Everything Went Wrong—and It Was Still Right
April 14, 2024
My trip to India was amazing and also full of surprises. It’s been 9 years since I’ve been in India. My impetus to go back was for the wedding of one of the Tibetan boys I sponsor. It was giving me the chance to see all three brothers and their parents, and I was so excited to see them! And then while I’m over there I could go and have a much-needed break on a beach and chill and do some yoga.
In all the business of work before I left, and probably a bit of old persons forgetfulness, I completely forgot to get a visa. I mean, I know I had to get one, but it didn’t even cross my mind until I was in the immigration line at Mumbai airport, and I suddenly realized my mistake! The airline should have checked before I got on the plane. But no one did! When I got to the counter, I told the guy I simply forgot to get a visa. He kept looking through my passport, expecting to find it somewhere, unable to believe that I could be quite that stupid to not get a visa to enter the country. I kept saying, “You ain’t gonna find it. I promise. There isn’t one. I genuinely fucked up.”
I got taken to a back room to meet the head dude and about 10 other officials milling around, and they did the same thing - kept flicking through my passport for something that wasn’t there. I was told to sit down and wait and then I’d likely be sent back to the UK. A 10-hour flight from Portland to London and then 9-hours from London to Mumbai was long enough…. The idea of getting on another 9-hour flight straight back to London wasn’t exactly what I had planned! I googled what happens when you forget to get a visa to India. Everything said, you’ll get sent back. SHIT! The guy confirmed that, saying I’ll be sent home. I can’t tell you how frustrated and angry I was with myself. No one else’s fault. I should know better! After about an hour there was a shift change and the guy that had assured me I was going home left. A new guy came on and we had to start all over again.
I was sitting in a windowless room not much bigger than a cupboard in the 90-degree heat, already been a couple hours and feeling like I could cry. Then, I had a new thought come through, “Anna, this is India. Nothing is going to happen quickly. Just chill. Let go. Absolutely nothing you can do.” And everything shifted. I let go of feeling stupid, frustrated, and sad and started to go with the flow. I was along for the ride, whatever that may be. I was offered tea and biscuits by a sweet man who told me it was going to take several more hours…. And I might need some refreshments. It was midnight in the states and Charles was desperately trying to find ways to get a visa online or help in some way. I told the guy in charge that if I was to be sent home anyway, let’s just get on with it as there was a flight back to the UK in a couple hours and I didn’t want to be cooped up in this room till the next day.
They wanted to know what I was doing in India, where I was staying, and who with, .and trying to figure out if I was some sort of terrorist or some shit. I was getting interrogated. Me saying, “I’m just an idiot with menopause who forgot to get a visa,” didn’t seem to fly. They called up the yoga retreat to confirm I was staying there. I had to call Agloe (one of the Tibetan boys who I was going to visit) to see if there was a wedding invitation. He proceeded to tell me there wasn’t actually going to be a wedding as Tashi couldn’t get a visa from France. (But that’s another story..)
So now they were more suspicious, but I was trying to explain and adding in the few words / phrases of Hindi I could remember. I wanted to help put things at ease and be super friendly. I was running on 4 hours sleep in 48 hours and not at my most alert, but finally they told me they were going to give me a 2-day visa and that I needed to organize an exit visa which might mean staying in Mumbai. But I wasn’t going to stay in the city. I wanted to get to the beach, so I made a punt that I could do it online. I honestly couldn’t believe it. Even though I missed my connecting flight to Goa they were letting me stay and the fact I wasn’t frog marched onto a plane to return back to the UK was incredible. And I was feeling very relieved.
Oh, one other thing, the airline managed to lose my luggage. It seems it never left London so I didn’t have anything to take with me onto a flight to Goa. But the fact I could re-book the Goa flight and get down to the beach by the end of that very, very long day, nothing else really mattered.
No one at the yoga retreat could believe they let me in the country. Everyone wanted to know what I did for them to let me stay. I had no answer. I was just incredibly grateful that something magical was on my side and I felt like I was sprinkled with fairy dust.
There were still many hoops to jump through to finally get my exit visa and then too many other adventures to write here. My luggage turned up after 5 days which was a nice touch. The most important thing, despite all the challenges, I had the most beautiful holiday. Meeting people from all over the world, relaxing, long walks on the beach, yoga, a chance to breathe and let go. What more could I ask for.