..and the rest is history

I have to pen this down while the experience is still fresh in my memory and I can leave the masala out of the narration and stick only only only to pure facts (duh.. like I can ever do that!)

You must first read this mail.. the ah-so-moving version I sent to the airline asking to be duly compensated..

.......................................................................................................................................................................

I was scheduled to travel from ND to xyz Airport , with a connection at LH Airport. Scheduled for departure on 09 Jan 2010 at 0330hrs but with a delay in departure of 11 hrs..I staggered my way into the plane. My connection from LH was scheduled for 1505hrs on 09 Jan 2010 which I missed due to the delay in the first leg of the journey. Subsequently I was booked on AA departing LH on 10 Jan 2010 at about 1030hrs. This left me with a 16.5 hr break. Despite mentioning to the airline authorities at Delhi and London airports that I did not wish to stay back in London, I was given hotel accommodation and transport tickets at London and asked to proceed for a transit visa. I was given complete assurances by the said officials that there would be no issues and the process would be smooth and easy. Although I did not want it, this situation forced me to request entry to London.

At LHR, the immigration officials however denied me a transit visa and forced into Detention. The questioning and harassment meted out by the UK Border Agency was completely embarrassing. I was not given fresh food and made to spend the night sitting on chairs in a room locked from outside and held behind under close supervision with potentially illegal immigrants. It was as bad as being sentenced to jail imprisonment. My passport was confiscated to be stamped mentioning a denied entry to the country, and not handed back to me until I reached United States!

Worse still I was accompanied to my flight net morning by two immigration officers like almost like I was a petty criminal. I was taken to the airport in a caged van. To add to my woes, the looks I got from fellow passengers and other airport crew who saw me being escorted to the check-in counter, was of complete distrust, disgust and disrespect. In short this experience was completely in bad taste, filling me with anxiety, disgrace and humiliation.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

The rest of the message concluded with stating a sum I expected from this airline. Now that I've stated the facts I can give you the more gory details, like this wasn't sufficiently gory already.

I was quite happy I had received the hotel accommodation and had all plans of getting to see some part of LH and maybe even meet up with a friend who lives a couple of hours away, if only he would take the time to make it to meet with me. Being one of my closest buddies, he had already met me during my trip to KA and may not really be able to come all the way out to the airport at my whim.. but I was happy nevertheless.

I chanced upon a cute girl in the line - I had already overheard she was traveling on work and going to SWZ. She was going to stay at the same hotel I had been asked to stay at. Knowing that she was already married gave me a sense of relief.. I guess I let my shield down when I speak to the married women believing in my mind that all the talking we'll have will only be loose talk and nothing that will out me in a difficult circumstance will ever arise! I was in safe zone.. Great conversationalist and she even offered to wait up for me at the other side of the immigration clearance line.

Lugging my bags and clutching the packet of t-shirt and bathroom products I strode confidently to the immigration officer. What could go wrong.. I knew exactly where I was going to be, when I was leaving and had all the necessary documentation to go back home (.. yup, back where I am now)! Reaching the counter I saw cute-HR-chick sitting in bench.. she smiled at me from the distance indicating she was waiting for me. I smiled back and gave a subtle look of exasperation. How was this guy going to take writing down mundane details. I was ready to go into the freedom of the Q's land, even if only for a few hours. I smiled back at him with a countenance of confidence as he looked up at me verifying if my face really matched the one on my passport and smiled back as he put his head down again , continuing to write on the 4x3 card!

"No sweat" I reassured myself, just before he asked me if I had ever been refused a visa for this country. Casual as it seemed, I said yes indeed I had been when I applied for a tourist visa and had only received a decline letter screaming for want of more documentation around where I was going to live and who was the guy I indicated as my invitation to the country. Little had I known then that a formal invitation was required not just by me but also by the country. Well that mentioned 'i was ready for the immi off to just stamp my passport with a 24 hour entry permission and let me pass through.

My little world of words and thoughts came crashing on me when our man said in other words, sorry boss.. you said the wring password. No entry, be glad I'm not throwing you into the prison! The like-prison treatment, the food and everything else you already might hv read about in that letter above is totally true and that moment when I sat on a bench waiting for the immigration officer to return with my passport after an initial inquiry was the only moment I realized I might have made someone wait for me.. I stood up to see she was gone. With a sigh of relief for not subjecting the lady to any further wait, I stared in the direction of the door the immi officer had vanished into..uncertain of what my future beheld