Australia - Its Happening !!

Pre-Vacation Excitement :
A week before the scheduled trip began our shopping extravaganza's :P There's no mall we left untouched :P Any hint of a sale coming up and we would squeeze in time ;) We planned it all from the footwear to the clothes and also the bags we would carry :D Two days to go and we were alomost done with our packing too ;) Anu and Prerna would be getting back from home just a day before,infact Prerna on the morning when we were to fly! (Covering 3 countries in 24 hrs!) :)

Journey Begins :
Hiring a cab had never taken so much time! It was 5pm when we reached Changi Airport,Singapore and we had to board the flight at 5 45pm..The luggages went through,but we were still to get a hold on our boarding passes..Reason : One of our visa stampings had an extra digit of passport number :( We had checked on the visa stamping but not matched the digits and scrutinized it! :P Mistake Mistake! So the lady at the counter makes calls to the embassy and agent to find out if we are the specified one's to travel..Clearance given and we get our boarding passes! :)
Seated at our respective seats,anxiously waiting for the flight to take off..All those regulatory seat belt checks,safety precautions and an addition to filling up health forms(Swine Flu Check!) were done and the flight takes off :-) Prerna and me plugged to ipods,Anu dozed off and Joyce tried a lot to sleep but being the gube she is alas! :P The first crisp note of AUD paid for the snack that we munched on ;) After 6 hrs of journey and we heard "Minimum temperature 10 degrees" ;) Whoa :-O We're there - PERTH!!

All forms filled and passports in hand we stand at the immigration counter waiting for our turns..Prerna n Anu at a different counter,Joyce n me at another one..Joyce and me were done and we just go beyond the counter to see if Anu n Pre were done too..An officer comes upto us and says : "CanIhavealookatyourformplease?" (I have'nt missed on the spaces,thats how the Aussies talk wid no pause :P ;) ) Took us a minute to understand what he was asking for ;) We then give him our forms and he starts questioning us like we're mischevious brats and he is the principal! Helluva questioning,scribbled something on the form and said "Thisway" pointing his fingers towards another officer..The man standing there looks at our form,asks us to pick up our baggege and says "Go through customs"..Joyce and me look at each other and go : "What??Why this way man?Anu and Prerna have gone there.." Before we could realize what was happening - A lady (she looked more like a wrestler! ;) ) snatches the form from us,takes us to a desk and starts off :

Wrestler : So how many days in Perth?
Innocent us : 5 days
Wrestler : Just 5 days? Why?
Both of us : Thats the maximum leave we could get
Wrestler : Your tickets..
Me : Here..Thats only mine,her's is a different copy
Joyce : Actually there are 2 more girls with us and they have the other copy
Wrestler : Where are they?
Joyce (Pointing to Prerna and Anu) : Those two Indian girls standing there at that counter..Can I go there and get my ticket?
Wrestler : Nevermind
Wrestler : So what do you do?
Joyce (Loud and clear) : We are Software Engineers
Wrestler : Where do you work?
Joyce : We work at Singapore for UBS
Wrestler : UBS?
Joyce (Loud) : Its a swiz bank!
Me (Interuupting) : We work for UBS through Perot Systems
Wrestler : Show me your Singapore Visa
Joyce (Pissed and Furious) : Here you go!! Thats our EP - Employment Pass
Wrestler : okay..so where are you gonna stay?
Me : At our friends place
Wrestler : Name and Address?
Me : Vinod,he's put up at Yokine!
Wrestler : How is he your friend?
Me : We know him since college days!
Wrestler : Which college?
Joyce : Engineering College
Wrestler (Blunt tone!) : Which college?
Me : College in India
Wrestler : Which college in Inida?
Me (Totally Pissed!) : New Horizon College Of Engineering,Bangalore
Wrestler : Okay,so is he a PR(Permanent Resident) here?
Both of us : No he's studying
Wrestler : Studying what?
Me : MS
Wrestler : MS?
Me : Yes - MS
Wrestler : MS?
Joyce (Almost lost her cool) : Master of Science, He's doing his further studies
Wrestler : Where?
Me : ECU
Wrestler : Okay, here take your stuffs and put your luggage through that scanner
Both of us : Alright!

