What's in a name? well... if you're travelling...

What could possibly happen to you when to alphabets of your name are interchanged? Especially when it is in an international air ticket? Nothing, so I thought. Well, I still clarified it with the company I worked for. No problem so they said. Just inform them it was a typo. Aaah. A typo. Sure.

The day: 02nd April 2006
Time: 2130hrs
Location: Mumbai C.S.I. Airport
Problem: Name as on passport- Moraes Nihal Peter
Name as on air ticket- Moares Nihal Peter
Immigration - "your name is different"
"ummm well the company committed a typo when they were booking my tickets"
"typo?"
"they accidentally misspelt my name"
"oh, did they?"
What followed was a grilling on what was the purpose of my travel, whether I was on my way to Toronto, USA(?, uhh wasn't it supposed to be Toronto, Canada? I wasn't gonna correct him under the circumstances though) Of course I wasn't going there. I had to go to Taranto, Italy to board my ship. Few more minutes of questioning. And I was through! Phew! Just this little trouble so I thought. How mistaken I was to be proved...
Mumbai to Charles De Gaulle, France. At France, immigration check. "Excuse me sir, there seems to be a difference of names on the ticket and the passport" hmmmm... little while later after an explanation on what happened and the purpose of my travel and where I was gonna board my ship, I was allowed to pass through.
France to Rome. At Rome, "Sir, your name...." Jeez. Again.
Rome to Brindisi, Italy. Brindisi, yeah here too. Difference in names. "Sir can you open your luggage please?" Grrrrrrrrrrreat.
Cab drive from Brindisi to Taranto. All over right? Naaaaaah. Immigration police at the port. "Excuse me sir, you flew in here with this name on the tickets?" Aaaaaargh!
Ok ok. All done and over with. No more problems with the name right???
Not so fast buddy... Ship's crew list. "Excuse me Captain, I believe there is an error with the way my name is spelt on the crew list." "huh? How ? I put the name the company sent me!"
Grrrrrr.......