Dreams Do Come True
Sometimes dreams do come true! Like when you spend four days telling everyone that you sincerely wished you could stay longer in Kathmandu (despite your initial last minute, one-week trip to Nepal already being stretched out to a sizeable 4.5 months), only it sadly wasn't possible, since you'd booked non-refundable flights and prepaid for accommodation in Malaysia.
Well, lo and behold, never say never when the Air India office at Kathmandu airport is run by a fat, nasty old toad, who has the magical power of refusing to follow his own company's written policies, even when said policies have been conveniently printed out, brought along and shown to him.*
Sure, having to pay for new tickets to Kuala Lumpur - whilst also avoiding India in general and Air India in particular on principle, even though they're still the cheapest options - kind of sucks, but Easter in Bangkok will be another one to tick off the old bucket list.
Plus, if you get what you wished for, you really can't complain, regardless of the circumstances - it's of like one of those Sufi fables, when you think about it.
And who knows what the next few days in Patan will bring. Hopefully at minimum more views like this from the rooftop terrace, which we totally would've missed if we'd been landing in Calcutta just about now, like originally planned.
So thanks, you nasty old toad! Here's hoping that karma is really a thing, and perhaps even that the angry, yet precisely documented and attachment laden missives we've sent off into the ether of Air India's customer service inbox might have some effect. Who knows, miracles do happen....
*Here's the long rambling version of the story, originally posted on FB in response to a query:
”Needed to get to Kuala Lumpur and by far the cheapest option was two cheap flights connecting through India (around $200 total, compared to around $400-500 for a direct flight), and I ended up with Air India from Kathmandu to Kolkata, then Air Asia from Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur, with an 8hr layover in between.
I checked to see if I needed a visa, which I didn't according to the Indian government site. Then I also checked directly with Air India, since I just had a friend in a similar situation not be allowed to board in Kathmandu. Air India told me via email to check with the government, so they told me basically nothing.
But on the Air India site it says: "C4. You are required to possess an Indian visa** if you do not hold an onward boarding card and your baggage is not through checked-in up to your final destination." As I had an onward boarding pass and didn't have any baggage, I clearly didn't need a visa. I also printed out this page on their website to bring with me just in case. And just to be clear, Kolkata Airport only has one international terminal, so there's no problem there either.
But when I tried to check in today, the girl at the desk sent me back to the office, and the guy there told me that Air Asia is a "budget airline" so it doesn't count. They only accept "normal airlines". I told him this is not an actual definition in any legal sense and also not mentioned anywhere on his company's own policy page - which again, I had printed out, and was waving in his face.
He told me I needed to get Air Asia to "confirm in writing" that they would take me on their plane in Kolkata. I told him that I already checked in and have a boarding pass in my hand, and that's as legally binding as it gets in terms of an airline's confirmation. He told me budget airlines don't count. This went back and forth for a while, with him clearly set on ignoring his own company's policy and not listening to anything I was saying, so then I started dropping F bombs at this fat lying slob behind his desk, and he didn't take too kindly to that, and I more or less got kicked out of the office.
Then I checked flights, saw there were no other options, went across the street and found a tiny dodgy, no name restaurant that served moonshine out of plastic jugs, and had a very nice lunch, which a night shift airport employee insisted on paying for, despite him promising to let me pay after the first round. The food was also amazing. Wow, Newari cuisine is really cool - it's like Central Asian and Indian sub-continent cuisine meets Lebanese mezze, with crispy beaten rice instead of bread or boiled rice. I'm a big fan. Anyway, that's the long rambling version.....”
**An added irony is that I actually tried to apply for an Indian e-visa online a few days ago - even though I didn't need one, I saw it as a $20 insurance, just in case someone at the airport didn't know what they were talking about (and the rough math worked out to only needing a 5% chance of this to be worthwhile) - but the application site won't let you select an arrival date less than 5 days in advance, even though the visas are apparently issued almost immediately via email (and officially within 24hrs).