We put our baggages through the scanner and its all fine..The lady goes to the checker and crosschecks if its all fine..The guys nods and says : "All good" Joyce and me loook at her and say : "Bloody Shit!! Whats her problem Man!" The lady then comes to us and says - "yup you may go that way".. I look at her and ask : "Can you tell us why we had to go through all this?" Lady Rambo says : "Its a part of Risk Management" Joyce and me walk a few steps and I start off : "What the $^&* man,risk management my foot!" Joyce continues : "Bloody racists,what the hell man?why us?..That dog who spoke to us initailly only made us go through all this shit!!" We were busy cussing and cursing the damn people who made us go through all that and by then Anu and Prerna come out..Look at the scene at their end ;)..This happens after the baggage has been scanned and an officer (who looks Indian) stops Prerna to ask her the following :

Officer to Prerna : Did you fill this form yourself?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Did you read what you have filled?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Is this your signature?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Are there any food items in the bag?
Prerna (Thinking - If I say "No" it will definitely get scanned and I'll get into shit,I'll tell him the truth) : Yes, there are sweets from India
Officer : Why did you not declare it in the form? You should have marked "yes" right?
Prerna : Oh am sorry! (Being a typical software engineer,she copied what others had marked ;) Lolz :D)
Officer : That would be a fine of 220 AUD
Prerna and Anu (she was there all the while witnessing all that was happening ;)) with thoughts - Damn we dint spend a penny yet and he's fining us man..Shit! What do we do now :(
Prerna and Anu (trying to be as sweet as possible :P) : We're really sorry,you could check they are just sweets from India..

The officer clears them off without the fine and did not ask them to throw the food either :)) After the clearance the officer says to Prerna sarcastically "And u r a software enginneer"!! All these updations we give each other while in the Airport Lounge ;) After cursing the lady wrestler and thanking the Indian officer we move towards the taxi stand :) We see hugely built,masculine taxi drivers standing and chatting..All of us were like : "Man they are so hefty" :D Anyways we then hire a cab..Seating as follows : Driver and me in front..Seated at the back(from LtoR) are Prerna Anu and Joyce..
He drives about 500 meters and then asks :

Driver : Where do you want to go?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue, Yokine
Driver : Yokine? (Pronounciation goes : Yokeen ;))
Me : Yes
Driver : Where in Yokine?House Number?
Me : 7/56 Wandarrie Avenue
Driver : Wand what?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue
Driver (Switches on the GPS,and tries for the place) : I don't see it,whats it?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue
Driver : Unable to find it
Me : W A N D A R R I E
Driver : W
Me : A...N...D... (Spelling it our for him!)
Driver : Then?
Me : A
Driver : What??
Me : A
Driver (Staring at me!) : Juss continues to stare at me which was shit damn scary!!
Me : Looked at him from the corner of my eye and thought - How else can I pronounce "A"? (Aaa,Aee..)
Joyce (All pepped up,interrupts from behind) : W for Wellington, A for Apple
Driver : I got WAND!
Joyce and Me try telling him A again,and holy god..We spot letter A on the GPS and just point that to him Driver : Aaah A!!

Then we converse in the language which the driver is not aware off saying : "Yedaaa..Itna bhi samaj nahin saktha..Nimajjiii..Naaven appa helidhu" :D And he finally finds out the route to Wandarrie Avenue using the GPS..What follows next got me on my nerves! If not for his physical structure I would have lost my cool for sure :P ;)

Driver : So where have you come from?
Us : Singapore
Driver : You know English?
All of us (Angrily!) : Yes - Ofcourse
Driver : Oh okay,so here to study?
Me : No we work at Singapore,here on a vacation!
Driver : Thought you came down to study English here
Joyce : Nooo!! We know English,We're Engineers working for a bank!

That got him to shut his mouth!! The remaining of our ride was spent in total silence coz the route that he took was totally deserted..Not a single car on the road nor a single soul seen..Just trees on either side of the road! Don't think we have ever been so silent when together,was the first instance :P ;) He finally got us to the right house and we saw the familiar face of our friend :)) Caught up with him on all that we had missed,enquired about the places we could visit,how to get there..Hogged on some sweets,pulled out all the warm clothing and bedding we had carried..Set up our beds with the heater beside us and dozed off :)

Australia - Dream On!

The Austrlaian fever caught four petite girls when they thought they should do some travelling..The destination was decided based on a small poll which went : "Which country would you want to visit atleast once in your life?" The unanimous reply was : "Australia" Its was our dream destination :) So thats how we hit on visiting "Australia"..Now next comes where in Australia - All of us went "Sydneeyyy" ;) That shout "Sydneeeyyy" and all of us enter all own worlds of imagination..

