Mistakes were made
So, I’ve missed not one but two weeks now. Why? Well, both are from the same cause if different reasons. I had my return flights booked, a simple endeavour I believed. I did my checks and found the advice that I did not require a visa if I wasn’t leaving the airport… this turned out to be not entirely accurate. For whilst I was not leaving the airport, I was however leaving the international terminal, and thus would require a visa.
Something that would not have been a problem, if I had found out about it even a day prior. However I did not. I found out as I was attempting to check in to my flight. A timeframe which would not allow me to obtain the necessary documentation.
So, packed bags in hand, hopes dashed, I was stuck. In a foreign land.
Thankfully I was able to continue crashing at a friends place, however I also needed to book flights back… and confirm what if any transit visas I required. Most of that day was spent booking new flights and obtaining the correct documentation, but once that was done… I had two more days of holiday!
There was a single friend whom I had not had much of a chance to catch up with, so we spent the time checking out local markets and other interesting places. Landmarks and libraries were our targets, and we were on point.
But this post isn’t about any of that. This post is about what I learnt. Which is to always check transit visas.
As to why this caused me to miss two weeks of writing… I was emotionally drained when I returned home. Not just from the incident, but from the whole batch of holidays. It took more out of me than I had thought it would.