First Phoren Tour

Shekhawat consulting on Bangkok tour

Shekhawat’s plans for a Bangkok-Pattaya trip are fast firming up. The dates he is considering are November 15 to 22, 2013 and according to back-of-the-envelope calculations, the 7 day/ 6 night tour should cost in the region of Rs50,000 per head. This covers airfare to and fro, hotel stay (including breakfast), visa and travel insurance, but not local travel and food.
It does not also include the element of group discounts, possibility of rupee stabilizing against the dollar and the fact, most members would prefer a 6 day/ 5 night tour – in which case the costs should drop substantially.
But that is not what bothers Shekhawat at the moment. He is worried about the number of members holding valid passports and every time the question is raised with someone, he draws a blank.

Santosh has brought Agra's famous pethas 

He is trying his best to reason out that the passport will be required for “travelling to Bang Kong-Pattawah”, only to have Ved Prakash Grover interrupting him, “Bang Kong nahin, Bangkok… Cock!” But the “cock” isn’t simply registering and as for Pattawah, everyone has given up. We all understand Bang Kong and Pattawah by now.
Meanwhile, Jagmohan Papneja has suggested checking with tour operators like Kesari Travels

Monthi has blessings of Mt Mary, Bandra

("who are said to charge reasonably”) as they assume full responsibility for the entire trip, right from booking airline tickets and obtaining visa to fixing hotel stay, local travel and meals. This is a good idea, given Shekhawat’s delicate health and the inexperience of members travelling unescorted on foreign soil. Should an emergency arise, they would at least have the tour operator to fall back on.
The other development of the day was Santosh Tyagi’s return after more than a month in Delhi and she had a box of pethas from Agra to treat us with. Monthi Serrao, in turn had brought a holy offering (of roasted gram) from Mount Mary Basilica, Bandra and then there was someone distributing chocolate bars in the Garden as a birthday treat. Trouble is it has become difficult to keep track of the eatables distributed every day after the exercises – let alone consume them.
Today, for instance, Blog Monster returned with a loot of two luddoos, one petha, a chocolate bar, two balushahis and a fistful of chana spilling out of his pockets. Who gave what he is still trying to figure out. Clearly, we are now caught in a problem of plenty.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Today Shekhawat-ji took the first step at putting his plan into action and ensuring that his vision and mission achieve their target. It proves one thing: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.