Hello again friends,
Thanks a lot for reading my earlier post in which I had written my experience from application to visa.
In this part I will tell you about my journey from Delhi to Toronto.
PART II (Journey from Delhi to Toronto):
Continuing from my earlier post…
After getting the visa, our next step was to resign from our jobs and get the tickets. I looked at various options and finally got the tickets for 10th of June 2013 on Lufthansa Airlines (Delhi – Vienna – Toronto), I found out later that it was operated by Austrian Airlines, which I didn’t mind as it was a European airlines anyway. We Indians have a strange mentality that anything which is Western and not Indian is excellent in quality. It was first time in my life that I was flying in the plane, so did not know much about the airlines, their quality of service, etc. I just went for cheapest options available.
Anyway, after getting the tickets, I submitted my resignation in my company and my wife also did the same. The time we got for packing up was very less since after completing our tenure in our jobs we have to first wind up everything from Jalandhar (the city where we worked and lived) and move to our hometown in Ambala. So basically we got only 10 days to pack our bags. So hurriedly all the packing was done.
Finally, the day of journey arrived. But to my surprise, I was not happy. I saw my family members very sad and weepy. Every now and then my mother would sneak into her room and start sobbing. Also, first time in my life I saw my dad in tears. He had always been very strong no matter what trouble came to our family. I thought in my mind that was it really worth all this, leaving everyone in tears, and going to an unknown place where every thing is new and we have to start from the scratch, with lot of uncertainty. I went into my room, closed my eyes and prayed to God to give me and my family strength, and I left everything in his hands.
We got into the taxi and started our journey to Delhi. Considering the Delhi traffic, we started very early, but to my surprise, there was no traffic at all and we reached the airport nearly 7 hours before the flight. It was very hot in Delhi. Our flight was at 1 a.m. in the morning. My wife started feeling tired and uneasy due to the long wait, and my daughter also started feeling fussy and irritable. At round 11 p.m. Austrian Airways counter opened and we checked in our baggage and went to the security where our passports were stamped. There was a long queue. After passing through the security and after a long walk, we were finally at the plane. Two attendants greeted us with a smile at the door and we were at our seats. It was a small congested plane with a very little leg space or maybe we thought the economy class is just like that. It was really very chilly inside and we were feeling very cold. We should have kept something warm in our cabin bag. This was our mistake. They gave us only one small shawl/blanket per seat which was not enough to keep us warm.
After about half an hour, the journey started and we were in the air. Two hours in the flight, my wife started feeling sick, dizzy and nauseated and cold temperature added to her uneasiness. Daughter also started becoming irritable, and things were getting difficult for me. After a short while, I noted that my daughter was in high fever. I had a medicine in the bag which I gave to her but she was very irritable. Then, wife got up to go to the washroom. My daughter was in my arms at that time. Suddenly, one attendant rushed to me and told that my wife has fainted and she was lying on the floor outside the washroom. With my daughter in my arms, I rushed to my wife, tried to wake her up, and after sometime she regained consciousness and I took her to the seat. I told the attendant to give some more blankets/shawls as my daughter is also sick. She brought 2 or 3 more shawls and offered medicine to my daughter but I had already given the medicine and there was no fever but she was still irritable. I kept standing for the next 2 hours with my daughter in my arms. The food in the plane was so horrible and tasteless that we could not eat even a single bite. My wife slept on the three seats as I was standing with my daughter.
Finally, we were about to land in Vienna. Just before landing, one attendant came to me and inquired about our health and asked politely for our boarding passes which I gave her and after couple of minutes she returned and gave the boarding passes back to me with a “Thank You”. I thought finally it was over and now we will take rest at Vienna airport and everything will be fine now. We will board our connecting flight to Toronto. But I was wrong. The worst was yet to come.
It was around 4 hour stopover at Vienna. We found a comfortable bench and took good rest. The airport was quiet, comfortable and clean. Even though it looked very odd lying and sleeping on the bench, like railway stations in India, but we had to take rest, we were dead tired, and we have to take rest anyway. My back, legs and whole body was hurting. Got some chips for my daughter but she did not eat it and I knew she was very hungry, but I thought we will have something in the plane.