Dame 1 : "Man..All of us by ourselves at an unkown place..Wow have goose bumps now ;)"

Dame 2 : "Heyy..We'll go to that place where they shot "Jaane kyun log pyaar karte hain" Lolz :D"

Dame 3 : "Oyee..Why not make a lil loong trip and try to cover Melbourne too? ;)"

Dame 4 : "Gals..Lotsa snaps,so much to shop..Lets start saving okay :D"

Come on who would not wanna see the Opera House or The Harbour Bridge ;) Then we thought - Why not visit a place which is not so commonly heard of,which not many people have visited? Sounded great coz then we would be venturing out to a place where we had to do everything from scratch..Like find out all about the place,the places we could go around,the transport service there and what not!! That would be an adventure cum fun trip :) So thats how we decided on "Perth" ;)

Oh come on! Who would decide on a place like that? ;) Lolz :D We did some reality checks before closing in on the place ;) The major reality check being - Bank Balance :P Main reason for settling on Perth was : Free Accomodation ;) :P Lolz :D

Months of preperation..Starting with - Contacting the friend at Perth to know if we could stay over at his place? It was more of a demand to allow us stay than a request :P ;) With no choice left he had to agree :) Not a bad start we thought and proceeded to book tickets (Assuming Mustaffa would help us get the Visas) :) Jet Star was the vaahan we booked, thanks to the friend who introduced us to this else we were juss stuck with Tiger Calling (Tiger Airways!) :D

With the calendar application (on our phones) being opened and closed numerous times we decided on the dates - 6th May to 11th May :) As they say "Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear" a month passed and we were still to get the visa's processed..Lotsa shit we had to go through to get the damn stamping on our passports..Scenarios as follows :

Stage 1 - Mustaffa did not work :( They said since we hold Indian passports we had to contact the Austarlian Embassy for our visa's..We tried few other travel agents and got the same response from all :( So we got the details as to where the Australian Embassy was located..We called up the place before we went and they said we needed to fill in 2 forms each about 20 pages,one photograph,bank statements,letter from employer,EP and Passport with photocopies of all..Now the problem here was I had to get my EP renewed as it would expire in April and we were leaving in May..Thats an obstacle! :(

Stage 2 - Getting leave approvals..Problem for all of us :( There were instances where one of us was even asked to cancel our tickets :( Phew after a lot of pleading and literal begging we got all our leave's sorted!

Stage 3 - Now we needed to get a letter from our company stating we work for them with our income also mentioned..We call up the HR and she goes - "No we can't issue any such statements..Just get in touch with travel agents..What are they for they should be able to do it.." But the travel agent also needed the letter at any cost..The HR says - "Need a mail from your respective managers saying your leaves have been approved" Problem Again!!

Stage 4 - Again back to manager to get the letter..Hook or Crook we needed them..After a lot of pleasing again we finally get the letter needed..Next, the gals had to get their EP's renewed and this time they had to get it done themselves..There you go, two days gone for that again :( They get their EP's after two days..We then go to the agent with all our docs :) Agent assures she would get our visa's stamped as early as possible,coz should she have delayed then we would be screwed again coz two of the gals had to fly back home and then join us back for the trip! After we give her all the docs and the filled forms,we were about to leave and she interrupts saying - "Hope it does not get rejected and also you might have to attend a personal interview"..Jacked again..After all this no assurance given..Man you should have seen us then..All sulked and neither of us knew what to say :"(

Stage 5 - We were in the bus getting back home and the agent calls me..She says..Your bank statements are not okay,it does not have your name mentioned..Thats coz I had submitted internet copies..She needed statements which we get every month to our residential addresses..In my case that used to go to my old house :( Now I had no choice but get the statement..Latest month..Old House - Not a clue if they have the statements..Not in talking terms with anyone there! (Don't even get me started on this!) Like they say "Beggars are no choosers" Cursing my damn fate I went to that place to try my luck! As expected the reply was - "No idea if there are any such statement here" Dejected I leave the place and get out of the apartment..I take a look at the postbox and exclaim : "Wait a minute" ;) I open the flap of the postbox to see if something was visible..Thanks to almighty and I could see my statement..Not sure which month,assumed it would be the latest as it was on top..I managed to put my hand through it (Adv of having bony hands ;)) And pull out the statement which was the latest..My happiness knew no bounds!! :))

