Europe trip preparation

Getting the visas
Notice that I needed not only one visa but two. Allow me to elaborate on this seemingly simple matter.

The itinerary is London (2), Paris (3), Amsterdam (4), Venice (1), Florence (2), Rome (3), Madrid (3) and Barcelona (2). Note that the numbers in brackets indicate the days I'll be spending there. Then I'm stopping over at KL for two nights and Singapore for three nights.

All the flights, trains and hotels were already booked by the end of Feb so all the documents I need for my visa applications are mostly ready and here is where the drama begins.

I filled in the online UK visa application, made an appointment for my biometric data to be taken and sent my application in the mail early March. I got my passport back by Monday the following week. How fast was that. Then I flicked quickly to see the visa sticker they stuck on my passport.

They had my name wrong.

Even on my visa application I already typed that my full name is on page five of my passport, they still had my name wrong.

Oh boy.

So I gave them a call (at a premium rate of $3.50 a minute mind you) and asked them what they could do about it. They told me they'd get back to me as soon as possible to fix the matter and this is where things started to get really draggy.

I had to wait three working days for them to text me saying "give us a call" so I gave them a call only to have to tell them again the problem I had which I already told them at the first place. The only response I got this time was that they were going to tell me what to do in the next couple of days. OK, so I waited a couple more days and they asked me to call them again. This time they told me to send my passport page which contained my full name and to wait for them to contact me again. So, after a couple more days they finally told me to send my passport back to them and so I did. I waited for maybe almost two weeks for my passport to come back to me and it had to be Easter by that time as well. I felt mentally tired just waiting for my passport.

So it finally arrived and I quickly checked my name on the visa sticker again.

It was correct. Cool.

So for my next visa application, which is for the Schengen zone, I had to apply for it in the embassy of which country I will be spending the most time in, so in my case it was Italy and I had to book an appointment online just to lodge my visa application (which I think is just ridiculous, but hey, to each his own right?). I didn't have any appointments set up since the earliest appointment I could get was for mid-Jun and my flight would be by the end of May. Impossible right?

So my friend told me to try and apply the Schengen visa at the Spanish Consulate General. I did try it but they said I had to apply for it at Italy's unless I change my travel plans and spend more time in Spain.

Fair enough.

So I went to the Italian Consulate General only to be disappointed as I thought they weren't really helpful at all. They asked whether I had an appointment or not, I did not. They said go and make an appointment so I explained about my flight and the appointment availability. Then they told me to send them an email or give them a call (I was already there!!! Why!!!) to which I replied that I sent an email the previous week to which nobody replied and I called as well but I couldn't get through to anyone since I only heard recorded messages and the call was disconnected after the recorded message was finished. So they told me to send them another email telling them it was urgent. By this time my patience were running really low and I told them again about my flight arrangements. Besides I was already there, why couldn't they just help me out a bit anyway only to be replied that if I had no appointments they wouldn't accept my visa application.

*swear word here*

So I left. I went back to the city and changed a bit of my travel plans in an internet cafe then submitted my visa application to the Spanish Consulate General. They accepted. I was told to give them a call in two weeks and if within those two weeks they needed more documentations from me, they would give me a call. They did not.

I have both visas now but it was just mentally really tiring for me. I think at some point I had a thought of cancelling the trip or just to go somewhere else where applying for a visa wasn't such a pain in my ass (hint: maybe back to Japan even with the radiation and all that).

So at the moment I have all my documents ready to go and I'll be flying in a week!!! My excitement had slowly started coming back.

I wish I could hold a dual citizenship, be an Aussie citizen but still retain my Indonesian citizenship as well. That would certainly make travel life a lot more easier.

Packing
Aaaaaah, the hardest part of the trip. What to pack. This will be my first time backpacking and if that wasn't a challenge enough for me, I'd still have to bring along my camera and laptop. And up to this point all I have packed is nothing. Seriously, nothing. I'd have to start packing little by little starting tomorrow and when I say little by little I mean literally small amounts of top and pants. I do not want to break my back just yet.

More updates soon.