The theatre of Greece

M. Gautham Machaiah

Greece has been on my radar for long, but it was only about one-and-a-half years ago that I finally made up my mind to plan a visit to the country.

Why Greece? Over the years there has been considerable speculation over the origin of Kodavas (Coorgs), the race to which I belong.  More than a decade ago, I had read a book 'A study of the origins of Coorgs' by Lt Col Kongetira Chinnappa Ponnappa which had concluded that Kodavas were not original inhabitants of India.

"All available clues point to the strong possibility that the Coorgs came to India as part of the pre-Muslim forces of the Persian emperors or with the light troops of Alexander the Great, or as part of the troops of Bactrian Greeks," the book said.  Read more: http://gauthammachaiah.blogspot.in/2008/05/hypothesis-is-that-they-could-be-kurds.html

The British too had described the Coorgs as a unique race that bears resemblance to none other in India.

Against this backdrop, I have always been wanting to visit Greece and see for myself if there are indeed any similarities. Over the past few months, I met many people who had travelled to Greece, but I was none the wiser.

Finally, I decided to take a plunge. One fine day I tweeted asking if any of my friends were familiar with Greece. I received an immediate response from Meenakshi Reddy who put me on to a travel agent friend of of hers in Kolkata. The next day I received the preliminary itinerary. This gave me some basic idea about Greece.

I then wrote to some reputed travel agencies like SOTC and Thomas Cook, but their response was unsatisfactory. That was when I approached Make My Trip. Here too, the initial experience was very disappointing. The executive who was coordinating with me sent a one-line reply, "Greece Visa difficult for solo travel." My subsequent mails to her went unanswered.

I was surprised how such people without basic passion could be hired in the service industry which requires a high level of engagement with the customers. Following a complaint to Make My Trip, a new travel expert by name Leena Khurana was assigned to me. Then on, everything was a breeze.

Leena sent me the itinerary within 24 hours and we closed the deal soon after. She however warned that I could be called for a personal interview by the Greek embassy as the Visa process was tightened in view of the refugee crisis. Apparently, a couple who travelled to Greece was called for an interview before being granted the Visa. "Since you are travelling alone, there is strong chance of you being called too," she said.

I am a firm believer in positive thought which was further reinforced after I read Rhonda Byrne's life transforming book, The Secret. "You can take a bet that I will get the visa within a week," I told Leena, but I could sense that she was silently scoffing at my optimism when she replied, "Let us hope so."

The same day I visited the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Cambridge Layout and put my Greece trip in his hands. I also sent a signal to the Universe that I would receive my passport with the Visa stamped by Wednesday. On Tuesday, I received a mail from Make My Trip that my visa was approved without an interview. On Wednesday, I had my passport in hand!

The executive who had interacted with me first was by now feeling bad that she had lost an account. Leena, on the other hand, was thrilled. "You are one of the best passengers I have come across. There are people who haggle with me as if they are buying potatoes and onions," she said while expressing surprise over the ease with which the Visa was granted.

Now, with all the documentation complete, I had other apprehensions to take care of. This was my first solo trip. Will I feel bored spending over a week alone in a foreign land? What if I fall sick? Many such questions popped up. I quickly dismissed all these negative thoughts and put all my trust in the Universe.

As Paulo Coelho says in the Alchemist, "And when you want something the entire Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

A lot of my friends have asked me what prompted me to undertake a solo trip. Well, one of the main reasons was the bad experience I had while travelling in a group. Besides, when you travel alone you can do your own thing without being influenced by others.

Sometime ago, I had travelled to Tashkent with an Indian group and I was aghast with their behaviour. All that they were interested in was women and genuine tourists like us had to fend for ourselves. I had then blogged about the flesh grade in Tashkent and the government immediately cracked the whip. More recently, I am told, a group of 40 Indians were deported after they were caught with prostitutes. Tashkent is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen and am very happy that the government has taken steps to ensure that it does not become another Thailand. Read more: http://gauthammachaiah.blogspot.in/2012/01/sex-tourism-is-tashkent-going-thailand.html

On another occasion, I was in Pattaya and my friend's only interest was to have Indian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while I always love to experience the local cuisine and do off-beat things like going for long walks or driving to the villages. That was when I decided that my next trip would be solo.

I am a finicky traveller and being in the corporate world we are used to certain luxuries like a driver waiting for you at the airport and being put up in good hotels. I usually get a bit irritated if I do not spot the driver immediately or if he does not turn up on time. I want everything to be perfect to the last T. This was another stress point. Will the driver be there are the airport? Will the hotel rooms be good? Once again, I set aside these negative thoughts and sent a message to the Universe that my holiday would be perfect in every way.

Finally, the D-Day had arrived--September 28, 2015. I went to the temple, said a small prayer of gratitude to Baba and later left for the airport.