Stage 6 - Get a call from the agent again saying "She need the bank statement for 3 months totally"..Boy I was $%^&*#..I had no chance of getting them..But then could not give up hope! I went to the bank..See the poblem was if I go to the bank and ask them to give me a statement they would ask me either for my EP or my Passport and I dint have either of them..For any identification here I need to show either of it atleast..Optionelss I went and asked if I could get the statements..The lady said "ya we do issue but we charge 20$ per statement" I was like damn for a prinout soo much! Again prepared for it said okay with a heavy heart :( Then shez like "passport plz" I dint know how to react and juss smiled at her..Then I told her dint have it as had submitted for visa..Shez like okay can you tell me the number atleast..Now how would I remember that? ;) I said No I don't know,but could you plz check for it using my atm card (they could have it coz once they have my account number they would get all my details) Thanks to technology that worked..Next she says :"photo identification plz" What would I give her man?? Guess what I gave her..My Indian DL ;) I am hardly visible in that :)) She dint say anything and then asked me why I needed the statements..I told her everything and she was like where are the prev ones and how did you get the latest one?? I again told everything from moving out of that house to putting my hand in the letter box :)) I don't know if she pitied my state or what but she was such a sweetheart she levied off that 40$ and gave me the statements :-))

Stage 7 - All done and ready went over and gave the agent all the statements..Finally we got our stamped passports :)) There were times when we had lost hopes and almost given up!! But naah we dint and fought for it :)) So eventually we will be leaving on 6th and getting back on 11th :) Yuhooooo :D

Required for futher reading :: Dames disclosed ;) - Anu Prerna Joyce and Siri :)

Happy Birthday To Me! :)

Life is so beautiful and mysterious and what better way to celebrate life than to celebrate your own b'day.

I Love Birthdays. They are so festive and joyous, especially my own :P I love surprises and hoping for a few this year too ;) I love the buzz of my phone when the messages pour in, calls from loved one's at midnight,gifts from frenz and wishes from all :) Therez so much positivity to all of it ;) I don't understand when people say that 'It's no big deal' when it comes to their birthdays..Of course it's a big deal! This is the day YOU were born.. This is the day your friends and parents were blessed with a special person who would change their life :) I always argue wid my frenz saying : "I am a Kid" ;) (That's coz am born a year later than most of them ;)) Now that another year has passed the "Kid" has grown a year older :P And like any Birthday Baby I have my Birthday wish too ;)

In my next life I want to live backwards,You start out dead and get that out of the way.
Then you wake up in an old person's home feeling better everyday.
You get kicked out for being too healthy,

Go collect your pension,and then when you start work,

You get a gold watch and a party on your first day..
You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement
You party,have fun and are generally promiscuous,then you are ready for high school.
You then go to primary school,you become a kid,you play.You have no responsibilities,

You become a baby until you are born.And then you spend your last nine months floating in luxurious spa like conditions with central heating and room service on tap,larger quarters everyday and then, Voila!

You finish off as an orgasm!!

(Courtesy : Woody Allen )

Happy Birthday To Me !! :)

List of First's ;)

How many of you have a First-List - The First Job, The First Bike, The First House, The First Kiss...You get the drift? ;) I have a mental "To-Do" list, which I like to "Mark as Done" with a punch in the air, as and when I reach there ;)
Some of my firsts have been highly fulfilling..like my laptop, which left me on cloud nineteen, or my first big splurge - 10k of hard-earned money on a cellphone..I still remember the feeling when I gingerly gave my card for swiping, wondering whether it was worth it :)Some of them were long overdue, like my bike. Though bought by my dad it was still my first :P

Nevertheless, I celebrate every small acquisition in my long list of "must-haves" which I have been listing since college days. Some items on the list have been re-prioritised, some new items have gatecrashed and some items have been obfuscated.

And I remember each of these Firsts - The Offer Letter - which was like a million prayers answered..The first big splurge - with the fear of repayment.. The first salary (which was joyfully spent on roadside chat for a whole month ;))..The ride from the bike showroom to campus..The wide-eyed stare into the shining blackness of the laptop screen..The awe at the digital camera, which is mostly hanging around my neck when am out ;)..The first of those innumerable whoops of joy at something finally working out and now to add to this list is -"My first trip to my dream destination : Australia :D "

Hope this list goes to grow and I get to strike entries off my list :P