Hungarian fiasco !!!

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I, woke up at 6:30am, because Rekha’s dad was giving me a lift to Chanakyapuri as his office is nearby.

It was very kind of him to drop me right at the Hungarian embassy. It was 8:45am and they were opening at 9:30am.

I decided to put a walk to the Czeck and Slovak embassies to see what their requirements.

When I got back to Hungarian as usual many people had come to get visa application forms as well as handover passports.

It took so long to get a visa application form. The experience here is something I won’t forget as to how unprofessional these guys are.

My idea on how visas depended on the weight of the application is so true. When you call the Hungarian embassy the recording tells you the requirements for a transit visa. There is only one requirement a confirmed air ticket. Obviously for a person going by land, since no air ticket is available it should only be the application form. This is exactly what I gave them. I gave them an additional covering letter explaining the route and also the other visas that I have.

What does the guy at the counter tell me…..“You must provide confirmed accommodation and return air ticket”. These are the requirement stipulated by the embassy and not mine. When I tried to explain he asked me if I wanted to change the rules. Hello, what you are saying are not the rules for crying out loud.

When I said I have no return ticket, he asked me if I planned to walk…what do you do with people like this. I finally asked him if I can speak to the visa officer and he wanted me to call the embassy. The visa officers were apparently all busy with a delegation and couldn’t talk to us.

He finally excepted my application saying, come back at 3pm to check if your application is ok if not they will return the money. I asked if he accepted USD but he said no for me to go to the market nearby, change it and come.

I was in a rush as this was 11:10am and they close at 11:30am. I got hold of a trishaw and I said how much to the market and back he said INR25/=. I guess there was some sort of miscommunication because at the market he said 25 to go and 25 to come….honestly it was a 25 rupee distance to go and come back but the driver told me 25 each way at the market so I had no choice but to use him to come back. These are the things that disgusts me but I guess it’s a part of the learning process and reminds me yet again the importance of clear communication.

It cost INR2050 for a normal visa (i.e. you give the passport today and get it the next working day). The Hungarian embassy consular services are only on Mon, Wed and Fri so I had to request for the same day because I wanted to go to Amritsar. I don’t understand why they charge so much in the first place why can’t they charge a nominal figure. The Hungarian visa is more expensive than the Schengen visa what do you say to that. Anyhow I applied for the same day service INR2650/=

I must admit that visas have cost me almost USD200/=. It is at this point I wish I had a different passport. It also amazes me how visas are so expensive for the more poorer countries while its free for the more developed places…just like the HSBC Platinum / Premier cards….the richer you get the more discounts you, isn’t this always the case in life….

Anyway handed everything over and came back to the Delhi train station. I put the backpack in the cloak room (the charge for 24hrs is INR10/=) and went to the International Tourist Bureau and booked my ticket to Amritsar……2nd time in India I have actually booked a ticket in advance….little did Mr. Wijesuriya know that he was not going to get on to that train. The ticket to Amritsar 2nd class sleeper (The reason I am travelling 2nd class sleeper without 3rd class is because apparently its cold in Amritsar and I have no intentions on freezing in 3rd class) cost INR250/=

I went back to the Hungarian embassy at 3:05pm. Most of the people I met in the morning were also there but the gentleman at the counter wasn’t there. He finally decided to appear at 4:30pm.

There was a lady who had to get her passport at 3pm as she had to catch the “Rajadhani Express” to Calcutta at 4pm. She missed her train. She had applied for the visa on Friday and she came in the morning to confirm that she was getting her passport at 3pm and the counter guy confirmed that she will get it by 3pm. Not only she missed the train, her passport was not even given to her. Obviously there is no compensation for the missed train.

There was another guy and a girl from Reliance, going to Hungary for training and had applied about 2 weeks ago; they didn’t get their passports either. Apparently they are still waiting for the Hungarian ministry to confirm the training. The reliance people have been following up with the ministry in Hungary and apparently there has been no request by the consulate from the ministry.

When it came to my turn, since I have no other documentation, he wanted a photocopy of my medical insurance. I said the German embassy wouldn’t have given me a Schengen visa if I didn’t have medical insurance. In addition the voice recording when you call the Hungarian embassy does not require anything other than the ticket for transit.

Anyhow, I asked if I can have my passport back, hell with the Hungarian visa, I wont go there I will go to Austria via Greece and Italy. He said he is unable to give my passport and would not be able to give my money back. So what to do, I said fine then I will come back on Wednesday. He asked me to bring a photocopy of my medical insurance the following day (Tuesday) even though they didn’t work. I asked now since it takes 2 days can I have the extra money I paid for the one day service because its not one day anymore….his reply was no, I am going to submit your application with this additional information on Wednesday so it will be a one day service on Wednesday. I guess my application may have not been given at all.

I thought the worst I had been to the Turkish, but hey these guys have beaten them by miles.

Came back to the train station and cancelled the ticket. I got 50% refunded. There is a reason why I don’t book tickets in advance, it’s because I never use them.

Got my backpack out and came to the old faithful Bajrong hotel.

Went to the “Sath Guru Dabar” and had my usual Aloo Masala, Dhal and Roti.

What did I just see there moving ? oh good god there is a rat in my room….these fellows come inside through the gap between the door and the floor…hahaha

Apparently there is at least one rat in every room….alright now I know none of you reading this is going to come and stay in this hotel.

I think Navin would be a great travel companion….like him I can’t be asked to change or get another room and I am sure Navin in this situation might do the same. Any comments Nav on that ?

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Comments

[Andrew Wright]

Hungary a Third World Country
Hi my friend, poor traveller who had the bad idea to ever visit this Third World Country! Sorry, Fifth World, my apologies to the Third World!!! I haven't had such a disaster like this summer when I travelled through Europe and my nightmare started in their capital, at Budapest. Haven't seen so rude, abnoxious, malicious and TOTALLY ANTISOCIAL PEOPLE....what kind of animals are those??!! Traffic, public transportation are like in the middel ages, you should see this ugly old buildings, falling apart, aparently the Austrian big brother are nowhere around to be seen....Customer Service?!! What is this?!!! THis is an unknown word over these...Dirty streets, beggers, poor badly dressed Human likes pushing each other and trying to rob you in the middel of the day....it's like a HORROR MOVIE! DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS COUNTRY!!! IT IS DANGEROUS, IT IS A LOST MONEY FOR YOU, IT SI BAD, BAD, BAD!!!! I met a poor Japaneese tourist like me in the street with a map in his hand, complaining that nobody telling him nothing, no information, NO NOTHING!!!!!!!! TRAGEDY. EUROPEAN UNION?????? GIVE ME A BREAK THIS IS JUNGLE UNION.