Time for boarding the next plane came. We were in the queue waiting to board. When our turn came, the person asked our boarding passes. He scanned it and there goes a loud “BEEP”. He looked on his computer and asked me for the medical clearance report as we were sick in our previous flight. I was astonished ``WHAAT``. He told that we should have got ourselves checked in the layover time that we had. I said I had no idea and none of the airline staff told me to do so and now you are asking me for a medical report. He said he will not let me in and asked me to get the medical check and board the next flight. WHERE, HOW….I just did not know what to do, where to go.
I repeatedly begged to allow us in as we are fine now, it was just fatigue, nothing else. He said that because of us the previous flight crew was about to do emergency landing. I begged and begged but they did not listen to me and closed the door. After few minutes an officer of the Vienna Airport came to us and took us to the clinic which was in the airport. The doctor over there checked my wife and daughter. Wife was okay but child was having fever and ear infection. An ambulance was called which arrived within 5 minutes. We were given special permission to get out of the airport into the city. The ambulance took us to the children`s clinic somewhere in the city. We reached the clinic after about 20 minutes of drive and then the ambulance left. Doctors and nurses checked my child. We told them our story and they were shocked and horrified that how can airlines refuse anyone to board the plane with just an ear infection and slight fever. They took the blood test and after seeing the reports they okayed us to travel to Toronto and gave us a letter stating that we were fit to fly to Toronto. They also gave us some medicine. The clinic staff took my child’s passport copies and signatures and did not take any fees from us at that time (later on after few months I received a bill of Euros 132 as medical expenses). All the clinic staff was so good. They comforted and reassured us. Then they called a taxi for us. We had to pay USD 70 to reach the airport. At the airport, I showed the letter from the clinic and they booked our seats in the next flight that was next day. The lady who booked the next flight said that airline will reimburse the medical bill but we will have to pay for the hotel. (Later when I sent them email to reimburse the medical bill they simply refused).
One of the airline staff was an Indian guy who took us to NH Vienna Airport Hotel which was just outside the airport. We got the room for Euros 114 for one night. Our situation was very bad. We were tired, scared, angry, horrified, and of course hungry. But did not felt like eating anything. How could we eat when our baby was not putting anything in her mouth. She became very weak. What was all this happening? Never expected this thing.
Luckily, I had my Indian HDFC credit card in my wallet and I was able to pay all the bills. No one was accepting Canadian dollars, and could not find money exchange centers, they were only at the airport.
Left my wife and child in the hotel room and went to the pharmacy, bought the medicines and something to eat and then went back to hotel. But we did not eat anything. At that time, I was literally in tears. Prayed, prayed whole night, could not sleep. Child was very fussy. She was just crying and crying. I was worried that if the child was in the same condition next day, then airlines staff will again stop us from boarding.
Next day came, got ready, we drank some water, paid the hotel bill and left for the airport. Waited for one hour at the airport until the boarding to the next flight to Toronto started, got in the queue, after security check, showed the boarding pass to the person, and we were welcomed inside the plane. Luckily, my child was fast asleep in my arms all the time. No one questioned anything. I thanked God that everything was okay now. Plane took off, ate some chips in the plane but nothing much. Baby was still not eating anything. She was just sleeping.
Everything went quite well then on. I thanked God for taking us out of that situation.
I forgot to mention that all through this time I carried a laptop with me and Wi fi was free everywhere. So I kept informing everyone in my family through this channel.
After about 8 hours of journey, we touched the Toronto airport. Went through the immigration. Everything was so fast. The CBSA officer did all the formalities, took the COPR, noted our address in Canada, asked few questions, and asked how much money we were carrying, and finally said the golden words “WELCOME TO CANADA”. At the next counter, we were given some information booklets about Canada, some papers, a handbag, etc.
We collected our luggage, and went to another hall which was all empty, just some bored looking CBSA guys sitting and talking. They just asked if there was any goods to follow. I said no. I showed them the list of the items in our luggage and they put the CBSA stamp on it. We went out and there we found our relatives waiting for us who came to receive us. And finally we were in Canada. First we went to his house in Mississauga, had something to eat. After that they took us to a walk-in clinic where doctor checked my daughter and prescribed some medicines.
My daughter recovered in about a week’s time. For about 10 days, we were at our relatives’ house, and after that we moved to our basement which has already been arranged for by my relatives.
In the next part, I will tell you about my experience in Canada till now.
Thanks to all of you.
