Every vacation is special. They give us the memories which we cherish for life, but there are few trips which not only give great memories but also give us lessons for life- both good and bad. This is the 1st article on my blog-post and what could be better than the one that can help other travelers to plan their trips better.
So here is my story on my 1st all solo trip to amazing Europe. After lot of research on the best location to travel as a solo woman traveler, I froze on Central part of Europe.Yes, it was very difficult to convince the family but eventually I managed that.
Now comes the part which I thought could be easily taken care by was the visa application.I followed the normal procedure as instructed by my travel agent and applied for my visa. I booked refundable tickets and waited for almost 15 days for my visa to arrive.
Unfortunately my visa was rejected.
There was no specific reason for rejection ,though they did mention a point of insufficient means of survival, but I was not convinced as my documents were proper and there was no reason that I should not get my visa. I was extremely disappointed and more than that completely clueless about what to do next.
I decide not to give up. I did lot of research and the only reason I could assume was, as I was a solo woman travelling ,the Embassy had their own apprehensions(silly reason I know ).
with just 15 days left for my journey to begin, I was totally confused .Finally I took a decision of reapplying for the visa. Got lot of advice to change the itinerary and reapply in different Embassy, however I decided to stick to same itinerary and with same Embassy but with a little different approach this time.
A. I wrote my own detailed cover letter stating how i wish to take this solo trip and that I work for a reputed firm back in India and my sole purpose of the visit is tourism.
B. I furnished all the details in systematic manner, mentioning about them in my cover letter.
C. I visited the Embassy personally though I did not meet the visa officer directly, I made sure the message was reached.
D. I wrote to the Embassy many times, reminding them that I have very less time in my hand and requested them to rush the process.
Normally where Schengen visa takes nearly 15 days, with all these efforts, God's grace and prayers of my near ones I got my visa in 13 days, just 2 days prior to my journey.
With just 2 days in my hand, I packed my bags and began my 1st solo and the most memorable trip of my life.
I traveled to Prague, Vienna and Budapest.I shall publish about my detailed journey in my next post,until then enjoy some of the clicks..
