Solve your Forex Blues

Every time once everything is done- Hotel Booking,Tickets and Visa, the final hurdle is purchasing Forex. Most of the times its not a smooth process as we would like and many a times means visiting shady localities and dealing with agents who look like they could just  pack-up shop and disappear the very next day.

So this time I didn’t want the same hassle and wanted an alternative once and for all. We found a online option ( not that online inspires a lot of confidence ) – BookMyForex.

They had been covered by a online magazine ‘Your Story’ http://yourstory.com/2014/04/bookmyforex/ and we couldn’t find anything negative about them online. So the venture looked genuine atleast on paper. Finally after a lot of debate I call them. From the first call itself they came across as people meant business. Their dealing smooth and instructions given clear and to the point. The rates offered were competitive as well.

I would definitely recommend using their services.

As a side note – They are celebrating September 22nd as #ZeroMarginDay . Don’t miss it if you are planning to travel soon and need forex.

Link : https://www.bookmyforex.com/?u=7eqNzDsu4040

Coupon Code : FreeXchange23 ( between 10 am and 2 pm on September 22nd.)

Hanging around in Munich

We arrive at Munich airport early in the morning on our 3 weeks trip across Europe; Germany, Austria and Croatia…
Since Indrani, my better half had not seen Munich previously we planned to do some city sightseeing before catching the train to Mittenwald. The most cost effective way to get around the city is to buy a day pass (€38 per person). With the same ticket we would also be able take the train to Mittewald….the only problem was that the ticket was valid from 9am only, which meant we had to hang around the Munich Airport till 9 before we could take the train into the city.
Coming from hot and humid New Delhi, at least the Munich weather was crisp… We filled in our lungs with fresh air. Inside the airport everything was closed except for a small departmental store and a bakery which was is full swing. The smell of breads fresh out of the oven was making everyone hungry.
The first thing that we bought was a big bottle of water. Plane travel always make me very thirsty as if I’ve just walked across the desert. It turned out to be sparking water. Once we quenched our thirst and freshened up, everyone was in a better mood to explore. We bought some chocolates to nibble on and as the shops started to open did some window shopping. After the long flight and cramped airline seats, we soon got tired and found a place to sit where we could put our feet up realising we still had 3 hrs to kill.
One incident which happened while we waited is worth mentioning. We were approached by a young girl with her mother in toe in a burkha.. First she asked if we spoke English…when I said Yes…She continued, saying that they had a lot of rice which she wanted to give away (she must have guessed from our looks that we were Indians and rice eaters). I realised like us they too must have hoarded what was dear to them on their travels. We were carrying 4 bottles of Maggi Hot&Sweet sauce as in our previous trips we found that most of the sauces available in Europe were too bland for our palate. We politely said no.
Finally at 9 we took the train to Munich hauptbahnhof. The first thing that we needed to do is get rid of our heavy bags. Luggage storage facilities are available at the train station itself. Pretty expensive €6 per locker.
From here we headed straight to Marienplatz. Marienplatz is a central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city’s main square since 1158. To tell you frankly this time around we didn’t enjoy our time in Munich at all. The temperature was soaring and the entire place has been uprooted . Construction work was happening everywhere we looked. The wonderful yellow facade of Theatinerkirche the 15th C Gothic church had completely disappeared and the exterior of the church was instead covered with paper cut out.
We were quite happy to leave Munich and take the scenic train ride to Mittenwald. The ride was not without surprises… Stay tuned.

All’s Well that Ends Well

This seems to be an odd picture to start my updates about our recent trip to Europe… But with such an exciting end to the journey I just can’t help myself…

It all started with our return flight with #Austrian airlines from Zagreb. We had a early morning flight which means you hardly get time to sleep the previous night. The morning was misty which is usually the case this time of the year as informed by Mathia who was driving us to the airport. Reaching the airport and after finishing security check we grabbed any vacant spots available in the waiting lounge. People kept piling inside a space which was smaller than many of our domestic airports. Soon I realized all the flights were getting delayed because of the fog which seemed nothing to us. New Delhi sees much worse foggy conditions between December and January and flights still take off albeit delayed. I wonder what foreigners traveling to India crib about when traveling during these two months. The fog was so bad apparently that the Austrian flight which was coming from Vienna couldn’t land. Rather than delaying the flight, Austrian thought better to cancel the flight all together throwing all our plans into turmoil. While all this was happening ( I mean flight cancellation) we were sitting nonchalantly unaware. Not our fault I tell you. The announcement system was so great that we didn’t here anything. Finally exiting the departure area and collecting our luggage’s again from the baggage belt we stood patiently in the line to see how we would fly out. ” There are no flights available out of Europe. We can offer you a connection on Aeroflot” says the lady at the counter in a business like fashion. With no other option in hand, we take what’s offeredagain going through the tedious process of check-in, the mandatory strip down at security check and waiting in the lounge.
Fortunately this time Aeroflot flies on-time. The lady at the Aeroflot counter seemed sympathetic of our ordeal since early morning and helped get us excellent seats.
The layover at Moscow was a tight one- 1hr15mins only… After landing we huffed and puffed our way to the new gates having just enough time to see the dazzle of the countless duty-free shops from outside.
The flight back was very comfortable. Aeroflot was a pleasant surprise. No frills but nice. Landing in Delhi we had another surprised waiting for us. Apparently the 1hr layover was not enough to get our bags transferred. So our trip officially ended a day later when our bags got delivered home.