Thanks a lot for reading my earlier post in which I had written my experience from application to visa.
In this part I will tell you about my journey from Delhi to Toronto.
PART II (Journey from Delhi to Toronto):
Continuing from my earlier post…
After getting the visa, our next step was to resign from our jobs and get the tickets. I looked at various options and finally got the tickets for 10th of June 2013 on Lufthansa Airlines (Delhi – Vienna – Toronto), I found out later that it was operated by Austrian Airlines, which I didn’t mind as it was a European airlines anyway. We Indians have a strange mentality that anything which is Western and not Indian is excellent in quality. It was first time in my life that I was flying in the plane, so did not know much about the airlines, their quality of service, etc. I just went for cheapest options available.
Anyway, after getting the tickets, I submitted my resignation in my company and my wife also did the same. The time we got for packing up was very less since after completing our tenure in our jobs we have to first wind up everything from Jalandhar (the city where we worked and lived) and move to our hometown in Ambala. So basically we got only 10 days to pack our bags. So hurriedly all the packing was done.
Finally, the day of journey arrived. But to my surprise, I was not happy. I saw my family members very sad and weepy. Every now and then my mother would sneak into her room and start sobbing. Also, first time in my life I saw my dad in tears. He had always been very strong no matter what trouble came to our family. I thought in my mind that was it really worth all this, leaving everyone in tears, and going to an unknown place where every thing is new and we have to start from the scratch, with lot of uncertainty. I went into my room, closed my eyes and prayed to God to give me and my family strength, and I left everything in his hands.
We got into the taxi and started our journey to Delhi. Considering the Delhi traffic, we started very early, but to my surprise, there was no traffic at all and we reached the airport nearly 7 hours before the flight. It was very hot in Delhi. Our flight was at 1 a.m. in the morning. My wife started feeling tired and uneasy due to the long wait, and my daughter also started feeling fussy and irritable. At round 11 p.m. Austrian Airways counter opened and we checked in our baggage and went to the security where our passports were stamped. There was a long queue. After passing through the security and after a long walk, we were finally at the plane. Two attendants greeted us with a smile at the door and we were at our seats. It was a small congested plane with a very little leg space or maybe we thought the economy class is just like that. It was really very chilly inside and we were feeling very cold. We should have kept something warm in our cabin bag. This was our mistake. They gave us only one small shawl/blanket per seat which was not enough to keep us warm.
After about half an hour, the journey started and we were in the air. Two hours in the flight, my wife started feeling sick, dizzy and nauseated and cold temperature added to her uneasiness. Daughter also started becoming irritable, and things were getting difficult for me. After a short while, I noted that my daughter was in high fever. I had a medicine in the bag which I gave to her but she was very irritable. Then, wife got up to go to the washroom. My daughter was in my arms at that time. Suddenly, one attendant rushed to me and told that my wife has fainted and she was lying on the floor outside the washroom. With my daughter in my arms, I rushed to my wife, tried to wake her up, and after sometime she regained consciousness and I took her to the seat. I told the attendant to give some more blankets/shawls as my daughter is also sick. She brought 2 or 3 more shawls and offered medicine to my daughter but I had already given the medicine and there was no fever but she was still irritable. I kept standing for the next 2 hours with my daughter in my arms. The food in the plane was so horrible and tasteless that we could not eat even a single bite. My wife slept on the three seats as I was standing with my daughter.
Finally, we were about to land in Vienna. Just before landing, one attendant came to me and inquired about our health and asked politely for our boarding passes which I gave her and after couple of minutes she returned and gave the boarding passes back to me with a “Thank You”. I thought finally it was over and now we will take rest at Vienna airport and everything will be fine now. We will board our connecting flight to Toronto. But I was wrong. The worst was yet to come.
It was around 4 hour stopover at Vienna. We found a comfortable bench and took good rest. The airport was quiet, comfortable and clean. Even though it looked very odd lying and sleeping on the bench, like railway stations in India, but we had to take rest, we were dead tired, and we have to take rest anyway. My back, legs and whole body was hurting. Got some chips for my daughter but she did not eat it and I knew she was very hungry, but I thought we will have something in the plane.
