It was a beautiful winter afternoon in the highlands of Ladakh, when sun was shining bright and everything was going just the way we wanted. Driving through Changthang plateau at an altitude of 14,000 feet, we stopped at a small village to handover prints to people whom we had photographed during a previous visit. We had a whole lot of photo prints, which meant we had a chance to meet many of the village folks. At this moment, a bunch of curious children gathered to take a peek at the beautiful prints and thus ensued another session to create more prints.
The kids were happy to see the prints we had brought that day. They were excited to be photographed and we were more than eager to freeze those happy faces. At the blink of an eye, they were all ready to show their teeth and say ‘cheeees’ to the camera one by one. Not cheese; they all said Tashi Delek (a Tibetan/Ladakhi greeting, roughly translates as ‘good luck’) to our cameras. I had to be quick to make sure we have them at their enthusiastic best, before they got distracted with something else, and completed the entire shoot in less than five minutes. The energy was high and the bounty of joy showed up in their faces. Here is what we managed to capture.
See it on YouTube for an HD version. If you are reading this over email and can’t see the embedded video below, you may have to visit the webpage or see on YouTube.
TL;DR1 – it was nearly impossible for me!
TL;DR2 – may be it was possible, if I had superpowers.
Let’s get into the details. I will make this quick with bullet points and try not to make this into a rant. And if you are up to reading beyond the boring facts, continue reading after the bullet-points to know how much fun it was trying to change a ticket booked on Jet Airways website.
It all began when I tried to change the dates of a ticket I had booked on Jet Airways website.
I went to the website, pulled out my ticket details and clicked on the nice big ‘modify’ button. I was ready to pay the fines, difference in fare, non-hidden costs, hidden costs, everything!
What I received was a warning, stating that a ticket booked on ‘Net Banking, <Payment Type 1>, <Payment Type 2>,…’ can’t be modified on the website. It probably listed every possible mode of payment except credit cards. I had booked using Net Banking, which meant I couldn’t modify my ticket on the website (re-checking as I type, which year is this? 1982?). The warning helpfully said, I can call them, which I promptly did.
The Jet Airways staff (let’s call her S for convenience) who picked up the phone helpfully suggested that I might as well cancel the ticket. I did not understand why she suggested so, until I realized how hard the modifications can be. When we checked the monetary benefits (or losses), it turned out that modifying a ticket would save me a few hundred rupees against cancelling and booking a new one (Either ways, I was loosing a fortune).
I insisted that we change the existing ticket. S said ‘I have no issues’. Great!
So we rescheduled the dates, and she mentioned the amount due. Considering that we are in 2018, and considering that I know how telephonic payments work, I kept my debit card ready (the same one associated with Net Banking payment I had initially made). I asked S to put me through IVR for making payment. I thought I was may be a minute away from getting my modified ticket. Turns out, I was counting for the chicken before the egg…
S asks, ‘do you have your credit card ready?’. I said ‘yes,’ as a matter of fact and then I thought let me be technically correct and said ‘it’s a debit card‘. Anyway, what difference would it make as long as it can draw some money?
S says, ‘No sir, we don’t accept debit cards’. Only credit cards are okay! I grumbled, and unwillingly took out a credit card, which I did not really want to use for this payment. Well, at least let me get this job done and move on with life. So, with the credit card out, am I a minute away from getting the modified ticket? Well, not so soon.
Next question: ‘the card is issued by which bank?’ I thought this question was unwarranted. But remember I wanted to be done with this and move on with my beautiful life? So I gave the name. Just for your information, it was issued by one of the big private banks.
The next thing I hear made it certain that I can’t move on with my beautiful life that easily. ‘Sir, we can’t accept credit card issued from ‘that bank”. Well, no debit cards, no other forms of payment except credit cards, and definitely not the card issued by the bank you use! S went on to provide technical reasons on why they can’t use my bank’s card etc.
After this, I do remember asking S if we are operating in 2018. But this is all not the fault of ‘S,’ whose job is just to answer the phone and do what she is allowed to do, so I decided to take it easy (I need to quickly move on to my beautiful life, remember?) and asked her what are my options to pay. The answers were convincing enough that we are in 1982.
I could go to the airport within the next one hour and make the payment there OR I can of course make payment using a credit card except from the one that I have.
I did consider using my super-human powers to fly across the city and get to the airport in the next few minutes. But DGCA does not permit flying objects (and super-humans) near airports. The law-abiding good super-human that I am, I decided not to take that option. What else was left? Well, when it’s a checkmate, there are no options left. Just bow down, accept your defeat and move on in life. Precisely what I did.
The year is almost coming to an end. Here is that customary post with a bunch of images as I look back into the year.
I did not travel much in the first half of the year, but became slightly more active from August onwards. In August, I went on a trek in Uttarakhand Himalayas where the landscapes were just out of the world. In September, I visited Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, driving through its highlands and spending days with the semi-nomadic shepherds. My tryst with shepherds continued in October, this time at the highlands of Ladakh. My next rendezvous was in Andaman islands in November, leaving December for some quiet time at home. Here is a collection of images from these journeys.
Sunrise from Dochu La Pass, Bhutan.
A few more images from Bhutan that I enjoyed making.
TL;DR1 – it was nearly impossible for me!
