Chapter 1: Planning (Nov 22 - Dec 01)

November 22, 2007 - I decided to do something I have never done before, plan a Holiday and spent the New Years Eve (2008) in a destination 2432 miles away from home. I zeroed in on the land of the Merlion, Singapore. By the way, there is another thing I havent done before in my life, BLOGGING :)

Why Singapore? Well its something I have always fancied visiting coz of its impeccable tourist spots, city and urban life and ofcourse who can forget the much talked about "CLEANINESS". Besides, its compratively easy getting through some of the formailities as compared to the Western holiday destinations.

Now for those who know me can tell you that I'm such a sorry traveller in and around where I live that it is absolutely impossible to believe I can plan a vacation and that too outside India. Well here I am...

First task was to chose a Travel Agent, after spending all day browsing, reading reviews (almost everyone seemed to be cursing about everyone they travelled with), I mustered some courage and went ahead with my intution and took my pick in SOTC, India. 2 reasons for that, 1 the office was close to my house (yea well I like things close by) and 2 the package seemed to be reasonable. You can check it out here.

Before I go ahead, I want to let you guys know that I'm writing this post not only to share my experiences I'm going to have during the trip but also things I encountered while planning the trip and that could prove useful to you

So then I pick up the phone and call the Travel Agency. Lesson # 1, speak directly to the owner and/or someone whos at the helm of the affairs, there can be some retards hanging out there not knowing what they are speaking about and wasting your time. So I got my man and he shared all that was to be shared about the trip. Lesson # 2, if you dont ask, he wont tell, he is not obliged to tell you everything. Do your homework before you call. Ask him about what the trip covers (no matter how many times you read on the website, it can spring up surprises), visa formalities, previous customer contacts, dollar/exchange rates, etc....I have forgotten the number of times I visited the official Singapore website and Google maps to check out where the travel agents are going to put me up and proposed tourist spots, this is very important, if you dont feel comfortable about their Itinerary, you can seek modifications. Spend as much time as possible on the Singapore website coz I learnt so much about the country, people, food, guides, transport system, night life, its simply amazing and cant wait to land there. I plan to make small notes as my own Itinerary since I'm going to be there for 6 nights.

November 23, 2007 - I decided to book tickets for me and my bro, visited the local photo studio to get snaps for the Visa. We are scheduled to take off on December 28, 2007 and return on January 3, 2008

November 24, 2007 - Visited the Travel Agency and booked my trip officially and gave a signing amount. they took our passports as a part of the process. The personal visit is important to know whom you have been speaking with and what kind of office they operate out of and his accomplices. I got my dad along with me, Lesson # 4, get someone from your family to know the Tour Operators, as it turned out he was someone my dad knew from a previous aquaintaince. This is just to make sure your passports are in safe hands.

November 26, 2007 - In anticipation of capturing some great holiday moments, I decided to arm myself with a sleek, point-n-shoot digital camera. Bought myself the Sony DSC-W55. Obviously, I did my homework before I bought one and I must admit it has blown me away with its ease and picture quality. Check it out here.

November 27, 2007 - We still had our Visa forms to process, the Travel Agent send one of his men to my house and I just had to sign in the right places. Done

December 1, 2007 - The Travel Agent calls me today and tells me that the pictures for Visa are not in the right format (80% face) and the applications were put on hold. Lesson # 5, always check the measurements correctly for the Visa-type pictures when getting them back from the studio. The Travel Agent did pass me on the measurements initially, my bad, didnt check 'em enough when submitting. Plan to visit the studio again tommorow and get new set of pictures taken and re-submit the application. Will keep you guys posted. Hope you have enjoyed the blog so far...Thank you for taking time out to read, I would love to hear your comments :) Ciao