“I’ve had so many incredible travel experiences, but I’ve noticed that the stories I come back to over and over again, are usually the ones when things don’t go according to plan…

One of those was when I arrived at Cochin Airport in India after a month-long yoga retreat in Kerala and was told I could not leave the country without a specific police stamp in my visa (a fine print I had managed to overlook). After finding out that I could not get the stamp that day as it was Sunday, and that I actually couldn’t get it at Cochin at all since I had entered India through Trivandrum (6 hours away) and needed to go back there to probably spend another day in umpteenth different lines in order to get that necessary stamp of approval, I decided that as long as my flight had not left, I would do everything in my power to get on it!

The security staff said “no”, the check-in personnel said “not possible”, the airline representatives said “no way”, but after eventually getting into the airport manager’s office and spending an hour there – begging, smiling, joking, pleading – I was suddenly presented with a letter that stated that I “had to leave India due to an emergency and that it had prevented me from getting that stamp.” All I had to do was sign the paper and be on my way.

As I have not been back to India since, I still don’t know if signing that letter meant I won’t be allowed in next time! What I do know is that even if people tell you “no”, there is still always a chance as long as you refuse to give up – especially if you manage to stay nice to whoever has the power over you, no matter how infuriating the situation is. And that even if I had been denied to leave India that time, it would have made an even more unforgettable story!

So when you are faced with a situation when everything goes to shit and you tell yourself that you will laugh about it later – do yourself a favor and laugh about it then and there instead!”

– Lotta Zachrisson

057/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project