases when leaving Switzerland. At the same time, before the end of the trip to Europe, all European coins should be used for purchases. I look at these things differently than money. I have many such holiday coins. My thinking is that after 150 to 200 years these coins are handed down to the next generation and they will have access to a treasure trove of rare items.
Our flight to London was actually scheduled to take off from Mumbai airport at 2:50 PM. But a day earlier the time of this flight has been brought forward and now we got a message from both Air India and Veena World that this flight will depart from the airport at 1:10 PM. This was the first time in history that an aircraft was notified of an early departure (only thirty-five minutes). So I pinched myself to make sure this was really happening. I have made it a rule for myself to be at the airport four hours before for international travel. Many take my spin on this. But I am firm about this. Murphy's Law - If something is likely to go wrong, it will go wrong at some point. My personal opinion is that four hours is necessary considering all the formalities of security screening before entering the airport, handing over check-in bags to the airline and getting the boarding pass, security check, immigration and arriving at the desired gate an hour before the flight.
Since the air travel by the company is done in business class, all this process is done very smoothly there. So after a long time, I had some doubts about this journey being done by economy class. So I was threatening everyone in the house to leave as soon as possible. Taking into account the flight time of 1:00 to 10 minutes, if we subtract four hours from it, we should reach the airport at 9:00 to 10 minutes. The Western Expressway in Mumbai is extremely congested after eight o'clock from the Times of India building at Kandivali. No expert can tell you exactly how long it would take to reach the airport from that point after eight o'clock. So, keeping in mind all the factors that invite unrest, I decreed that everyone should leave the house at half past seven. After finishing everything, we left for the airport at eight o'clock. Fortunately the Western Expressway was fairly clear. So we reached the airport at half past eight. My elder sister Susmittai and her host Sandeep Bhai were also with us. They had left from Andheri. Considering our close attention, they too left soon. Coincidentally, he and we arrived at the airport at the same time. The security guard looked at our tickets and asked why you came so early. That mudra was transferred to me by Prajakta. After all these years I knew exactly when to look at the sky, so I pretended to look at the clouds in the sky. Soon we were in the Air India check in line. Unfortunately for me, there was no one here either. So immediately we appeared in front of the female employee there with our five check in bags. It was there that we met with Atul Bhobe, the tour manager of Veena World. He handed over to us five packets containing one person. In no time all five of our bags were on the Air India belts. We prayed to God that they would travel on the right tracks and in the right direction into the belly of our own plane.
Meanwhile, we got a very shocking news. Our flight, which was supposed to take off half an hour early, was going to take off very late. Our boarding time was now set at half past two. It wasn't even nine o'clock at this point. We had almost five hours to spend now. The security check was also very fast. The officials there spoke to Prajakta about what the weather would be like in Europe. After the security check, we grabbed a strategic seat in the food court. The gate number of our flight was 76. We could see that gate from where we were sitting. By this time we were quite hungry. We consumed these dishes despite the tears of joy in our eyes at the modest prices of Masala Dosa only Rs 380, Tea Rs 180 to Rs 210. Veena World opened the packets of thepalms, concluding that they were too oily.
Nothing happened for a long time. Then after a while an Air India plane arrived at that gate. Staff came around that plane and there were some developments for a while. We spent our time looking at it. Then another Air India plane arrived at a nearby gate. Employees came there too and a lot of things started happening. Then it was twelve o'clock. Frustrated, I advised Soham to message Air India on Twitter. He never accepted it. Hey surprise! Air India's response came in the next five minutes. We have noted his regret for this delay; We sent a message that we will definitely act on this. Coincidentally, shortly after we received a message from Atul of Veena World that Air India had provided food for everyone on that flight. It had a menu of Varan-Rice and Veggies. Even though the meal was very simple, it felt priceless when it was perfectly timed.
As all the time passed in this manner, it was now two o'clock. A plane in the nearest gate was seen to be moving rapidly. Soon the gate of the plane was changed and the gate of this new plane was announced. We went there around three o'clock. Boarding of the plane started in no time. Suddenly I saw Cheteshwar Pujara there. Although he was traveling in business class, one of the Air India staff said something to him. The poor man quietly went to the side corner and waited. Soon he was called. He boarded with economy class passengers. Taking this opportunity, I asked Soham to take a selfie with him. He immediately agreed to Soham's request.
The plane was badly damaged. Probably very old. In the name of cleanliness inside was extremely bombed. Even the toilets were not cleaned properly. Finally, sometime between four and four, the plane took off towards London. Due to the stormy weather, the plane was going haywire. At the time when the plane was eating Hellkave, the announcement of the suspension of the catering service was made very quickly in the plane. There was only one Air Beauty bringing everything to passengers in many queues. The situation was such that the poor thing should be pitied. Although she was trying her best, it was not possible for her to serve refreshments to all the passengers on time. In addition, due to the stormy weather, she had to constantly go and sit in her place. Blankets, which are required in case of cold air in the plane, were also not provided on every seat. So it took half an hour for the blanket requested by Prajakta to arrive. The passengers were suddenly getting up and removing the gins from the bags in the overhead cabin. The air hostess was closing all the cabins again. The screen in front of the seat was somehow on. But even in that not all options were available. Not to mention the cleanliness of the toilet! Food was ok. Although there was nothing to name in it, there was also nothing to be remembered. Thus after a very dull and frustrating nine and a half hour journey, we landed at Heathrow Airport around nine thirty local time.
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