TheEyeDoc 👁

Ophthalmologist | Cataract & Refractive Surgeon | Lifelong Learner | Exploring the world one journey at a time

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🇬🇧 The Eye Doc in London – Master Thread

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my complete London journey, from obtaining a UK visa to planning the trip, exploring the city, and attending conference.

📍To make everything easy to find, here are the threads in one place:

🧵 Thread 1: UK Visa Journey
Application process, documents required, biometrics experience at Mumbai VFS, timelines, and tips that helped me get my visa smoothly.

🧵 Thread 2: Pre-Trip Planning
Flights, hotels, credit cards, forex, travel insurance, airport lounges, attraction bookings, and everything I planned before boarding the flight.

🔜 Coming Next:
✈️ Flights, hotels & travel experiences
🗺️ Day-by-day London itinerary
🎓 ESCRS conference highlights
💡 Travel tips, mistakes to avoid & key takeaways

Bookmark this post if you’re planning a UK trip—I’ll keep updating it as new threads go live.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #ConferenceTravel #TheEyeDocTravels

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

(3/N) –📍AI129: Mumbai to London ✈️🇬🇧

With the airport formalities out of the way, it was finally time to board Air India AI129 from BOM -> LHR

✅For this journey, I had specifically opted for an XL seat, and in my opinion, it was money well spent.

🛑However, there were a couple of trade-offs:
🪟 The window alignment wasn’t ideal, so I didn’t really have a proper view outside for most of the journey.

🎬 The in-flight entertainment system also seemed less than perfect at times though I’m not sure if that’s specific to the XL seats or just the aircraft itself.

🔘Food Review 🍽️: 6/10

🍽️ Dinner was served shortly after takeoff.
☕ Tea and coffee were offered during the flight.
🥐 Around two hours before landing, a light breakfast was served.

Overall, I’d give the flight experience 7.5/10.

The extra legroom was a big plus, but Air India’s in-flight entertainment system could certainly use some improvement to make long-haul journeys more enjoyable.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #TheEyeDocTravels
#AirIndia #AI129

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

(1/N)📍The Eye Doc in London: Beyond the Itinerary 🇬🇧✈️

While my other thread covers the day-by-day itinerary, this one is about everything around the trip including the journey, flights, hotels, transport, conference experiences, travel tips, and the little things that made London memorable.

The adventure began with a 4:00 AM flight from Mumbai to London.

I reached Mumbai Airport around 1:00 AM, expecting the usual rush and long queues. Thanks to FTI-TTP (Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme), I was through immigration and at the boarding gate in about 20 minutes.

Anyone who has travelled internationally from Mumbai knows that immigration queues can often take 20–30 minutes or more during peak hours. FTI-TTP made the entire process remarkably smooth and stress-free.

One of the most useful travel hacks I’ve discovered and completely worth setting up before an international trip.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #TheEyeDocTravels #MumbaiAirport

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

(2/N) –📍Airport Lounge Reality Check ✈️

Now for what many travellers consider the most important part of any long-haul journey, the airport lounge 😅

I used my HDFC Regalia Gold card and generated the lounge e-QR code beforehand, which made entry quick and hassle-free.

Unfortunately, my experience at the Mumbai T2 lounge wasn’t quite what I expected.🙁

📍 The lounge location had recently changed, which caused some confusion.

🍽️ I arrived during the transition from dinner to breakfast service, resulting in a delay before food became available.

🪑 Seating was quite limited, and finding a comfortable spot wasn’t easy.

❄️ The air-conditioning also seemed inadequate, making the lounge feel warm and crowded.

While airport lounges are usually a great way to relax before a long flight, this particular experience felt underwhelming and was probably the weakest part of an otherwise smooth airport journey.

Perhaps it was just the timing, but this was one lounge visit that didn’t quite live up to expectations.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #TheEyeDocTravels #AirportLounge #MumbaiAirport

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

@jilyannori Thankyou, hope it was useful for you. Gonna add other helpful tweets soon in the thread😊

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🇬🇧 The Eye Doc in London – Master Thread

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my complete London journey, from obtaining a UK visa to planning the trip, exploring the city, and attending conference.

📍To make everything easy to find, here are the threads in one place:

🧵 Thread 1: UK Visa Journey
Application process, documents required, biometrics experience at Mumbai VFS, timelines, and tips that helped me get my visa smoothly.

🧵 Thread 2: Pre-Trip Planning
Flights, hotels, credit cards, forex, travel insurance, airport lounges, attraction bookings, and everything I planned before boarding the flight.

🔜 Coming Next:
✈️ Flights, hotels & travel experiences
🗺️ Day-by-day London itinerary
🎓 ESCRS conference highlights
💡 Travel tips, mistakes to avoid & key takeaways

Bookmark this post if you’re planning a UK trip—I’ll keep updating it as new threads go live.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #ConferenceTravel #TheEyeDocTravels

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🔗 Part 2: Pre-Trip Planning

Flights, hotels, credit cards, forex, travel insurance, airport lounges, attraction bookings, and all the planning that went into the trip.

