Well what can I say about the start of our trip? Everything you could possibly not think of happening on our travels happened to us.
When we left Holland, we were so excited for our backpacking trip expecting some awesome sightseeing and an amazing experience. All that we have dreamt of was finally happening and it felt so sureal.
But that all went down the hill after our 3 hour flight from Amsterdam to Moscow got diverted to Saint Petersburgh due to bad weather. Once the plane landed on the snowy runaway, we had to walk down the stairs to the transport bus. It was only a short walk but oviously we werent prepared for the cold so yes must say it was FREEZING!! We went to the airport clueless and not knowing any information about what was actually happening to our flights. But the people at Saint Petersburgh International Transfer Desk immediately rebooked us for our next flight with Air Astana which was great. It was -8 degrees at St Petersburgh and we were meant to be flying to Astana which was -20 degrees (say what!!!) It didnt really affect us because the airport was nice and warm, pheww.
But we had another problem, Air Astana flight to Astana was delayed by almost 1.5 hours and we only had one hour to catch our next flight from Astana to Delhi. So we were on the plane freaking out that we were going to miss this flight again. We double checked with the cabin crew and they said dont worry the other flight will wait for you. After the plane landed at Astana, we were rushing to catch our connecting flight to Delhi and yes thank goodness the flight was delayed and we managed to get in time for it. Thats one problem solved!
We finally landed at Delhi after a long journey which took almost 24 hours. We were tired and couldnt wait to get to the hotel and rest. Guess what? Life isnt as easy as that! The worst thing happened to us and we were waiting at the luggage belt but NO, none of our stuff had arrived. You know when you think SHIT WHERE IS MY BAG??!!
So our trip just started off like that which sucked big time. At the airport we were waiting for ages and filled out a lost baggage form with Air Astana. But they wouldnt allow us to make a copy of it or give us a receipt saying its a Courtesy Report and that we couldnt make pictures of the report. We were really annoyed as we needed a proof for filing the form. After a rather long conversation with them, they said no we cant give a copy or receipt for this. So there we were feeling stranded in this bustling city with not much with us at all.
We bought a ticket to New Delhi Metro Station from the Airport which was a very pleasant ride. Got off at the station and omg it was a little crazy! Firstly it was so overwhelming with the chaotic scene and people everywhere in the streets. Secondly we had no idea how to get to our Hostel from there. The horns beeping non stop, the dust and pollution, people offering us to take us to the hostel, the noise and crowd; it was too much to take in for our very first day in Delhi when we had just lost our luggage and were left feeling annoyed and frustrated. You can imagine how that must’ve felt!
Anyways we ended up staying for 6 nights trying to sort it out, visited the airport constantly almost everyday to sort it out so we hadnt done much in the city. After countless phonecalls and visit to the airport on the 5th day we finally got one of our luggage. The other one was still missing. It just takes ages to sort something out here in India and people kept putting us through different departments but none of them ended us helping us on what we needed, the customer service was really bad and people didnt give a shit. They were so unhelpful with us and we just felt very mistreated. Its their responsibility to take care of their customers but no we didnt feel like they did their job. Our family contacted and spoke to KLM representative in Holland directly for days to get answers and if it hadnt been for them we would definitely not have survived this mess. Damn the first week was such a disaster!! Not what we expected but as they say if shit happens you just keeping carrying on!
So yes that was our experience so far. At least it calls for a good story 😀
Update : We received the other bag 3 weeks later before we left India. It was my bag and I survived without it for the first 3 weeks! Go Me!!
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