Bangkok Cooking

Karuna Waghmare

A casual throwback at Shekhawat by Karuna Waghmare the other day has revived the possibility of a trip to Bangkok. “What is the use of boasting of how much pension you get?” she told him. “Spend the money. Go out and see the world!”
Shekhawat tried to explain that during his days with the Indian Navy he had dropped anchor at many foreign ports, but Karuna would have none of that. “Did you take your wife with you, answer me” she grilled him. “Now is your time to do so. Take her along and travel the world. How many years do you have left? What is the point of going on accumulating money?”
Normally nobody takes Karuna’s words to heart, least of all Shekhawat. But this time she seemed to have touched a raw nerve in him, almost like posing a challenge. After the exercises he summoned Bhaswati Bose and asked her to plan a trip for the Club to Bangkok. “It’s high time we did a foreign tour,” he said.
Actually Bhaswati was already working on

Morning brainstorming after the exercises

it after Yusuf Rassiwala first broached the idea, following the Rajasthan tour last February. The sentiment then was having covered the length and breadth of India – from Kashmir to Kerala and Goa to Gangtok – there was nothing left for our members to explore in the country.
Before long Santosh Tyagi began making inquires for a "good passport agent" and Nahid Khan, whose passport had lapsed, announced she got herself a fresh one. Bihari Milwani informed yesterday that visas could be obtained in Bangkok on arrival. In between, Kiran Prakash spent a few days last month on vacation in Bangkok (ref post of April 16). Quite clearly, Bangkok was thick in the air!
What remains now is firming up on the economics and itinerary of the trip. The dates being looked at are roughly in end-October – time enough to obtain the best airfare/ hotel deals, not to mention finalize the travel documents. Most importantly, the weather in Bangkok would be divine at that time.
Should this work out, it would be the first overseas trip for many of our members. And if all goes well, Europe should logically be our next international destination. After all, the world is a small place today.
Bihari Milwani:
The Spotted Tigress (Karuna Waghmare in spotted yellow dress) had awakened Red Lion (Shekhawat-ji in red t-shirt), making him (plan to) run out of India!