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🇬🇧 From Visa Approval to Boarding the Flight✈️ : How I Planned My 10-Day London Trip

With the visa approved, it was finally time to start planning the actual trip.

In this thread, I’ll share how I booked my flights and hotel, the credit cards and travel benefits I used, forex planning, airport lounge access, eSIMs, travel insurance, and a checklist of everything I did before leaving for London.

If you’re planning an international trip, especially for a conference, this might help save both time and money. 🧵👇

#LondonTravel #UKTravel #ConferenceTravel #London #TheEyeDocInLondon

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🔗 Part 1: UK Visa Journey

From application and documentation to biometrics at Mumbai VFS and visa approval timelines, everything I learned during the UK visa process.

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

Last month, I spent 10 amazing days in London, combining sightseeing with a conference I attended. 🇬🇧✈️

Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing my complete experience right from visa application and flight bookings to hotel stays, major expenses, conference planning, and my day-by-day itinerary.

If you’re planning a London trip (especially alongside a conference), this thread might help you save time, money, and a lot of research. 🧵👇

#London #LondonTravel #UKTravel #VisitLondon #TravelTips #TravelThread #LondonItinerary #ConferenceTravel

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

Planning a trip to London? Or just curious about what it’s really like to travel there as a first-time visitor from India? 🇬🇧✈️

To make things easier to follow and more useful as a future reference, I’m splitting my London experience into two separate threads:

🧵 Thread 1: Flights, airport experience, hotel stays, transport, food, costs, travel hacks, and everything I learned along the way.

🧵 Thread 2: A detailed day-by-day London itinerary covering the exact places I visited, how I planned each day, travel routes, timings, and tips that helped me make the most of my time in the city.

Whether you’re planning your own London trip or simply want to follow the journey, these threads should help you navigate the city with greater confidence and fewer surprises.

Stay tuned!

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #UKTravel #TravelTips #ConferenceTravel #TheEyeDocTravels

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

@repatriationant Sure, noted.
Great point which many people are not aware about.

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

🇬🇧 From Visa Approval to Boarding the Flight✈️ : How I Planned My 10-Day London Trip

With the visa approved, it was finally time to start planning the actual trip.

In this thread, I’ll share how I booked my flights and hotel, the credit cards and travel benefits I used, forex planning, airport lounge access, eSIMs, travel insurance, and a checklist of everything I did before leaving for London.

If you’re planning an international trip, especially for a conference, this might help save both time and money. 🧵👇

#LondonTravel #UKTravel #ConferenceTravel #London #TheEyeDocInLondon

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

16/N – 📍My Pre-Departure Checklist ✅🧳

After sorting out the visa, flights, hotels, travel cards, roaming, insurance, and FTI-TTP registration, it was finally time for the last step—the checklist.

No matter how experienced a traveller you are, a simple checklist can save you from last-minute panic.

💡 Travel Tip: Start packing 2–3 days before departure. You’ll almost always remember something important that would’ve been forgotten in a last-minute rush.

Attached is the checklist I used while preparing for London. Hope it helps fellow travellers too!

✈️ And with that, all the planning was finally complete.

From the next tweet onwards, the actual London journey begins. 🇬🇧

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #TravelTips #UKTravel #TravelChecklist #TravelPlanning #InternationalTravel #PackSmart ✅🧳✈️

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

15/N – 📍FTI-TTP: A Huge Time Saver at Immigration 🛂

One of the best things I did before travelling was registering for the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP).

✅ Complete the online registration form
✅ Upload the required documents
✅ Visit a designated biometric enrolment centre

For my enrolment, I visited the FTI-TTP office at Churchgate, Mumbai. The entire biometric process took less than 5 minutes, and the experience was smooth and hassle-free.

⚠️ One important thing to remember: try to keep your travel date at least 10–14 days after biometric verification, as approval and activation may take some time.

🍀 In my case, I got lucky & my application was approved within 2 days of completing the biometrics.

💡 Travel Tip: If you’re planning an international trip, complete your FTI-TTP registration as early as possible. It’s a one-time effort that can save a lot of time at immigration during future travels.

For frequent international travellers, this is easily one of the most useful travel hacks available today.

#TheEyeDocInLondon #LondonTravel #TravelTips #UKTravel #FTITTP #Immigration #FrequentTraveller 🛂✈️🌍

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

@SartanparaYash Hi sir, whats the cost of accor china program? And how to avail it?
Also i have gold status till next year end, so will this pffer be useful?

[TheEyeDoc 👁 @TheEyeSurgeon9]

@SartanparaYash If we have two different booking planned in this duration, will each booking qualify for bonus night? Or can avail it only once?