Time for boarding the next plane came. We were in the queue waiting to board. When our turn came, the person asked our boarding passes. He scanned it and there goes a loud “BEEP”. He looked on his computer and asked me for the medical clearance report as we were sick in our previous flight. I was astonished ``WHAAT``. He told that we should have got ourselves checked in the layover time that we had. I said I had no idea and none of the airline staff told me to do so and now you are asking me for a medical report. He said he will not let me in and asked me to get the medical check and board the next flight. WHERE, HOW….I just did not know what to do, where to go.
I repeatedly begged to allow us in as we are fine now, it was just fatigue, nothing else. He said that because of us the previous flight crew was about to do emergency landing. I begged and begged but they did not listen to me and closed the door. After few minutes an officer of the Vienna Airport came to us and took us to the clinic which was in the airport. The doctor over there checked my wife and daughter. Wife was okay but child was having fever and ear infection. An ambulance was called which arrived within 5 minutes. We were given special permission to get out of the airport into the city. The ambulance took us to the children`s clinic somewhere in the city. We reached the clinic after about 20 minutes of drive and then the ambulance left. Doctors and nurses checked my child. We told them our story and they were shocked and horrified that how can airlines refuse anyone to board the plane with just an ear infection and slight fever. They took the blood test and after seeing the reports they okayed us to travel to Toronto and gave us a letter stating that we were fit to fly to Toronto. They also gave us some medicine. The clinic staff took my child’s passport copies and signatures and did not take any fees from us at that time (later on after few months I received a bill of Euros 132 as medical expenses). All the clinic staff was so good. They comforted and reassured us. Then they called a taxi for us. We had to pay USD 70 to reach the airport. At the airport, I showed the letter from the clinic and they booked our seats in the next flight that was next day. The lady who booked the next flight said that airline will reimburse the medical bill but we will have to pay for the hotel. (Later when I sent them email to reimburse the medical bill they simply refused).
One of the airline staff was an Indian guy who took us to NH Vienna Airport Hotel which was just outside the airport. We got the room for Euros 114 for one night. Our situation was very bad. We were tired, scared, angry, horrified, and of course hungry. But did not felt like eating anything. How could we eat when our baby was not putting anything in her mouth. She became very weak. What was all this happening? Never expected this thing.
Luckily, I had my Indian HDFC credit card in my wallet and I was able to pay all the bills. No one was accepting Canadian dollars, and could not find money exchange centers, they were only at the airport.
Left my wife and child in the hotel room and went to the pharmacy, bought the medicines and something to eat and then went back to hotel. But we did not eat anything. At that time, I was literally in tears. Prayed, prayed whole night, could not sleep. Child was very fussy. She was just crying and crying. I was worried that if the child was in the same condition next day, then airlines staff will again stop us from boarding.
Next day came, got ready, we drank some water, paid the hotel bill and left for the airport. Waited for one hour at the airport until the boarding to the next flight to Toronto started, got in the queue, after security check, showed the boarding pass to the person, and we were welcomed inside the plane. Luckily, my child was fast asleep in my arms all the time. No one questioned anything. I thanked God that everything was okay now. Plane took off, ate some chips in the plane but nothing much. Baby was still not eating anything. She was just sleeping.
Everything went quite well then on. I thanked God for taking us out of that situation.
I forgot to mention that all through this time I carried a laptop with me and Wi fi was free everywhere. So I kept informing everyone in my family through this channel.
After about 8 hours of journey, we touched the Toronto airport. Went through the immigration. Everything was so fast. The CBSA officer did all the formalities, took the COPR, noted our address in Canada, asked few questions, and asked how much money we were carrying, and finally said the golden words “WELCOME TO CANADA”. At the next counter, we were given some information booklets about Canada, some papers, a handbag, etc.
We collected our luggage, and went to another hall which was all empty, just some bored looking CBSA guys sitting and talking. They just asked if there was any goods to follow. I said no. I showed them the list of the items in our luggage and they put the CBSA stamp on it. We went out and there we found our relatives waiting for us who came to receive us. And finally we were in Canada. First we went to his house in Mississauga, had something to eat. After that they took us to a walk-in clinic where doctor checked my daughter and prescribed some medicines.
My daughter recovered in about a week’s time. For about 10 days, we were at our relatives’ house, and after that we moved to our basement which has already been arranged for by my relatives.
In the next part, I will tell you about my experience in Canada till now.
Thanks to all of you.
