20.05.2018, It’s 4:30 am and I am at Pune airport; waiting for my boarding to start and thinking about one of the most tragic days I have spent till date.

It was the same day 2 months back that I was about to fly from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur. Very excited I left Pune with Keshav Kakani, my husband and our friends for our 2nd international trip to Singapore and Malaysia. After spending our waiting time in lounge planning how will we spend our days on the trip. We were in the queue waiting to check in and…

The tragic moment

All 3 others could clear the immigration process but for me. My visa had wrong passport number and the executive for air Asia clearly said that I can’t board the flight.  Not just then but for next 24 hours, as it takes a day for Malaysian authorities to confirm the visa status as approved. The only option I had in hand was to wait for a day in Chennai and leave for KL next day.

Now comes in the picture ‘The friend in need’ Prateek Tulsani, who is also the CFO of renowned Rayna Tours and travels, he called up a few contacts of him. Then his visa officer from Dubai Mr. Jatin came into the picture. PS it was 2 am in Dubai. He somehow filled the entire application for my visa and we had an all new visa in my hand; and this time with the correct number. LOL. By the time we could get through the entire process we were left with just 20 minutes to board the flight.

In this case, Miss Difny Joshi from Air Aisa came like an angel, she gave me preference over the queue, arranged a print out of my visa and spoke to the immigration office to speed up my clearance. Now with another suspense, we boarded the flight; whether my visa will be granted a go-ahead status while Malaysian authorities will check it or I will be detained at KL airport till 12 AM. With fingers crossed I was standing in the queue and there came my turn. The person checked my visa and looked at me and my passport got stamped for KL, finally.

• Now the bottom line is we need to be over cautious and attentive while we have final documents in hand and never rely solely on agents and check the details in person.
• Another important thing is to keep yourself cool and never get panicked when such situations arrive.
• Whenever you are planning a trip to Malaysia; remember you have the chances of getting a visa in 2 hours too. So last moment trips are on! Try that but don’t depend on it.
• The process is simple; go online on their website, fill in all your details and make the payment. Now you have your visa in hand. Get set fly to KL.